People Platform Management

Auditor = Law Breaker = WOMBAT

2012-01-18T15:01:00.001-05:00

Ghost Writer sounds off on a new trend and its stupidity.

So there's this new trend in industry called "Social Responsibility" or "Ethical Trading" or any other form of buzzword bingo for "covering corporate ass against any hint of bad sourcing practices". It's a set of practices intended to ensure laborers in factories are properly paid, trained, compensated and protected against workplace hazards. And the hilarious assumption in this is that only factory workers can be poorly treated, erroneously paid and ill-trained, but alas, that's a blog of another sort altogether. Not to mention the assumption that there aren't a host of government agencies already supposedly doing just that thing. Yet another blog for another day.

Along with a set of practices comes the inevitable audit, and even worse the Auditor. This person is ostensibly, to use a Marti word even though I'm sober blogging, an expert at both the standard and applicable local laws. Well, not the case.

For the past two days I have heard an auditor make sexist statements. Great example -- "What if a lady needed to access this fire extinguisher? It's hung to high for her." Oh, yes. He did say that. I'm not a tall Ghost, and I could have done that extinguisher in a heart beat. Women don't have the market cornered on being vertically challenged last I checked. Further, mounting it lower could turn it into a different hazard, so pick your poison sexist pig.

Then this auditor had to do employee interviews to validate management isn't evil. They do this interview from an unpublished list of questions, and apparently with no regard to labor law. In the country I worked in this week, asking someone's date of birth or age violates the worker's civil rights. This expert did a grand job violating civil rights all over the place trying to determine if our very senior workforce contained any child laborers. When we found out about the issue, he was utterly unapologetic. "How else am I supposed to know if you have child laborers if I don't know someone's age or date of birth?"

So my very law-abiding company submits to this audit at a customer's behest to validate we treat our employees with dignity and in compliance with appropriate rules, standards and guidelines to have the Auditor act in a manner violating all of those things.

Welcome to being Socially Responsible. I hope your audit goes better than mine. At least I know my company's practices are better than the Auditor's.

Winter Blahs

2012-01-17T21:19:00.003-05:00

The indescribable absence of interest in the stuff I normally dig into. It is the most uncomfortable feeling, when your head isn't in the game. I can power through a lot, but I fear what happens when my edge has the same consistency as Twinkie. The cream filling is nice, however, not a lot moves forward propelled by sponge cake. Oddly, things I normally avoid have become the height of interest. I painted sets of Christmas ornaments to give as gifts for Christmas. I baked chocolate cupcakes at 9:30 at night, so I could have my special low calorie treat. I'm looking for the magic bullet to drag me out of these duldrums. I made fingerless mittens and made my own flap pattern to cover the fingers. I made a matching head band ear warmer. Maybe the general feeling of futility isn't about a smooshy feeling in my head. It might be related to actual w-o-r-k, as opposed to fun stuff. I can't even find any more pithy reparte' to complete this blog. Please don't waste time on any psychological assessments. This is not SAD or some depression thing. It's just life and time to find some more variety to keep it spicy. I'll keep you posted.

