HRM@Home!

The atmosphere in my house was very, very tense. Preeti, the girl with whom I share my apartment, had decided to move out. Reason? The house was very far from the main road. And we had to walk a lot to reach the auto stand. And the market was also far away. So she was not very happy with the locality we were staying in.

I was shocked when I heard this decision. While both these points were valid, we knew all this even before taking up this place, which was hardly two months ago. It is not as if the distance between the main road and our place had doubled in the last two months. And the reason we had taken up this place was simple - it was a fully-furnished house, including the utensils in the kitchen, microwave, AC, beds, TV, sofa, dining table...you get it, right? And all this, at a pretty decent rent. So I could not fathom why anyone in a state of sanity would take such a decision. To be honest, I was slightly mad at her.

"Can we discuss this later? I am getting late for work!" I said this and stormed out of the house.

Hell, this was going to be tough. I did not want to shift as I knew for a fact that we would not get a fully furnished house in our budget anywhere else near our workplaces. We had tried our luck at that earlier but to no avail. That is why we had taken up this flat in the first place. And I did not want to invest in buying stuff for furnishing a rented house as I did not intend to stay in Hyderabad for too long. So to me, my priorities were clear - if we find another house this good, I am fine with shifting. Else she can go take a hike. I will find another roommate. But at the same time, I was feeling bad. I kind of liked this girl. She was a good-natured, sweet individual, very easy to get along with. And I would hate to let her go. I thought and thought and thought - and then decided - there was something wrong. The reasons were not good enough for the decision she was taking - there HAD to be something else going on. And I intended to find out.

When I came back from office that day, Preeti was at home. I initiated the topic once again. Asked what the problem was. It all began with the same too-far-from-main-road thing again, but I kept listening. And tried to come up with some solutions. I said, for distance, we can make arrangements with an auto-wallah - on monthly charges basis. For market, we can plan better and buy things over the weekend - that will save us some sudden long walks. So issues resolved, right?

"No - but those are not the only problems." said my roomie. Aha, I was making some progress for sure!

"So what else is the problem?" I probed.

"Well, you know...I get bored here. I mean - we both hardly interact with each other - we are busy in our own lives. When I had shifted with you, I had thought we would have some fun staying together - but this is hardly as per my expectations. We are like two strangers sharing a flat - it is all so formal!"

Okay - so this was the issue. Preeti was staying away from her family for the first time, and she is an extremely fun loving girl. So the reason she had moved in with me was to live life fully in a family kind of atmosphere. I, on the other hand, had been staying alone for over four years now, and being a reserved natured person, had never felt the need for more interaction. So you see, this was more of an 'engagemnt issue' rather than a 'logistics issue.' The mind of an HR manager was at work now. I had to 'retain' this person - by increasing the 'employee touch time.'

"But that is something that can be taken care of! I mean, it is not intentional on my part not to interact with you. It's just that it takes some time for me to open up with people - and we have not reached that stage yet. But honestly, if that is the real problem, I am willing to put in efforts from my side. I really don't want to let go of this place or even a roomie like you."

At this stage, she smiled her innocent smile. "Oh, you don't? I always felt you did not like me enough to talk to me. Never thought of it like this. Okay then, I am also fine to try and make this work, as to be honest, even I like this house - it has everything!!!"

So - mission accomplished. The employee was not going anywhere for the time being atleast. And if basic engagement initiatives were in place - I could retain her in the long run as well.

We have been staying in this house for over six months now - and both of us have begun to gel really well. There are no more talks of shifting from here - though we do crib about the distance from the main road at times - to each other. I had never thought I would use my HR skills in a situation like this - but guess people are the same at some emotional level. So are their basic needs. Maslow's need hierarchy, anyone?