Some of us have had the unfortunate experience of being told, in spite of training, education and outstanding performance, that the position or title of the job occupied limits or restricts the consideration of greater compensation and responsibility. Conversely, there are those whom, with minimal effort, qualification or desire, see titles, raises and praise come easy. Sound familiar to you? This is but one of several examples of questionable adherence to policy.
As an employee of Bay Mills for over 10 years, I have seen the gamut of poor decisions regarding employee promotion and compensation, resulting in sporadic and disconnected efforts and discord amongst staff. Though there has been much work and progress in this area, vital pieces to the process are yet needed to integrate these programs into a cohesive and focused strategy.
It is the Executive Council that must provide support and direction to tribal entities with regard to employee hiring, compensation, promotion and reward programs. It serves the tribe best when an overall strategy can be agreed upon and disseminated to management, without which, the tribe will continue to suffer from favoritism, nepotism, egoism and unqualified promotion and performance.
The future success of our enterprises lies in the established policies that were developed to ensure fairness, objectivity and just reward. The policies are far from complete and perfect. Therefore, Human Resources and the Executive Council should revisit the policies to determine their viability and relevance to established goals and objectives.
Errors, exceptions and marginal practices will undoubtedly appear. Nonetheless, the opportunity for the Executive Council to assess, modify, omit or affirm will surely benefit all.
As an Executive Council member, I fully accept the responsibility to assess those areas that are essential to the long-term fitness of this tribe. Where unfairness, inefficiency or waste is evident, a decisive and immediate effort must be made to correct it.
The issue of hiring and promotion is as old as our first hire in this community. However, through the combined efforts of the Executive Council and management, strategies and solutions that epitomize fairness, consistency and objectivity can be developed.
LeBlanc is Secretary of the Bay Mills Executive Council.