Recess Appointments revisited

2012-01-08T20:09:00.001-05:00

Well, so much for checks and balances. Once again our leader "chickens out" on creating unity and working out approvals for his appointees. Instead, he waits for everyone to leave and puts more people on our payroll. Want to know his reason for doing it? The Republicans wouldn't approve the appointee, and getting them on his side was just too hard. Like the "Barbie Doll" and math. Again, if an executive in a major corporation did this repeatedly, as America's chief executive has done, the board would have him removed. His lack of experience in politics and business becomes increasingly evident every day, as evidenced in his ineptitude in bringing both sides together to actually decide something within the usual process. We have hired a rookie idealist to run a super power. When each of you has time, look up the new law that overrides habeas corpus that our chief executive officer signed recently. He is bypassing our directly elected representatives and then fails to protect us from them, when the need arises. Remember, our President is not directly elected by us, the President is chosen by the electoral college. Does this guy realize he won't always be Pres and these rules will apply to him? We are already on the verge of falling into protectionism on a scale not seen since the 30's and the friends we have need us to be the grown ups in the group. While you are blaming the Republicans for not hiring your appointees, please remember that the burden for their success or failure falls squarely and exclusively on your shoulders. These folks are all your fault and no amount of verbal dodging will save you from it. More effort and persuasion up front would have spread out that burden amongst our legislators, when the appointee was approved. Oh well, they are ours now, because we almost forgot that all of us taxpayers (not the voters that don't pay their share) are the ones bank rolling these folks. I guess it is easiest to spend someone else's money, so we need to get much more careful who we elect!!!!!

2012-01-03T21:46:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year I pulled out my old journals to work on a project and realized that I never finish using those books before moving on to the next one. The only journal I've filled is packed with notes from business books that I have skimmed. In those partial tomes of emotional rubbish, it is apparent that for many years I have been seeking peace. Looking for ways to get my head straight and begin the new year enthusiastically on board with the goals and expectations of the keepers of my terms of endenture. Those journals cover at least 4 employers, so this is not a reflection on my keepers. I should pity them for having to manage me. We all have a beast inside our heads harboring maverick thoughts and periodically enacting them. One of my sisters calls that the inner B$#*&. Either way, mine is particularly powerful and will drag it's feet behind my personal bicycle requiring a lot of effort to keep up with the day-to-day. It really hates being told what to do and prefers to be allowed to operate without supervision. Good luck being the boss of that thing, because I'm not. If you have stuck with me so far, you are wondering where we are going on this tangent. It is obvious that trying to reset myself every year to play some else's tune has been the error. This year, I'm looking for a way to sing slightly off key and mess up the tempo my own way. I have no resolutions, because being resolved seems very stressful. Maybe I'll go back and use up those partial journals. There will be plenty of ways to improvise, so why bother putting those obstacles/goals in the way. If you are wondering whether or not I bothered to reflect on last year, be assured that I did. That is a colossal mess for another time.

Never Blog Drunk

2011-12-20T18:17:00.001-05:00

Ostensibly, one really couldn't blog totally drunk, because you would be passed out somewhere. Part way to drunk, I use words like ostensibly. I'm enjoying an unusual Tuesday off work, due to the weekends that I have to work for the joy of retail. One day off isn't enough and I have become jealous for those in European countries where long days and longer weeks are illegal. My "day off" included doing laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, running errands, catching up Christmas cards and looking for stuff to put in Taz's shadow box. Oh, I forgot to tell you that one of my cats, who we had with us for 15 years, died on Sunday night. Oh yeah, last night while I was getting part way to drunk on the other half of tonight's bottle of wine, I printed about 250 pictures to the local drug store to give myself yet more to do today. The eventual result... pictures are on the table, shadow box still wrapped, can't find Taz's tags, and determined that getting up at 6am on your day off sucks! Why am I blogging under the influence, because I missed you guys. Watching my Siberian puppy play soccer with a tennis ball, doesn't compare with an impromptu poll on the impact of work on holiday cheer. How are you overcoming the demands of your job to find holiday cheer? Please understand, the first vote (mine) is for wine by the bottle. Merry Christmas!

Employee Impersonator

2011-12-15T09:26:00.001-05:00

Ghost Writer takes up where Marti left off Pleasing Yourself and Tolerance.

Comedienne Joan Rivers is credited with saying, "Being a woman is like being a female impersonator." I agree. Every woman who vaguely complies with what's considered normal here in the Western World wakes up everyday, showers, dresses, does her hair and make-up to look like a woman -- not the person she is. Ok, but that's not what this blog is about, but it's close.

