You have employees out there who seem to continually mess up. It doesn’t really matter what the project is, because they will find a way to flub it. It is incredibly frustrating for you, so what’s your natural reaction? Criticize.
I’ve done it myself, so don’t make me think I’m the only one out here. Someone can’t fill out form A correctly? Well, they are just careless. Procedure X is out of whack? That employee is too lazy to do it right. Sure, you can criticize them (we all do), but what does that really change? Nothing. But there is something you can do that might actually make a difference. Continue reading →
I’ve been reading a lot about culture at work recently, and I have to say that I’m intrigued. Before my current job, I would never have thought that it made much of a difference, but now that I have seen the benefits of a solid, positive corporate culture, I am convinced of the value it brings to the organization.
If someone tells you that culture doesn’t matter, they probably don’t have a good one.
Instead of being treated like a child or a criminal where each movement is tracked and must be given a specific reason, I now have the freedom to come and go pretty much whenever I please (as long as I get the job done).
I have never laughed so much in my entire working life as I did in an HR department meeting a while back. Do you ever laugh in meetings? I hope so, because it’s a heck of a lot of fun.
At any time I can walk into my supervisor’s office, sit down, and tell her anything at all. While we have fun together most of the time, we also share some serious moments that impact my career and the business. I love the wild changes in tone. I’m definitely someone who needs to laugh at work, and she is happy to oblige!
I can talk about zombies whenever I want.
These are just a few examples (and looking back, most of them are about humor–interesting) of what my work life is like and how it is different from my previous jobs. But I absolutely love it, and there’s so much room for growth and improvement on my part. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Can you say "instant relief?" I can.
VHRG and Leadership
I don\’t know if you\’re a regular reader or not, but Venting HR Guy is a funny human resources blog that showcases some of the daily events we all face. The difference is that VHRG can be a little more forthcoming in detailing his workday, because his identity is a secret. It makes for an interesting blog, that\’s for sure.
Anyway, VHRG often has issues that he tries to deal with at work. However, the response from his boss, known by the clever name “The Boss,†is often to side with the employee for some reason. Have an employee getting payroll advances several times a month for more than a year? Instead of cutting the guy off, VHRG will probably be forced by The Boss to give into the demands of the financially moronic employee. And that’s just one example.
While you might not have that specific problem, I\’m pretty sure that plenty of you have seen this in your own workplace (and if not, count yourself lucky!). You want to handle a situation that is within your realm of influence, but someone upstream gets word of the issue and wants to handle it a different way. How in the world can HR be taken seriously if they\’re constantly hamstrung and second-guessed by senior leadership?
They can\’t.
That\’s why I think VHRG needs some leadership. He needs a change. He is already looking for a new job, and I know that many of us would love to help, but with the whole “cloak of anonymity†he has going on, it\’s a bit tough to do. If you have suggestions for how he can deal with his spineless leaders, please drop them in the comments below. I\’m going to collect and pass them along to him.
In contrast to VHRG’s leadership problems, I spoke to a friend recently who was looking for a new job. She was ready to move on from her current position, and she had her eye on several positions. Then a new leader was brought into the organization, and it’s been amazing to see the change. She’s more positive, excited about her work, and the “leaving” part has completely been pushed out of her mind. It’s amazing to see what positive leadership does, but it’s also sad to see what happens when that leadership is absent, which is what’s going on in VHRG’s situation.
I\’m not picking on my pal here; I just know that there are lots of other HR professionals who have the same issue, and they know that their “leaders†won\’t back them up when a tough issue comes along. And if you have any tips on how he can move into another job, please post them in the comments, too. Every little bit helps, and the HR community is well-known for its helpfulness!
Culture
I’ve been reading a lot about culture at work recently, and I have to say that I’m intrigued. Before my current job, I would never have thought that it made much of a difference, but now that I have seen the benefits of a solid, positive corporate culture, I am convinced of the value it brings to the organization.
If someone tells you that culture doesn’t matter, they probably don’t have a good one.
Instead of being treated like a child or a criminal where each movement is tracked and must be given a specific reason, I now have the freedom to come and go pretty much whenever I please (as long as I get the job done).
I have never laughed so much in my entire working life as I did in an HR department meeting a while back. Do you ever laugh in meetings? I hope so, because it’s a heck of a lot of fun.
At any time I can walk into my supervisor’s office, sit down, and tell her anything at all. While we have fun together most of the time, we also share some serious moments that impact my career and the business. I love the wild changes in tone. I’m definitely someone who needs to laugh at work, and she is happy to oblige!
These are just a few examples (and looking back, most of them are about humor–interesting) of what my work life is like and how it is different from my previous jobs. But I absolutely love it, and there’s so much room for growth and improvement on my part. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Thousands of students graduate every year from college with zero experience in their chosen field. Then they head out into the job search and have to make someone believe that they\’re a good choice for employment. I was one of those people, and I can tell you that it\’s very tough.
Who wants to give you a job when you have no experience, and how can you get experience without a job?
GrouperEye to the rescue!
