Quote of the week

I e-mailed a former HR colleague about the HR workload management strategy I recently came across. She responded with her thoughts about it, then followed-up with the comment below which I have quoted exactly as written:

"Also, CRAZY IS NOT DEAD. IT IS ALIVE AND BREEDING!"

I have a feeling there must be some interesting stuff going on at my former employer.

A genius way to manage workflow

For the past several weeks I've been trying to confirm employment for a customer. The customer is not cooperating, so I have to contact the employer. I've tried calling and e-mailing, and no one would respond. Finally I asked someone else in my organization for help. Some research was done, and the only way that company verifies is by mail. Yep, old school USPS. I immediately knew exactly why they did this- it cuts the number of these have to do to practically none. Most places aren't going to bother trying to get info by mail. HR strategy in action! 

As Scrooge McDuck would say "Work smarter, not harder."

It's like this person knows me

A recent article on AskAManager.com focused on working with others when you don't necessarily agree with them. I'm sure you've never had to do that right? My favorite quote was this:

Task-focused people can get the job done whether they like another person or not. 

Oh yes, so this. Anyone who knows me well will tell you I am definitely a task oriented individual. I am all about the checklist. Dealing with humans when it's required to complete items on the list- not my favorite thing. One day at my previous job my team was meeting about something when I commented "I am not a team player." My boss, who'd worked with me for over 10 years at that point, seemed shocked by this. My coworker said "She is not a team player, but she can work well in a team." That's it in a nutshell. When I read the above comment in the article, it was like the author had met me.

When 1/4" is all the stands between you and employment- Update

The customer called me Monday afternoon from his truck at his new job. He started that morning.

The Different Worlds We Inhabit

Some of my friends (husband and wife) have an annual get together the day after Thanksgiving. At the end of the evening, these friends, another friend, and I were in the kitchen talking. While standing there I was struck by how different we are from the people with whom I deal at my job each day. Everyone in the room was employed, had at least some college, and is well traveled. Your friends and family tend to be like you, and I worked with a similar demographic in my last job, even though we had lots of blue collar positions.

Coming to this job has been a huge culture shock, and it’s not just me. I’ve talked to the coworkers in my office and another person who works in this building, and they feel the same way. I tell them it’s like I’m dropped off in a foreign country each morning when I come to work. For example, we had 4 people Monday who came to the office and didn’t have photo ID with them. Now, how did they most likely get here? They drove. Before working here I had never met anyone who didn’t have a high school diploma or GED. I am amazed how many people we see who don’t. Our office does wage printouts that show how much customers have earned in the last several years.  They are used for energy assistance and other various programs. I see many people who have earned little to nothing for several years. Granted, I know this is a nonrepresentative sample of the population, but I’m still amazed at how many there are. And the resumes we see. The description the staff uses most often with each other is “train wreck”. Also, many people seem to have never been taught or figured out that “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar”. It’s definitely been eye opening.

I am very fortunate that my trip to the foreign country only lasts while I’m at work. I’m extremely happy to get back in my car at the end of the day and transport myself back to my home country.