Tag: employees

Let’s go camping !!

The forecast said – High temperature 37, low 21 with a 90% chance of precipitation . . . makes you want to camp, doesn’t it ??

Well, that’s exactly what I did this past weekend.  You see, I’m very fortunate to be the Scoutmaster for Troop 941 in West Chester, OH.  My son is in the Troop and we went on our first campout of the year to go horseback riding with 23 other boys and 6 adults.

It was amazing !!  I love going on these weekend jaunts with my son and with the other kids.  I learn so much with them.  We laugh, tell stories, play tons on Euchre, and most importantly, I get to see people grow into adults right before my eyes.

Today, there is so much that can be daunting, tragic and even horrifying.  We continue to fill our days with junk when the majority of our “news” isn’t news at all.  When the lead in story is about some celebrity train wreck vs. the real human condition that all of us face, I can see how we get cynical.

But I digress . . .

From Friday to Sunday I had no cell coverage, no Twitter, no Linked In, no e-mail.  However, I had EVERYTHING I needed and more.  To hear my son recount the exhilaration of his first ride on a horse, Zeus, was better than any distraction I fill my life with.  To sleep in the cold, to eat fresh meals cooked in a dutch oven from recipes my son found, to sing I’m a Little Teapot at a campfire to the tune of We Will Rock You by Queen, and to have kids pick you to imitate during Adult Impersonations – phenomenal.

In the midst of all that is going on around us, I have to ask . . . do you enjoy yourselves?  Are you taking time to take everything in?  Do you see the miracles that happen literally everyday with the people you work with?

Or, are you too busy rushing to check that next e-mail, make sure you get that next appointment entered into Outook, while ignoring the great people you work with so you make sure YOUR needs are being met?

When my son and I got home on Sunday, I collapsed from the full weekend.  My body isn’t as young as it used to be.  But, I collapsed full of joy and great experiences !!

Here’s my challenge to those of you kind enough to even read my blog – take time to enjoy what life brings you !!  Ask the person you work with what they did this weekend and  . . . stay there long enough to really take in what happened !!  Quit ignoring all that is good going on all around you.

Now, I have to get recharged.  We camp again in 2 weeks (and I can’t wait !!)

What Do You Expect ??

This post asks HR what their focus is when it comes to their employees. Do they dread seeing them, or do they think they’re amazing?

When you think of your employees, what comes to mind?

Do you have positive thoughts?  Are you fondly reminded of how amazing the folks are at your company ??

What do you expect?  Seriously.  Have you taken the time to reflect on how your focus is as an HR practitioner when you go into work each day?  Are you looking forward to working with the people around you, or do you dread it?

If I asked you this in person, I’m sure I’d hear a positive response because you’d feel a little awkward because we’re only supposed to talk about surface level things to keep things within a social norm.  It may be the way you truly feel, and I hope it is.

However, when I keep my ear to the ground and listen to other HR pros, I hear more negative things than positive things.  I hear people grousing about the difficult person who did this, or the person who takes ALL  of my time, etc.

Don’t you think your employees see that in you?  Don’t you think that they’ve come to expect HR to be the department who brings the bad news?  Not very encouraging is it?

I think that we’ve made the rock prophet Don Henley’s words come true from his vintage song “Dirty Laundry” on his debut album I Can’t Stand Still.

“Dirty little secrets
     Dirty little lies 
 We got our dirty little fingers in everybody’s pie 
     We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry”

I know that sounds harsh, but when I listen to HR people they tend to talk about the 10% of people who cause them the most problems instead of focusing on the 90% of people who are GREAT !!

I love HR Horror Stories as much as the next person, and I could add my share of them – believe me.  However, it’s time to change the tide.

People will see HR as a positive force in organizations when, and only when, HR is positive itself !!

So, what do you expect ?? Let me know.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

My Hometown . . .

This post challenges HR to get back to truly knowing the employees of the company and not continue to let employees just show up for work.

For those of you who know me – I’m a music freak !!

For those of you who don’t know me – I’m a music freak !! 

One of my favorite artists is Bruce Springsteen and his classic album “Born in the U.S.A.” came out when I was in college and about to leave my hometown.  The last track on side two of the album (yes, album) was “My Hometown” and it hit me hard because even though I was going to leave my hometown soon, it brought up so many great memories.

You see, I hail from the booming metropolis (Village actually) of Ada, Ohio.  Ada has a population of just over 5,000 people.  It is technically the “center of the universe” if you didn’t know that because you can go anywhere from Ada , and if you travel around the whole world, you have to go through Ada.

That may not be a scientific fact, but it seemed like the center of the universe to me.  You see, in Ada, you know EVERYONE and EVERYONE knows you.  My school was K-12 in one building and my graduating class was an amazing 73 people !!  I loved every moment of my time in Ada because I learned the value of truly knowing people.

In Ada, it mattered to know everyone’s name and something about them because you were bound to see them somewhere around town and it was much better to have a conversation than just say, “Hey !!” (our version of “Hi!”)

Lately, this has been playing on me because in today’s organizations, we are more concerned with getting stuff done whether the people who are doing those things matter or not.  HR is a major culprit in not addressing this fault in company cultures.  We should be the ONE area that won’t stand idly by to have yet another employee ignored.

We spend so much time making sure people just show up and that is more important than seeing who they are, what they’re like and what they truly want to offer the company.

No more.

It’s time to use a little of that hometown experience at my workplace and at workplaces around the country.  Get to know your people.  You’ll be astonished at how incredible they really are !!

What do you think?  Is this too Utopian ?? Or, is it just overdue and we’ve forgotten how important this is ??  Let me know your thoughts.