Happy Employee
HR Communication, 24-style
Frank Roche at KnowHR often mentions that HR communication should be surprising. Episode 3 of the new 24 season (it’s already the 7th) is a great example of how to surprise your audience.
Granted, episodes 1 and 2 were nice, although not earth shattering. But the third episode was just packed with goodies and surprises.
ROWE-y: Doing Personal Stuff At The Office
The other day I learned an important lesson from my new colleague. The cool thing is that she just joined our team less than a month ago and she’s 15 years younger than me.
Like most Gen-Xers, I was “raised” professionally by Baby Boomers who have a strong sense of values in terms of working hard, making sacrifices and strictly separating their work and personal lives. Except, of course, when they bring work home.
HR Wench And Boobs
Did you read the title of this post? Really?
I’m having fun right now and it might not be healthy in a long-term kind of way. When Jenn reads this post, she will either hate me forever and a day or uncontrollably roll on the floor and – between spasms of giggles – shout “what an idiot, I’m laughing so hard every fiber in my body hurts when I even try to breathe. I will never ever again eat Swiss chocolate!”
Link: In Defense Of HR Professionals
I’m certainly the first to admit that there are a lot of numskulls working in HR (like everywhere else). When asked about my career choice I often reply that I certainly wouldn’t work in HR if I had a choice. And everybody who ever shared an office with me heard me groan that I should have learned an honest profession when I was young.
Fact is that I love working in HR. Last week a manager said that it was obvious that I felt comfortable working in HR. I think I’ll buy this man a beer.
Here’s what Bob Sutton wrote on his blog:
ARSE Used Over 180’000 Times
The ARSE (Asshole Rating Self-Exam), based on Bob Sutton’s book “The No Asshole Rule” was used more than 180’000 times.
Don’t be an ass, go do the ARSE now.
It only takes 5 minutes. If you did it before, find out if your score changed.
Geeky: Listening to music at work
“My boss told me the other day that I was spending in average 6.5 hours per day on YouTube according to the company’s Internet statistics. But I’m only using YouTube to listen to background music while I work. Are they allowed to check what I’m doing online? What about privacy?
This is not an actual reader question. But I heard this story from a friend and decided to turn it into a fake reader question.
Quote: Competence (L.J. Peter)
Dr. Laurence J. Peter, creator of the Peter Principle, said:
Competence, like truth, beauty and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder.
(Peter L.J. & Hull R., The Peter Principle – Why things always go wrong, 1969)
This quote isn’t helpful if you’re looking for a definition of “competence”. If you’ve been looking for your contact lenses, however, maybe they were in your eyes the whole time and you’ve just experienced a classic “duh” moment.
We’re All Gonna Die
No, I’m not depressed and I’m not borderline suicidal either.
Yes, I’m a big fan of Heroes. Although lots of people say that it’s lost its edge, I still luh-huve it. Very much, very deeply and very fondly.
At the beginning of ep 3×10 (for the die-hard fans: at 9 min 4 secs) Brea Grant playing the character Daphne Millbrook says
Contest: Ugliest Tie
It’s not an HR Challenge. It’s just a fun little contest… for the ugliest tie.
Send me a picture of your ugliest tie. There’s a few rules, and a very tough jury, but you might win a book!
Ze Rules
Send me a picture of your ugliest tie.
Condition: you must have been wearing this tie at least once in a professional setting. Srsly!
I need to see it!
Post it anywhere you like on the Interwebs. But make sure I know about it. I’ll then add it to my Picasa account for everybody to see.
The jury
Ties are mostly part of a man’s, man’s world. This is why I asked 5 wonderful ladies to perform some jury duty:
- Meg Bear from Talentad Apps
- Cali from Cali & Jody, the wonderful ladies who brought you ROWE. And although you’ll never realize it, also the ones who made sure Skynet will never conquer the world!