Every day each person who shows up at the front door of a company impersonates an employee. Some do better impersonations than others -- that person is called 'High Performer'. Some are less good at the disguise. People in that category are eventually called 'Low Hanging Fruit' or 'Dead Wood' or 'Under Performers' or any of the other hundred euphemisms for 'Redundant Headcount'. Then there are others who don't seem to impersonate at all. People in this group fall into three categories. The person who seems not to be impersonating and delivers results is called 'Natural Talent'. If the person delivers results but the company wishes impersonation was part of the repertoire is labeled 'Talented with Issues'. If the person doesn't deliver and leaves the company wishing for impersonation, well, that goes back to the fruit and wood scenario.

Having been labeled 'Talented with Issues', I've seen what companies do to improve impersonation skills. 'Leadership Training' and 'Personal Coaching' are the best of what I call 'Freak Tweaking'. I'm a freak. I'm not like everyone else, but I need to learn to impersonate better, so off for a tweak (or two or ten) I went. At the end of a long career, ultimately, I was just too big of freak for them. So really? Is there a point in sending 'Talented with Issues' out for rehab? I guess that's a blog for another day.

What drives me crazy is that I work my buns off everyday to do the right thing -- for the business, the customers, and the people who serve them. So sometimes, I'm 'High Performer', but when I'm in a hurry and just want to cut to the chase and get something done, I become "Talented with Issues". And then I torture myself, because I know I can be better than that. I was just trying to call it done, or some cases, call it like it is instead of tapdancing around it.

Sadly, what the business remembers out of 365 days of performance is the one time (or half a dozen times) my impersonator mask fell out of place. And this becomes my development opportunity, or as a colleague trying to put together peer development for me said, "You're my project for the next year. I want everyone to see you as I see you." Is this my next round of tweaking? And doesn't the tweaker have flaws of his own?

So as I close this post with a quote from Debbie Wunsch. "One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that's trying to make you like everyone else." So do I accept the challenge? Or just reinvest in my good employee impersonation kit?

Real Tolerance - irreverent and unapologetic cont'd

2011-11-27T14:09:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the holiday season. Pick your holiday, in a given year it could include ramadan, hanukah, christmas,and other holiday activities accompanied by various forms of self-imposed deprivation or alcohol and gluttony. My holiday is Christmas. I was raised in the basic christian tradition, no denominations, no priests, just people meeting to study and share faith. We were raised to understand other belief systems, so we can be clear why we believe what we do. However, when I say "Merry Christmas" to someone that is not a christian, I get corrected or called insensitive. I don't berate them for saying Happy Hanukah or giving me a traditional greeting of any other faith. When did religious tolerance become enforced neutrality? Accepting differences means letting them exist instead of covering them up and making everything look the same. I guess we must have quit reading literature in school, so the lessons of 1984 are becoming predictive of expected behavior in a "polite society". Orwell put his spin on what he saw as the bland, whitewashing of human ability and individuality by prevailing societal norms. The erosion of our unique beings into lock step automatons signals the final stagnation of innovation and growth in the human condition. Seems dramatic for a rant on being able to say Merry Christmas, right. Well, while you are going through all of the phrases, jokes, expressions and writings that polite society have kindly eradicated on the behalf of those that are different, here's my take. Do not compromise on what you believe, but respect what others believe. The first time we underestimate the importance of a greeting or celebration to someone's belief system, we will regret the result. Whether we degrade our differences or become complacent to the machinations of others, we will regret the efforts to make everyone the same. Welcome to my Christmas Season, please blog back your thoughts on your season, whatever it may be.

