Tangi leave at the call centre (A)

Abstract

This is the first of a two-case series (410-018-1 and 410-019-1). Tears welled up as the team leader of a busy Wellington call centre grappled with the urgent decision she had to make. The 15-person call centre was already six people down and had been struggling to reach its daily quotas. Now a senior Maori staff member, just back from four weeks annual leave, had asked for three more days to attend a tangi where she had been asked to perform the karanga (greeting calls). Granting the requested leave would put further pressure on the remaining team members. This vignette case describes a dilemma familiar to many workplaces when an employee's need for leave will put additional pressures on remaining staff. Discussion could cover ways to acknowledge the needs of specific cultures within a multicultural workplace, and the responsibilities of line and human resource management, as well as the need for more detailed policy or guidelines for interpretation. Topics: Human resource (HR) management; Multicultural workplace; Cross-cultural issues; Implementation; Policy design and implementation; Leadership; Managing diversity; HR; Maori; Reducing discrimination; Ethnic diversity; Employee rights Settings: New Zealand, Public sector; Maori culture Notes: Please contact ANZSOG directly: info@casestudies.anzsog.edu.au Students need tutor authorisation to purchase this case study. Related: Tangi leave at the call centre (B - Epilogue). Case Centre, Case Reference no. 410-019-1