And that\’s where GrouperEye comes in. They have developed an online platform that allows employers to meet and engage with their prospective entry level employees and interns. I spoke with Dave Rodriguez, the President of GrouperEye, and he explained the process to me. It works like this:
Company signs up for an account.
Company posts a “case.â€
Students submit their answers to the problem.
The company picks a handful of winners.
The company ends up with a small group of qualified prospective employees, and the students have some experience to put on their resumes. It\’s a win-win.
Seems pretty easy, right? That\’s what I said! There is so much to be gained from this sort of process. In most cases, companies get hundreds of applications to an open position. Why not filter out those who aren\’t serious about working for you by requiring them to participate in a Grouper Eye challenge?
And to take it further, Grouper Eye\’s employer back-end panel can be used as an ATS for entry level positions and internships. An example of a current case is one by HealthCentral, who is looking for a social media plan to advance its online presence. Some enterprising student can research, build, and submit a presentation on building a social media plan for this company. And even if that student doesn\’t win, he/she has an immediate work sample to take to an interview.
I’ve just scratched the surface of the possibilities, but if you\’d like to try it out, then give Dave a shout on Twitter or via the contact page on the site. Don’t miss out!
This is the recount of a troubling situation relayed to me by a friend earlier this week. I\’m using pseudonyms for the sake of all involved.
For his first job fair appearance, I gave my friend Bill some advice that I felt would help him to have meaningful conversations with the recruiters. While he wondered about a tiny resume tweak, the type of paper to print on, and other minor details, I got him to focus on an overall strategy. Instead of walking around and tossing resumes onto the table for the 70+ employers present, I told him to do a bit of research and find 10-15 of the companies that he would enjoy working for. Then, I made him research each of those organizations, at least on the surface level, so that he could speak intelligently with the recruiters that represented each company. That, I told him, would make a much bigger difference than any other little changes he wanted to try.
Anyway, Bill attended the event, and I called him afterward to check in. Here\’s the paraphrase of the first half of our conversation.
I met a great guy at the XZY Corporation table. He was friendly and helpful, and we spent a few minutes chatting about the organization and what it does. Although I\’m not as knowledgeable about the company as I should be, it made me feel great when he took the time to talk to me in a private conversation beyond the normal “spiel.†By the time the conversation was over, I was excited about the opportunity to work for his organization.
Wow. That recruiter nailed it. He took a minor interest and turned his company into one of Bill\’s top three choices! Plus, he\’s raving about the company already. And what did it take? About 180 seconds of the recruiter\’s time.
The second half of our conversation was less positive, but it still needs to be recapped. People are doing this, and it needs to stop.
Then I went to the ABC Organization table. The recruiter looked at me like he was bored, so I started the conversation. But it didn\’t take. The guy was like a brick wall. I gave him my resume, hoping that might spark some interest. He criticized it almost immediately. Then he gave it back to me. And that was pretty much the whole exchange. He told me to apply online. Not happening.
Wow (again). That recruiter sucks. In an inverse of the previous example, he took Bill\’s minor interest and turned his company into the last possible choice. And he gave the resume back, supposedly because he could just apply online after the event.
I haven\’t had a lot of experience on the recruiting side of a job fair, but I know that some of you have. Is this kind of thing acceptable? If you or one of your fellow recruiters was acting like the guy from the 2nd example, would you be okay with that? I say it\’s a failure, because as a job seeker, I would hate to run into that kind of attitude.
Brand champions are internal and external story tellers who spread the brand vision, brand values and cultivate the brand in an organisation. Every organisation needs committed and passionate brand champions. The more employees the organisation can turn into brand champions, the better will it be equipped to build and maintain strong brand equity. Singapore Airlines, L’Oreal, Harley Davidson, Nike, Google and LEGO are well-known examples of companies which benefit tremendously from their employees being strong and dedicated brand champions.
My company has more employees than it has customers. These employees leave work every day and have conversations and interactions with complete strangers in homes, bars, stores, restaurants, etc. Some of those people know our company exists, and some are getting their first glimpse of us.
Are they saying good things? Are they telling the world how amazing it is to work for this company? Are they enhancing our reputation?
I hope so.
Some people recommend hiring great people and inspiring them to do amazing things. Sounds like a plan to me. Find a way to make brand champions out of your employees. You won\’t regret it.
You have employees out there who seem to continually mess up. It doesn’t really matter what the project is, because they will find a way to flub it. It is incredibly frustrating for you, so what’s your natural reaction? Criticize.
For his first job fair appearance, I gave my friend Bill some advice that I felt would help him to have meaningful conversations with the recruiters. While he wondered about a tiny resume tweak, the type of paper to print on, and other minor details, I got him to focus on an overall strategy. Instead of walking around and tossing resumes onto the table for the 70+ employers present, I told him to do a bit of research and find 10-15 of the companies that he would enjoy working for. Then, I made him research each of those organizations, at least on the surface level, so that he could speak intelligently with the recruiters that represented each company. That, I told him, would make a much bigger difference than any other little changes he wanted to try.
Are they saying good things? Are they telling the world how amazing it is to work for this company? Are they enhancing our reputation?