As I write this, I'm sitting at home in the middle of the afternoon, because I don't have a job anymore.
I was let go in the middle of August, and, to be honest, it was a shock. I had known for some time that I didn't fit well within the organization, and had been looking at job listings for a while, but I had planned on finding another opportunity, giving notice, and doing all the things that you're supposed to do. In the meantime, I was doing my job to the best of my abilities, had received very favourable performance reviews, and wasn't getting any negative feedback or anything.
The morning that I was let go, I had just finished payroll when my boss and the head honcho walked into my office. I immediately knew it wasn't go, just because they were coming to me instead calling me downstairs.
That was my first experience with being terminated. It was handled pretty well, I was given my paperwork and details of a severance agreement were figured out, and then I bundled up my office plants and off I went.
It's taken me a little while to getting around to writing this blog entry, I think because it takes a little time to wrap your head around things. I didn't really get a solid explanation for why- it was a "business decision,"- but I suspect it has to do with fit issues, because I certainly knew it wasn't the right place for me. I've never felt such a mixture of anxiety and relief as I did then. Anxiety because oh my God, I'm unemployed, what do I do? and relief because I knew it wasn't working well and now I didn't have to go back.
It's still a bit of a struggle to deal with the fact that, even though I know it wasn't working well and I was looking to leave, I got fired. There is a stigma attached to that, and a certain amount of shame attached to admitting it, even though I have counseled others not to feel that way under similar circumstances. And, as much as I was sympathetic to others in a similar position in the past, I have more understanding now having gone through it myself, and I think it will make me a better HR professional for it.
So right now, I'm unemployed. In the past three weeks, I have reorganized my kitchen, our storage unit, and our closet, started baking my own bread, and made three kinds of preserves, in between getting rather more serious about the job hunt. I've caught up on my reading, including my issues of HBR, and been working my way through some of Khan Academy's free courses on programming and economics. While it's been great to get organized, and I'm keeping busy with no problems, I'm also hoping to be back to work soon, in a great organization that will be a much better fit for me, so wish me luck!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Work/Life Balance
Work/Life balance is a huge deal in the modern world of HR. We talk about the importance of work/life balance and what that looks like in the modern world of always-on internet and cells phones, and worry about burnout and overtime pay, and what we should want.
Unfortunately, it's still a reality for an awful lot of the workforce that an inability to answer an email at 9:00 PM or an unwillingness to put in ten hour days in the office shows. How many people do you know, or how many workplace cultures have you seen, where putting in long hours is seen as a badge of pride, or at least good for bragging rights?
To me, there are several issues with this. The first is that working too much has a negative impact on productivity (see here if you're interested in some of the the research), and the second is that hours worked should come a distinct second to work accomplished. Ten hours of work should not be intrinsically more valued (especially if overtime is being paid out!) than eight hours of work, unless more is being accomplished in that ten hours, which, in my experience, is often not the case. A culture that focuses on results instead of on long hours is going to be focusing on productivity- that makes much more sense, and it allows your staff to go home when they're done for the day, and stay later when something needs doing, and not burn out so badly.
I believe that the reason you see this focus on hours worked is laziness- hours worked is an easy metric, compared to the work of breaking down and assessing progress and achievements, so lazy HR leads to an hours-worked-equals-dedication focus. It's an easy trap to fall into, it's reliable, but it isn't valid, because hours worked does not equal work accomplished.
What do you think? What can you do to shift this mindset in your workplace (if it's there) and do you think you need to?
Unfortunately, it's still a reality for an awful lot of the workforce that an inability to answer an email at 9:00 PM or an unwillingness to put in ten hour days in the office shows. How many people do you know, or how many workplace cultures have you seen, where putting in long hours is seen as a badge of pride, or at least good for bragging rights?
To me, there are several issues with this. The first is that working too much has a negative impact on productivity (see here if you're interested in some of the the research), and the second is that hours worked should come a distinct second to work accomplished. Ten hours of work should not be intrinsically more valued (especially if overtime is being paid out!) than eight hours of work, unless more is being accomplished in that ten hours, which, in my experience, is often not the case. A culture that focuses on results instead of on long hours is going to be focusing on productivity- that makes much more sense, and it allows your staff to go home when they're done for the day, and stay later when something needs doing, and not burn out so badly.
I believe that the reason you see this focus on hours worked is laziness- hours worked is an easy metric, compared to the work of breaking down and assessing progress and achievements, so lazy HR leads to an hours-worked-equals-dedication focus. It's an easy trap to fall into, it's reliable, but it isn't valid, because hours worked does not equal work accomplished.
What do you think? What can you do to shift this mindset in your workplace (if it's there) and do you think you need to?