Pleasing Yourself

2011-11-11T07:11:00.003-05:00

Forgive me Dad for not remembering this clearly. I believe Jim Croce sang, "I've learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone, you've got to, got to please yourself." In my life, I clearly remember being compared to others all of the time. Sadly, this form of motivation actually worked in the contrived reality of our lives. It lead to a lot of negative motivators like guilt and inadequacy that translate to anger/fight responses. We love fighters. Those hard workers that battle adversity and find a way to make it work. The fighters always win in the movies, but we aren't Rocky. We want to be the best us as defined by the current group we consent to be measured against. The book The Four Agreements has resonated with me for years. It speaks about our integrity and how things that make us feel bad are contrary to our integrity. I believe that we can adapt to any environment, when we are true to that integrity. The tough part is overcoming 40 years of training in the ugly business of being something we aren't and living with the backlash or our emotional responses. These foreign reactions prescribed by others lead to violations of our internal integrity, which result on counterproductive emotional responses. If anyone thinks this is a tricky way to talk about people I don't like or whine about my work problems, read the past posts. I don't write about individuals at work in my blog; I write about politicians and public figures sometimes. Now, back to the topic, internal integrity. What one says or does is about that person as an individual. Our thoughts and feelings are about us. I blog because my thoughts or feelings may resonate with others. If my advice helps by emboldening or calming another, then this blog has been therapeutic for more than just me. It is tremendously difficult to absorbe the concept that other people's behavior is about them and not you. When a customer tells you aren't worth anything because you are the wrong skin color and your job is to walk away, it takes a lot not to be hurt. Other's perspectives, experience, moods, ego and other personal motivators govern their action and reflect in their responses and assessments of you. If you choose to fully buy into their perspective, please remember caveat emptor, "let the buyer beware"!

Generation Z

2011-11-01T22:23:00.001-04:00

My husband and I were talking about a TV show. I made a comment on Generation Y. The Mom on the show was getting ready for a date and her daughter wanted his name to look him up. This is typical Y connectivity. He said, "It is better than Generation Z, they sleep through life and blame us for why it's so lame." In typical HR fashion, I told him that they are called Millenials. Funny thing is that I didn't argue with the description. What are your thoughts on the zzzzzzzz's?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

No Laughing Matter

2011-10-19T09:40:00.001-04:00

This just arrived in the Ghost Writer's Inbox.

"GW, I just got the weirdest feedback at work. A peer told me 'every' leader in the business talks about how great I am at my job in every area and the only negative thing they have to say about me is my laugh - how it's too loud and sometimes ill-timed. Further, he intimated it's hurting my career. Then he continued on to tell me how my new boss questions whether I should be on the team and how he stood up for me. What do I do with this? You know if I quit laughing at work, I'll get the feedback that I'm humorless and unhappy next year. Laughless in Las Plantos"

Wow, Laughless! That's tough feedback. Tough for the person who gave it to you, and tough for you to hear, I'm sure. For once in my life, I'm speechless (and laughless). I have no idea how to counsel you. I agree with your assessment that stopping laughing altogether is an overcorrection and will lead to its own consequences. However, this feedback clearly needs some type of action on your part.

The outraged part of me says, "Go to HR and file a claim that there are people adverse to diversity in the workplace. This is clearly an attack on you as a person that has nothing to do with real job performance." Sadly, though, that has its own consequences, especially if you are a minority in your workplace as your charge will be investigated. While legally they can't fire you for the claim, this could make your already uncomfortable (based on this feedback) workplace even more so, as well as make people overtly sensitive about what they say in front of you which can hurt informal networking critical for workplace success.

The saddened part of me, because I do love a good laugh, says, "Tone it down a notch. Raise your self-awareness about this. Take it as a study in workplace humor." That sounds pathetic, but at least it makes it your choice rather than being a victim in this scenario. However, many would tell you a laugh is an autonomic response of the body. Controlling it is like attempting to control a sneeze. You can do it, but it may be painful, artificial, and inconsistent.

The seriously outraged part of me says, "QUIT! Screw them. If you're so damn good at your job, as the peer asserted, they'll miss you when you're gone, and the exit interview data could lead to an interesting set of changes for the company." We all know, though, that the grass is rarely greener on the other side. The next company will find something to pick at about you. That's the nature of human-filled workplaces. If you like what you do and, in general, where you do it, then take this as the sign it's work and not play for you.