- HR Minion from The Awesome & Geeky HR Minion Blog
- HR Maven from the Incredibly Cool HR Maven Blog
- JT from Careerealism, because every job really is just temporary!
The book
The winner will get a book. If you win, I’ll ask you to send me a link to your Amazon wishlist and you’ll get a book sent to you by snail mail.
Here’s my ugliest tie. I’ve got way uglier ties, but this is the blarghiest one I’ve ever been wearing at work.
Now it’s up to you. Do your worst!
Things We Would Love To Say
There are things most HR professionals would love to say from time to time. I know I do. But insulting people is (un)fortunately not in our job description 
Dr. House doesn’t care. He’s rude, insensitive and he speaks his mind. I’m only halfway through episode 1 of the 5th season, but he already inspired me. Someday, maybe, I’ll tell a line manager:
You’re being an idiot!
Are You Like The Pizza Guy?
The pizza delivery guy really impressed me. I met him the other day in the elevator and immediately commented on his huge delivery bag.
“It’s for family pizzas,” he explained. I grunted something to indicate that I understood.
“They’re really convenient.” And without missing a beat, he added “The prize is very good, and they even come with a free drink.”
That’s when we reached the ground floor. If he had handed me a 4-color leaflet with a list of available toppings and a big fat phone number printed on top, I would have asked for his CV and given it to the sales director first thing the next morning. Okay, we don’t have a sales director, but you get my drift.
Afterwards I wondered how our employees respond when asked where they work. Do they just mention the name of their employer or do they add two or three positive things about our company or products?
The Interwebs – And Why Sometimes I’m Too Enthusiastic
It’s almost scary how much I love the Interwebs. And sometimes I can even go a bit overboard with my enthusiasm.
Jenn Barnes published a post on HRM Today called 10 Reasons Why HR Professionals Should Blog (hint to recruiters: she’s currently looking for a job!).
ROWE-y: No More Bragging About Long Hours
This is my public commitment:
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment). And although I won’t actively promote it at work, I will start making adjustments to my attitudes and work habits.From now on I will stop bragging or complaining about the hours I spend at work.
Therefore “ROWE-y”. Not quite ROWE, but getting closer. Baby step after baby step.
The 7th ROWE Guidepost is:
Nobody talks about how many hours they work.
If I work too many hours, it’s my problem.
True, if I’m on sick leave because of burn-out, then it becomes my manager’s problem too. But at the end of the day, it’s still my responsibility.
Whenever somebody tells me how tough their job is and how many hours they put in I feel the urge to prove that I’m a hard worker too.
At the same time saying that I worked over 50 hours last week is lame. 60 or 70 hours would sound much tougher.
But I’m sick of this. It’s a senseless pissing contest which you can only loose because you’ll end up either frustrated or in a coma.
If I can’t brag about long hours, I will have to validate my value to the company in a different way.
The alternative is to figure out what I’m actually doing all day, deciding what is really useful and necessary and then, of course, remember all these great things that I’m doing for my employer. Because seriously, of the several dozen things I did today, I could hardly remember 10 right now.
Whether I work many or few hours, I’ll start concentrating on my achievements. This is me getting ROWE-y!
Less Cheese, More Meat!
Are there still people who pretend that the Interwebs aren’t any good for generating and sharing ideas?
Mark’s article at HC3 Take Control Of Your Job And Your Success reminded me of an idea I had for a t-shirt. I also mentioned his article as an inspiration for my post Give Them What They Want. Mark then shared in the comments one of the reasons why he’s in charge of HR for a multinational corporation:
HR Carnival: I’m Finally In!
The newest Carnival of HR is up at Guerilla HR and this time I finally contributed something. Patrick Williams even gave Employees Are A Necessary Evil the award for most shocking post title
Short commercial break:
Jon Ingham from the Strategic HCM blog and another Carnival of HR participant, will hold a webinar on 11 September 2008 about The Evolution Continues: Trends in Digital HR (free registration here).