Monday, July 1, 2013
Happy Canada Day from Calgary!
For those of you who are maybe a little further afield, the city I live in, Calgary, recently suffered a disaster-flooding. Calgary is located along the confluence of two rivers, the Elbow and the Bow, and they both spilled their banks just over a week ago. There have been some pretty hard hit residential areas, as well as a fair bit of downtown. I was affected among 75,000 people who were evacuated, as our downtown condo is only a couple of blocks from the river. We were told to leave on Thursday night, and watched the TV on Friday and Saturday to see the water covering block after block.
I am very lucky. We have a fourth-floor condo, so we knew even as we left that most of our stuff would be ok. We have a storage unit in the parkade, and haven't yet been able to access it to find out the bad news, but it could have been so much worse. I have a coworker who is from High River, a town south of Calgary that suffered tremendously with flooding, who has literally lost everything except the clothes on his back. We have good friends who kindly let us stay with them for a week, and we came home to everything basically intact, aside from a rank fridge full of spoiled food, and a (presumably) flooded storage unit. We are among the lucky ones, and we've been trying to give something back to those who haven't been as lucky.
It has been a tremendous experience living here through all this, and I have to say- I'm proud of my city. Calgary handled the emergency situation calmly and with strong planning, so kudos to our city council and workers- they deserve it. Calgarians immediately stepped up and brought their A games to the situation- we had more offers of places to stay than we could possibly have used, people were posting ads on kijiji to invite displaced strangers into their homes, and the city's evacuation centres were barely used. Volunteers have flooded into affected neighbourhoods, helping people to reclaim their homes. Everywhere we go, local businesses are running programs for flood relief and collecting donations- it's been incredible. So, thank you, fellow Calgarians, for showing the world what a wonderful city we have and the dedicated people living and working in it. I am proud of all of us.
Anyone looking to help can donate to the Red Cross here.
I am very lucky. We have a fourth-floor condo, so we knew even as we left that most of our stuff would be ok. We have a storage unit in the parkade, and haven't yet been able to access it to find out the bad news, but it could have been so much worse. I have a coworker who is from High River, a town south of Calgary that suffered tremendously with flooding, who has literally lost everything except the clothes on his back. We have good friends who kindly let us stay with them for a week, and we came home to everything basically intact, aside from a rank fridge full of spoiled food, and a (presumably) flooded storage unit. We are among the lucky ones, and we've been trying to give something back to those who haven't been as lucky.
It has been a tremendous experience living here through all this, and I have to say- I'm proud of my city. Calgary handled the emergency situation calmly and with strong planning, so kudos to our city council and workers- they deserve it. Calgarians immediately stepped up and brought their A games to the situation- we had more offers of places to stay than we could possibly have used, people were posting ads on kijiji to invite displaced strangers into their homes, and the city's evacuation centres were barely used. Volunteers have flooded into affected neighbourhoods, helping people to reclaim their homes. Everywhere we go, local businesses are running programs for flood relief and collecting donations- it's been incredible. So, thank you, fellow Calgarians, for showing the world what a wonderful city we have and the dedicated people living and working in it. I am proud of all of us.
Anyone looking to help can donate to the Red Cross here.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Handling Difficult Conversations
I've had a few difficult conversations this week. That's all part and parcel of life as an HR pro, and, while you do get more used to them, I don't think the tough conversations ever really get easier.
Nobody likes having the tough conversations, because we don't like making other people feel bad. No matter how important or necessary the conversation is, it's perfectly normal to look forward to an upcoming tough one with dread. It's critical, though, that you not fall into the trap of avoiding the conversation altogether. The other common trap is the one where we end up self-censoring so much that you don't actually get the intended point across.
In my experience, the best way to handle these kinds of conversations is to tackle them head on, but with some careful pre-planning. First off, take the time to go over and write down the key points of the conversation. What information is critical? Once you know what you have to say, you can plan a little about how to say it.
Don't approach the conversation in a critical manner- don't be accusatory-don't rush right into the meat of the issue. While you do want to be direct and upfront about the issues, if you approach things too directly, you dramatically increase the chances of the other party in the conversation becoming very defensive. And defensiveness doesn't listen well. There's no guaranteed way to avoid defensiveness, but approaching the topic of the conversation without placing blame can work well. So, instead of saying, "we need to talk about your issues with the dress code," you could say something like, "the company dress code is an important factor in the success of our business. I know you've signed our dress code policy, so we need to talk about why that isn't working for you."
