Managing First Exit: My Unfolding Voyage 070

Around early December, I picked up a casual conversation with a junior colleague from the Management Development Department and mentioned to him that I would be soon leaving the services of the United Bank as I might get some offers from the private sector. This was deliberate planting of information: I knew that he would soon carry this information to his boss Captain Ghosh, a retired army officer, who has been looking after development of managerial personnel but not a part of the usual personnel administration department. I loved United Bank as my first employer and did not really leave but was seriously afflicted by a perception in my mind that the Bank was not taking care to reward me in tune with my capabilities and aspirations. Sometime back, my boss' boss had remarked in a closed group dinner party in response to a suggestion by one of his close friends that it was high time that I had been given the second promotion: 'Sen is getting his PhD soon and then we will kick him up'. It was good English from a B.Sc in economics from London but I was rather annoyed by his rather middle class sentiment and reluctance to think what I could have been thinking about myself and the Bank. So, I did not want my boss and boss' boss to know that I was seriously consider leaving. But I wanted that this information travels up to the top management through a different route. And, it did as I would find out later.

I did not have any job offer yet. Earlier in August, a public sector firm had advertised for the post of Econometrics. I knew I could not apply except through proper channel: public sector employees were obligated to route their applications for jobs in other public sector companies only through their existing public sector employers (a kind of Communist-Socialist State oppression on employees to distort the market for human resources : something I strongly deplored as State mafia-ism). I did not want to use this route because the the personnel department would take a long time and the Bank may use its influence to ensure that I was not recruited by the other public sector company. So, what could I have done. Try my luck: my wife forwarded my resume to the company Something else would happen. I would receive a telephone call from my professor, head of economic research unit at the Indian Statistical Institute: he said that the Institute had received a request from the very same public sector company to recommend candidates from its past and current students and that he considered me as the most appropriate candidate to be recommended if I were interested. I immediately agreed with him that the Institute could recommend my name. In early November the company called me for interview. Before I could meet the interview board, the usual public sector company personnel department staff there would ask me for a no objection certificate from my current employer United Bank of India. I told them that they had not mentioned this in their letter advising me to to turn up for interview and I could get such No objection certificate in the event of my selection after the interview. They let me go in to meet the Selection Board. There were three persons on the Board: the Director Finance of the company. He asked me all the questions and I found him taking lot of interest. The second person on the Board was my teacher of econometrics at the University. When he was requested to ask me questions, he observed that he knew me well as his students and that I had got the highest marks in Econometrics at the University. So, he would not ask me any further questions. Then, there was the Director Personnel: he inquired why I had not routed my application through my current employer. I would reply to him with a question:"Did I apply?" The smart Finance Director immediately quipped: " Sean's name and resume was received in response to our request to the Indian Statistical Institute". Finally, I was asked when could I join if I were selected. I told them my current employer would require me to give three months' notice.

In the middle of December, Captain Ghosh telephoned and asked me to meet him as soon as possible. I knew that my colleague in his Department would have informed him about the conversation we had about 19 days back. I met him in his office room. He said that he had learnt that I was thinking of leaving United Bank of India but wondered why. I replied that I was happy with my job but felt that I was constrained by opportunity to shoulder higher responsibilty challange as a reward my performance. He told me that I should not worry because I was one among the blue-eyed officers of the Bank whose career in the Bank would be bright. Some thing would be done for me soon. And finally he said, "Don't jump on the next bus." I thanked him and came back to my desk and did not share this interaction with Capt Ghosh with anyone else.

I got the job offer from the company that interviwed in early January and I replied them I would join by early April. But I did not immediately resign because I would really require to give one month's notice to United Bank of India to leave them. By mid- January 1977 I received the letter of promotion to Staff Officer Grade II with immediate effect and they designated me as Assistant Economist, the position held by my boss who had been recently promoted to the position of the Economist in Staff Officer Grade I. I happily accepted the promotion. Everyone would congratulate me, especially as the promtion came suddenly. I worked in my new position for 10 days and went on leave for a month with cash back for another one month's leave. Colleagues thought that I went on leave to celebrate my promotion. I had then two little son's to play with.

I resumed office towards the end of February and soon thereafter submitted my resignation. Colleagues were surprised and wanted to know where I would be joining next. I told them that's a secret. Bosses were unhappy especially because the resignation soon after a promotion was viewed as insulting. My boss's boss was so angry that when I visted the Bank after a month of my quitting the Bank, he virtually asked me leave the Bank's premises immediately. I knew that his reluctance to promote me earlier must have earned him some comments from his bosses when I had quit immediately after a promotion. I learned that a manager must know how not to lose a useful resource on which investment had been made. I bade good-bye to United Bank of India as my employer in March 1977 after serving them for 75 months.