Change and Complaining

If you've ever been in a position to spearhead or support major changes in your workplace, you'll have listened to a lot of complaints. We all know that change isn't easy, and we all know that change, even welcome change, often inspires comments and concerns. So how do you deal with those? How do you address these complaints?

First off, it is normal to complain about change. It's a truism out there in the business world that people hate change; I'm not convinced that it's true, but it's definitely normal to complain about it. It's also very important that you listen to the complaints.

Here's the thing. A complaint is one of the quickest ways to get feedback on your new changes- if you listen properly. Remember that the complaint is not necessarily telling you that your beloved new program or whatever is bad or wrong- the complaint is telling you about the problems other people are having with your changes. Don't take it personally, and don't think that you have to be right- if your first reaction to the complaint is to say, "yes, but..."make sure you stop yourself there! Look at the complaint again. What is it really about? Don't react as if the intention of the complainer is simply to be negative- he or she is trying to discuss an issue, and you need to take it seriously and react appropriately. Don't be defensive, and make sure you ask if there are any other issues you need to here about- this is the best time to get real, honest feedback about your changes! Once you have the lowdown on the issues, then you can try and come up with a solution, but if you're not listening, it ain't gonna happen.

I've been fortunate enough to see my current employer bring in some large scale changes in the past year. While I firmly believe that the changes are for the better, there has been a lot of resistance overall, and it's important to take that seriously. After all, when head office is implementing a total change in strategy and approach for jobs nobody there actually does, you have to expect that there will be some important messages in the feedback that you get from your staff who are working these positions. So bring it on, and encourage complaining.

The Job Hunt

I once again have to apologize for my lack of recent posts. Life's been fairly busy- for instance, outside of my usual work week, I had four interviews last week. It's been an interesting process. I have come into these interviews with a more critical eye, of course, after having learned so much about interviews and conducting my own. You can learn quite a bit based on the interviewer. I had the opportunity last week to interview with one of my targeted companies. They have an award-winning company culture, and working with the director of HR here in Calgary would be an exceptional opportunity.

Haven't heard back about that one yet. I think it would be a tremendous opportunity for both of us. I would be able to learn from one of the best about building excellent corporate cultures, and I could bring all of my considerable effort and abilities to support and build the success of the HR department and the company. I have a lot of knowledge, and a tremendous amount of eagerness to bring to the right role. I haven't found that right fit yet, and I know that it will be a long haul, because my experience is unconventional. So far I seem to be ending up as a lot of people's second choice, but as of yet, I haven't really missed out on an opportunity that I really wanted. I'm hoping that the best is yet to come, and I need to find that right fit, where I can bring all of my talent and abilities and really sink my teeth into a role.

Ultimately, I feel that the best approach for HR is to act in a customer service capacity. So that's been a focus of mine in my interviews, and I am looking for a role where I can fit in with the culture of HR in that way. There was one interview a while back where the interviewer, in explaining the format of the interview, explained what behavioral interviewing is and asked if I understood. While I was quick to assure the interviewer that I was familiar with the concept, it made me wonder what kind of candidates they've been seeing. Shouldn't anyone with any experience in HR and a moderately recent education be familiar with it?

The biggest problem that I am running into in the job hunt is in the area of experience. Some interviews consider me overqualified based primarily on my history of policy development, where others consider me underqualified because of my lack of experience in an HR department. So, I'm still looking for the right fit, overall. But I have hope that I will find the right fit for me soon.