Make sure that you listen to what the other party has to say. Try to keep an open and relaxed body posture, and bust out your active listening skills- maintain eye contact, ensure you understand by repeating key components back, and ask for clarification if you're not sure. Be sympathetic- but don't get sidetracked. Don't let other issues get brought into it- "but Lisa wears jeans when it isn't Friday!"- and make it clear that the purpose of the meeting is to resolve this one issue.
It's also very important to establish a timeline and to follow up. "I understand that you may need a little time to get yourself organized, so I expect to see you appropriately dressed by Monday." If it is a disciplinary situation rather than simple coaching, too, you need to make sure to document everything, and lay out the problem behaviour, your expectations, a timeline for improvement, and the consequences if the timeline isn't met.
When you have tough conversations, what do you find works the best?
Nobody likes having the tough conversations, because we don't like making other people feel bad. No matter how important or necessary the conversation is, it's perfectly normal to look forward to an upcoming tough one with dread. It's critical, though, that you not fall into the trap of avoiding the conversation altogether. The other common trap is the one where we end up self-censoring so much that you don't actually get the intended point across.
In my experience, the best way to handle these kinds of conversations is to tackle them head on, but with some careful pre-planning. First off, take the time to go over and write down the key points of the conversation. What information is critical? Once you know what you have to say, you can plan a little about how to say it.
Don't approach the conversation in a critical manner- don't be accusatory-don't rush right into the meat of the issue. While you do want to be direct and upfront about the issues, if you approach things too directly, you dramatically increase the chances of the other party in the conversation becoming very defensive. And defensiveness doesn't listen well. There's no guaranteed way to avoid defensiveness, but approaching the topic of the conversation without placing blame can work well. So, instead of saying, "we need to talk about your issues with the dress code," you could say something like, "the company dress code is an important factor in the success of our business. I know you've signed our dress code policy, so we need to talk about why that isn't working for you."
Make sure that you listen to what the other party has to say. Try to keep an open and relaxed body posture, and bust out your active listening skills- maintain eye contact, ensure you understand by repeating key components back, and ask for clarification if you're not sure. Be sympathetic- but don't get sidetracked. Don't let other issues get brought into it- "but Lisa wears jeans when it isn't Friday!"- and make it clear that the purpose of the meeting is to resolve this one issue.
It's also very important to establish a timeline and to follow up. "I understand that you may need a little time to get yourself organized, so I expect to see you appropriately dressed by Monday." If it is a disciplinary situation rather than simple coaching, too, you need to make sure to document everything, and lay out the problem behaviour, your expectations, a timeline for improvement, and the consequences if the timeline isn't met.
When you have tough conversations, what do you find works the best?
Friday, March 29, 2013
HR Superhero
In my opinion, the mark of a true geek is signified by a deep interest in something that most people find less than totally enthralling. For instance, my husband can expound for hours upon the history of the Marvel universe and the interconnected characters in it, which I mainly find useful as a late-night cure for insomnia. Fortunately, we have the kind of relationship that allows him to think it's funny when I start to drool on his chest mid-conversation.
By that definition, I am a true HR geek. I find reading about employee engagement best practices as interesting as I do browsing Facebook, and find that a lot of my morning routine involves reading HR-related links on my twitter feed with my morning coffee. I'm sure my hubby finds my comments on these articles every bit as exciting as I find hearing about the connections between Dr. Strange and Peter Parker. Or something. I stopped paying attention.
But when I found myself wanting to write a blog post about the implications of privacy legislation and cameras in the workplace, I did start to wonder how to keep that accessible. I know it would interest me to read it, but I do generally try and keep this blog at least moderately interesting for those whose interest in HR is, shall we say, a little more limited than my own.
I really am passionate about what I do, and I don't apologize for that. Human Resources is one of the most overlooked administrative functions in any business. HR can make or break you, and for many business, it is almost an afterthought. And that particular refrain is almost worn out, you hear it so much in the world of HR, but that doesn't make it any less true- so what can we HR geeks do about that? Well, I doubt I can make some of the things that I find interesting to be that much more interesting for everyone else- but I can practice my craft in a way that puts the focus on strategic HR. I can show senior management why changing our orientation program makes a difference, and I can show them what our turnover rate costs. I can run the numbers that affect the bottom line, and in my experience, that's all it takes to have people sit up and pay attention.
That's what HR professionals need to focus on- generate the buy in by showing the bottom line. I know it isn't always easy to figure out the numbers, but if HR wants to be taken seriously, and doesn't want to be what my CFO referred to as the "soft and fuzzy" side, that's what it takes. You want a seat at the strategy table, you better be able to show you have what it takes to belong there- and that's the way to show it. Be a champion for your cause, paint a big sign on your chest. Be an HR superhero.
