Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Ambiguity at work
I was having a discussion with someone about ambiguity in the workplace. When she described what she faces, I loved it and asked for permission to share it. Permission was granted, so without further ado:
"It's like working with the circus clowns who keep going in one car door and out the other while asking you to keep on driving."
"It's like working with the circus clowns who keep going in one car door and out the other while asking you to keep on driving."
Sunday, December 14, 2014
When 1/4" is all the stands between you and employment
Last week I made calls to check in with several of my customers at work. Part of my job is to see how their job search is going, are there services our office can offer to help, etc. One of the people with whom I spoke is Mr. X. He has been unemployed for over 6 months. He lost his long term job due to failing a post-accident drug test. Oops. However, because his employer didn't universally drug test everyone who was injured, he was able to draw unemployment. He exhausted the full amount (26 weeks) a bit ago. Overall, he's a nice guy who didn't make wise choices and is now paying the price.
He has been diligently job searching, and he has been frustrated that for the first time in his life, it's not been a quick process. We've paid him to be retrained in what is a very marketable skill locally. Due to issues with his driving record, it has taken him longer than normal to get a job in that field. Finally, though, it's starting to pay off. He had one offer, but he failed the agility test. He had a confirmed offer for a job that would require a ton of travel, not his preferred, but you do what you have to do. While waiting for that job to start, he found what seems like will be a great match of his previous employment and his new training. It is a local job too. He's passed the urine drug test, and now just one thing is separating him from gainful employment- 1/4" of hair. Yes, you read that right. His new employer does both urine and hair drug test. For the latter, you must have at least 1/2" of hair. Right now, his is only 1/4". So hopefully in another 2 weeks or so, he can test and start work. Thankfully, the potential employer is cool with that. It's not often that 1/4" is all that stands between you and a job.
He has been diligently job searching, and he has been frustrated that for the first time in his life, it's not been a quick process. We've paid him to be retrained in what is a very marketable skill locally. Due to issues with his driving record, it has taken him longer than normal to get a job in that field. Finally, though, it's starting to pay off. He had one offer, but he failed the agility test. He had a confirmed offer for a job that would require a ton of travel, not his preferred, but you do what you have to do. While waiting for that job to start, he found what seems like will be a great match of his previous employment and his new training. It is a local job too. He's passed the urine drug test, and now just one thing is separating him from gainful employment- 1/4" of hair. Yes, you read that right. His new employer does both urine and hair drug test. For the latter, you must have at least 1/2" of hair. Right now, his is only 1/4". So hopefully in another 2 weeks or so, he can test and start work. Thankfully, the potential employer is cool with that. It's not often that 1/4" is all that stands between you and a job.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
It's obvious you're not a parent when...
You call your sister (mother of two) and pose the following question "What's the pony with the rainbow on its butt?"
Context: I was doing some Christmas shopping, and I needed to identify the specific My Little Pony featured on an object. She verified the color of said pony and told me its name.
Context: I was doing some Christmas shopping, and I needed to identify the specific My Little Pony featured on an object. She verified the color of said pony and told me its name.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Disconnected from reality
One of the things we often notice in our customers is their lack of connection with how the real work works. A recent example: One of our customers was fired from his temporary job because he shipped items on the wrong truck. This cost the company $1900. He couldn't believe that they fired him for this. He was even more incredulous that they did so right before Christmas. He told one of the bosses "You should have fired me after Christmas." WHAT? You made an expensive mistake as a temporary employee. One of the perks of hiring temporary employees from the company standpoint is you can get rid of them no muss, no fuss. And why on earth would they keep you on just because it's December? When you need to go, you need to go. As we say amongst the staff- our customers aren't divorced from reality. They're not even acquainted with it.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
How to lose your job in HR
This week we got some scoop on why the HR person for the building from whom we rent space was fired. One of the staff was telling us that they were working on replacing her. Being me I asked "So why did she get fired?" His response "Let me put it this way. It's easy to get fired if you don't file for 2 years." It seems nothing in that time frame had made it into employees' files. Instead she had huge stacks of paper in her office. Nice system huh? Apparently one of the big wigs found out that's why they'd been unable to find things they needed, and out she went.
Having done a ton of HR filing in my day, I know it's not glamorous. But it is necessary if you want to have an organized HR department and if you wish to remain employed yourself.
Having done a ton of HR filing in my day, I know it's not glamorous. But it is necessary if you want to have an organized HR department and if you wish to remain employed yourself.
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