This was a tough piece of mail from the Inbox. If any of the HR pros out there in blog-land have something, I'm sure Laughless would love to hear it.

"Suck"cession Planning

2011-10-16T21:13:00.001-04:00

While this is not the current state of affairs in my world, this is a scenario from a past life.
In the world of People Management, there are times when you get the gift of a challenged team. You exert the effort to be strategic and plan out how you will address the so-called talent in your space. As the executive team works through the ranking, 9-box, quadrant, or other succession planning system, it dawns on all of you that marginally average defines your facility leaders. Now what? You aren't even sure you have someone to train new people, and you are sure you will need new people. Time to revisit the original assessments with a view toward identifying the managers that have enthusiasm and potential to be more and the energy sucking downers that influence their co workers to engage in poo-like performance. The positive and negative leaders in the business need to be clearly known, so you can leverage the positive and neutralize the rest by persuasion or documentation. It is tough to identify and worse to have your boss remind you that your talent pool isn't deep enough to clean your own feet. This won't be a quick fix , so buckle in and hold onto the wheel. You get to steer this shaky mess until the talent evens out.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Exhaustion

2011-10-03T22:14:00.002-04:00

Just when I think I am clear on the definition of exhaustion, I discover that I am capable of yet more sleep deprivation and poor personal habits. It is truly stunning what I will do for things that aren't very satisfying at the end of the day. It is a very hard thing to realize that we have made the fatal error of staking even a portion of our self worth on our career. Business is a merciless master with no compassion or empathy. It is time to seek out some other activities that offset the emptiness from

Reality Bites

2011-09-26T21:40:00.003-04:00

Thanks to whoever came up with that bit of wisdom. Today we were walking ArtPrize which is an awesome showing of community spirit here in Grand Rapids, MI put on by one of our favorite sons. As I read the explanations of the different pieces of art, it occurred to me that we spend a lot of time attaching meaning to what we do. At the point that man decided he was more than another animal, the search for existential meaning began. Music was more than a means to convey information, art more than a way to describe history or present plans. We wanted to present our soul and be loved for it. People bare parts of their inner feelings looking for a generally self absorbed population to give them adulation. It made me think. What would happen, if I told everyone that my reason for art is that it makes me happy. Why do I write this blog? I can. Why do I knit? Sense of accomplishment; lord knows my work won't give me that feeling. My personal pride in making a vintage sock monkey from scrap comes from proving that we can still conserve and make great stuff. In a wasteful world, I like proving people wrong. Also known as, self-satisfaction. So why did I call this reality bites? I love those crazy, sensitive artsy folks and in the end they are not likely to find the mass admiration they seek. That bites. Keep doing what you do because you love it.

Full of .... Ideas

2011-09-17T11:03:00.000-04:00

Do you have tons of ideas? I have wondered what would happen if you carbonated chocolate milk or how much I can make teaching cats to type. Maybe I could join Congress or become our Executive in Chief, they seem to be graded on their ideas, since we can't come up with enough results to grade. By the way, how is it that they think it is okay to pitch an under developed concept to an impressionable crowd without reducing our highest offices to the same level as Billy Mays (May he rest in peace). That's BS! As much as we pay them, they should produce a well thought out and functional process that is ready for the market and able to compete. Let's face it, most of these folks have never had to write a business plan just to get funded. Maybe we need a special class for all of Congress and the Executive branch on writing business plans and proposals designed to earn funding. If your local loan officer won't approve it, don't get up on TV and hock it like the Sham Wow. I guess it has been so long since the American people have seen a 'snake oil' salesmen or a carnival sideshow where they tie antlers on a bunny that we have forgotten what hucksters look like. I am imploring our leaders to put the heart of an entrepreneur into creating a work of art they would stake their personal fortune on when they legislate. In the same breath I am begging the citizenry to scrutinize that same legislation like a scrupulous and diligent loan officer protecting the assets and success of the American enterprise.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Why Attacking Capitalism Didn't Work

