EXPLAIN WHO GETS WHAT AND WHY

Lu Pillar: Lead Fairly

Toolbox time: About 5 minutes

Use this if: You decide who gets overtime, training, acting jobs, preferred shifts or jobs that help people build their skills.

THE POINT

Tell people what the decision will be based on before you make it.

People don’t have to agree with every decision. But they should know how the decision was made.

WHAT IT CAN LOOK LIKE

• The same people always get overtime.

• Someone gets sent for training and nobody knows why.

• An acting job looks decided before anyone hears about it.

• The better jobs keep going to the same people.

• “Management decided” is the only explanation you provide.

• People stop putting their hand up because they assume there is no point.

TALK ABOUT IT

You don’t need to turn every decision into a crew vote. Before you make the call, be clear about what matters.

For example:

• The skills or ticket needed.

• Who is available.

• What the job needs.

• Who has already had the opportunity.

• Who needs experience in that area.

Use the reasons that actually matter for that decision.

USE THESE WORDS

“We’ve got [overtime, training, acting role or opportunity] coming up. I’ll make the decision based on [reasons]. If you’re interested, let me know by [time or date]. I’ll make the call by [date] and explain the outcome.”

If someone misses out:

“This time it came down to [reason]. If you want to be considered next time, let’s talk about what you need to build or show.”

DO THIS

For the next opportunity, decide what you will base the decision on before you choose someone. Then tell the crew.

CHECK NEXT TIME

Look at the opportunities you allocated. Ask yourself:

“Did people know what the decision would be based on before I made it?”

If not, make it clearer next time.

Explaining a decision doesn’t automatically make it fair or lawful. Concerns about discrimination, workplace rights or other formal issues need to go through the appropriate process.

NEED MORE SUPPORT?

Lu offers two next step options.

Run It gives your crew practical tools to work through the issue.

Embed It provides independent support to understand what is driving the problem, tailor the response and help the change stick.