By that definition, I am a true HR geek. I find reading about employee engagement best practices as interesting as I do browsing Facebook, and find that a lot of my morning routine involves reading HR-related links on my twitter feed with my morning coffee. I'm sure my hubby finds my comments on these articles every bit as exciting as I find hearing about the connections between Dr. Strange and Peter Parker. Or something. I stopped paying attention.
But when I found myself wanting to write a blog post about the implications of privacy legislation and cameras in the workplace, I did start to wonder how to keep that accessible. I know it would interest me to read it, but I do generally try and keep this blog at least moderately interesting for those whose interest in HR is, shall we say, a little more limited than my own.
I really am passionate about what I do, and I don't apologize for that. Human Resources is one of the most overlooked administrative functions in any business. HR can make or break you, and for many business, it is almost an afterthought. And that particular refrain is almost worn out, you hear it so much in the world of HR, but that doesn't make it any less true- so what can we HR geeks do about that? Well, I doubt I can make some of the things that I find interesting to be that much more interesting for everyone else- but I can practice my craft in a way that puts the focus on strategic HR. I can show senior management why changing our orientation program makes a difference, and I can show them what our turnover rate costs. I can run the numbers that affect the bottom line, and in my experience, that's all it takes to have people sit up and pay attention.
That's what HR professionals need to focus on- generate the buy in by showing the bottom line. I know it isn't always easy to figure out the numbers, but if HR wants to be taken seriously, and doesn't want to be what my CFO referred to as the "soft and fuzzy" side, that's what it takes. You want a seat at the strategy table, you better be able to show you have what it takes to belong there- and that's the way to show it. Be a champion for your cause, paint a big sign on your chest. Be an HR superhero.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Do what you love and love what you do...
Today, I realized once again that I really do love what I do.
You see, I got a resume in today for someone applying for a logistics position, and I couldn't figure out why. It had a well written cover letter talking about the applicant's desire to switch careers. From HR. And all I could think was, why?
Not that there's anything wrong with wanting to switch careers. It can be a tough road, but there's nothing wrong with trying something different. It's just that my first reaction was to wonder why anyone would want to leave HR.
The funny thing is, I hadn't really been having a great day. I'm trying to untangle a couple of thorny issues, and manage a workload that is on the heavy side, to say the least. But all things considered, even on a bad day, I can't imagine not doing what I do.
Do you love what you do?
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The Sitch
I have to apologize.
It has been way too long since I last posted. Life at work has been (and continues to be, with no signs of changing anytime soon) incredibly hectic. And anything outside of my normal workweek pretty much didn't happen the entire month of December because I managed to pick up whatever this godawful flu going around is, and was sick as a dog for pretty much the whole month. Unfortunately, that meant that my poor blog got very badly neglected.
So, the last time I blogged about anything, I was about two weeks into the new job. I'm now just about three months in, and so far I have overseen the termination of nearly a dozen people and the hiring of about that many again, which is fairly impressive considering we have 81 people on payroll. That number should be about 100 if we want to reach full staffing, but as this province is currently leading the way in Canada with a 4.1 unemployment rate, that is proving very challenging. I've been overseeing a recruitment campaign that covers 2/3 of the continent, have worked with the CFO to oversee a wage review, new bonus program, new benefits provider and health spending accounts, and implemented new employment contracts for everyone. Not to mention a new performance management system, metrics and individual performance plans. All of which, as you might imagine, has left me extremely busy, but which should get us into a better position to attract staff going forwards. I hope anyway, because sometime in the next six months or so, I need to find enough tradespeople to staff our new facility, which should be up and running by July, and which will increase the size of the organization by about 1/3. And since we compete with the oil and gas industry for our people, that's going to be very complicated indeed, because, as a small organization, we absolutely cannot match pay or benefits, so it's mostly going to have to be by focusing on the lifestyle benefits and some of the cool things (like our company wellness program) that larger organizations don't necessarily have the flexibility to offer.
And I love it. I love all of it. It's been incredibly satisfying to be digging into the guts of things and then changing and rebuilding it all. It has been more work than I thought it would be, and more work than the CFO thought there would be, as I have discovered that there were significant issues in the HR department that no one had noticed that need rectifying, but I can't wait to see where we end up in a year! It's looking increasingly like we may head abroad to try and source some international talent for our new facility, which should be incredibly interesting and a new challenge for me, as I have no prior experience in international recruitment.
I will try to keep you all posted just a wee bit more regularly than I have been. It's a rollercoaster, but I am so far enjoying the ride!
Of course, if there's anyone out there dealing with similar challenges or experienced in these kinds of issues, hit me up! I'd love to hear from you.
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