2011-09-11T19:42:00.001-04:00

We often hear that from the world's view the USA is a bunch of lazy, rich capitalists that only love their stuff. They have some points based on our personal debt choices and our far from conservative economic behaviors. However, 9-11-01 should have taught a few lessons to everyone else. We may be disfunctional, but we are a family. Burning down what they felt were symbols of our "destructive" capitalism only pissed us off and we focused on the true symbols of our culture. Freedom, Liberty, and Humanity. They gave us a new piece of clear ground to create another monument to these values that day. What the French realized when they sent us the Neoclassical beauty named LIberty Enlightening the World is a lesson our enemies would be wise to learn. Our Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and stands as the real symbol of us. We've had Civil War, severe economic depression, international war, peace and prosperity. The 50 children of this great republic wrestle, rangle and talk smack, but we won't let anyone bully our brothers and sisters. Capitalism is simply an expression of the significance of our Liberty. Certainly, if the USA was about Capitalism, we would have rebuilt the twin towers in nostalgic detail in tribute to our greatness. Instead, we made a stand on that rubble and cleared the way for a reminder that they missed the boat on what makes us who we are. The fine citizens of the USA will never understand why anyone would purposely murder thousands of non-combatants to make a point. By virtue of those choices, they have only caused the eyes of the eagle to focus on them. I am a patriot, because I believe in defending the country envisioned in 1776 and nobly defended for 245 years. Like the Bible, our Constitution and Bill of Rights are just as applicable today as the day they were written. We must continue to defend them from enemies both foreign and domestic.

It's Definitely NOT Free - A Labor Day Tribute

2011-09-05T16:32:00.003-04:00

Hi folks, Ghost Writer has had plenty of time to work up some angst around circulating through the "general" public. In turn, I am celebrating Labor Day with my tribute to those of us that pay taxes. If you work but get all of your tax money back at the end of the year, thank you for contributing to FICA and taking a shot at being a productive member of society. If you work and get very little of your tax money back ever, this is our time to comisserate. I was watching a series of commercials about "Free" services including immunizations, health care, food, and housing. The Accountant on my couch clearly indicated that they aren't free. Now I know the participants don't pay, but all us do. Nothing is ever truly free, but I posit that something can be considered free when it is given freely out of a sense of charity with no expectation of a return. When we pay taxes we are compelled to do so. We also expect a return for the compulsory investment, whether it is a standing army to protect us or government involvement in managing foreign relationships. In the end, our money was not given freely and it feels very wrong to see dollars used for a growing portion of the population that does not contribute,as opposed to promoting the common defense and financial security of this union. "We the people" implies that all of us are putting something into the program. We are a union of states, so this great republic can use it's collective bargaining power for the benefit of the constituent parts. Instead our financial contributions, taken from the fruits of our labor, find their way to the support of governments that cannot clearly be linked to a trade or security advantage equal to the combined power of the 50 members of this great experiment. As I celebrate Labor Day and think of the loyal civil servants we support in the form of our standing army and foreign services teams, I applaud the sacrifice of people working hard, in dangerouse places, far from home for United States. Any distate I have for how our money is used belongs on the shoulders of our legislators. The representatives of the people responsible of the "executive" functions of the business of the U.S.A. Again, I ask that we start treating these folks like the executives of any free enterprise business in the country that has championed free enterprise more than any other. If the executives are botching the work, get a chief to align the team and then play corporate politics in the board room. We have done ourselves a tremendous disservice by playing corporate politics in the media with our CEO leading the charge to drive his agenda. I'm not saying that these guys leave us out of the loop; I'm saying don't air the mechanics of our decisions to our trade partners. The difference lies in ensuring the we know there is a disagreement with simple language like "we are not coming to an agreement" instead of saying that the opposition will cause the country to be imminently bankrupt, in spite of our tax paying labor, and the Chief Executive is powerless because of the mean legislators from the opposing party. Our leader identified himself as impotent to the whims of our executives and painted the executives as immovable blocks to the prosperity we want without any understanding if it is the agenda we want. Today, Detroit, one of the hardest hit and slowest growing bastions of labor lost, received an earful of promises that ring hollow. In a city with declining population therefore declining government support (not free)and a meager but growing list of improvements driven by the businesses that told the government to "pound sand" instead of taking stimulus the last thing we need is promises to become what we were. As a country of progress built on the hard work of our people, the way we were is not the way ahead. Our land still holds huge resources, among them a great and varied people, so let's get aligned with the moving target of industry and service and go back to kicking everyone else's butt. This is a celebration of what all of us working people from the entry level production worker to the company President contribute as members of the labor force. Go labor!

When Did We Get So Rude?

2011-09-01T06:20:00.001-04:00

Ghost Writer goes off on the loss of common courtesy in the average airline speech.

So as a fixer of things, I fly often, sometimes twelve planes a week, and usually on a regional aircraft. I don't talk over the flight attendant during the announcements I've heard hundreds of times. Inevitably, in spite of the flight attendants plea for attention, people are yapping. The louder the announcement. The louder the people.
I want to shout, "SHUT-UP! You're being rude. Didn't your mother teach you better? (And my mom's favorite) Were you raised in a barn?" When did we lose this common courtesy? And is it a symptom of the erosion of civility throughout our society?
So please, be quiet during the announcements, folks. Make some eye contact with that potentially bored flight attendant, or count the seats to the exit behind you - it might save your life. And really, you're snuggled up like a sardine next to that person for the next 60-180 minutes. Whatever you were talking about before the announcements will get said. You've got plenty of time.
My next installment - When Did We Get So Stupid? The airline speech as a sign of an illiterate America rising.

Polite Dismissals

2011-08-23T14:16:00.001-04:00

Ghost Writer continues to haunt Marti's blog as she returns tan and happy to a busy, big box retail world.

Yet again, another underperforming colleague receives the polite dismissal under the cloak of job elimination. Having been down that road, I understand why companies do it. It precludes the liability associated with dismissal for cause. However, it also allows the organization, and specifically the person's boss(es) off on accountable management. It's one thing if the role really no longer has a place in the organization. It's quite another if everyone knew the person wasn't performing, and the company just handed over a whopping severance package to avoid being accountable with the person.

Or is it?

If everyone knows the person was underperforming, then everyone would know the job elimination is a sham. Right?

Maybe for me, it's a sense of justice and process. If I want to terminate an employee, I have to do my homework, document the performance, document my actions, and execute the process. If a middle manager or executive needs terminated, the job is just eliminated. At least until the company changes its mind again about that role, or a year expires, whichever can be defended should the former employee find out the job has been reinstated.

What are we teaching our HR Leaders when we hand out polite dismissals to people? That certain people aren't worth due process? That certain people aren't doing a bad-enough job to be fired for cause, but aren't good enough to stay? Would we potentially be better off sending a clear signal?

I think my HR Manager friends would tell me the law doesn't allow us to communicate the truth. Privacy. Dignity. Liability. All those ity-bitty things. So instead, we're left with a workforce who rumors a truth and shakes their head at polite dismissals.

Appearances

2011-08-17T13:45:00.001-04:00

Ghost Writer discusses compliance while the only compliance Marti's doing is alignment with a beach chair.

My dear friend, N, told me the story of she and her high school aged son discussing his homework. Her son said, "Mom, you can only make it look like I'm doing my homework. You can't make me do my homework." N replied, "You're right, but as long as you live in this house, we're going to keep up appearances, if nothing else."

Every Fixer-of--Broken-Things and HR Manager knows my friend's feeling of resigned acceptance of the fact we can only make people look like they are complying withe the process. As Marti would say, "We can put air freshener cones around it and put it on a pretty plate, but a turd is still a turd." Appearance of a process matters. When I document a new process, many people say how great it is and thank me for the hard work. However, consistent execution of the process when no one is looking would be the greatest thanks I could get.

Today, on one front, I got just that. An employee who is busy and could easily skip corners without anyone knowing until it's way too late was faithful to the process. This saved me a lot of points on an important process review and gave the process' appearance real substance.

Thank an HR Manager or Fixer-of-Broken-Things today -- do the process as designed, faithfully. And for bonus points, suggest a substantive improvement based on your informed use. We love that stuff!

ICEy Labor Situation

2011-08-15T06:17:00.001-04:00

Ghost Writer remains your standard bearer while Marti continues her tequila tourist adventures. In an attempt to provide you the Marti experience, I read her favorite paper and found a thought-provoking article.

In the Wall Street Journal is an article about ICE. For those of you not familiar with ICE, it is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement component of Homeland Security, not the status of Marti's drink. Under the Obama Administration, ICE audits employer records for evidence of illegal laborers in the work force. If illegals are found, ICE fines the company as opposed to the Bush Administration's practice of employer fines and deportation for the laborer.

The article says, "But it has become increasingly clear that the policy is pushing undocumented workers deeper underground, delivering them to the hands of unscrupulous employers, depressing wages and depriving federal, state and local coffers of taxes, according to unions, companies and immigrant advocates." Is this another Easter Bunny government program? We're being "nice" and not deporting, but we're condoning a problem, creating a problem, and failing to address the root cause.

This article left me feeling conflicted. One, there is the very real human pain of those doing real work and earning real money until an audit removes them from those jobs and leaves them looking even further on the periphery for work. However, those people are here illegally. They are breaking the law and should be sent back to wherever they came from without a second thought. Yet, I do a lot of work in Mexico. I know I wouldn't want to live there, and to make a gross understatement, it's a bad place. Why else would people fight so hard to be here and stay here, even illegally?

As the old adage goes, "A problem well-stated is half solved." (Or as Marti is saying right now, "My only problem is not enough sun screen.") The problem here is an impoverished, corrupt nation bordering a very rich nation with jobs available. Yes, in spite of the dire words of the evening news, there are jobs for these people. They are working, or they wouldn't be illegally employed. Right?

So how do we fix a poor nation next to a rich nation? Can't really pick up and move to a better neighborhood can we? The U.S. provides hundreds of millions in aid annually to Mexico, and that's not helping. We spend hundreds of millions to ineffectively patrol the border. Neither nation-building Mexico into prosperity nor isolationism are the answers.

So what is? A means to employ them, have them pay taxes and join the rest of us in this great nation. Let's just accept that we live in a great nation and share it.

Easter Bunnies and Health Care -- Yes, really

2011-08-14T02:20:00.001-04:00

Ghost Writer picks up a homework assignment from Marti while she whoops it up living the good life. Yep, I'm stuck at the helm while Marti goes and celebrates her 20th anniversary. Indeed, she is taking time off of her obsessive compulsive relationship with her job to enjoy her marriage. Here's hoping her hubby can stand all that attention.

Before Marti took off, she and I were discussing how the proposed health care plan is like a chocolate Easter Bunny. You know the kind -- shiny, foil-wrapped yumminess. The big decision after seeing it is whether to eat the ears first or the tail first. This is ostensibly how we should feel about the government's proposed changes to health care. Yay! We have a shiny new health care plan. Yay! Everyone will have health care. Yay! No more lifetime limits. Yay! No more denied coverage of pre-existing conditions. Where do we sign up? We rip open the foil, chomp down on the ears and call ourselves happy.

Alas, though, like every child learned after the first time he or she got tricked, don't get too excited. The shiny, foil-wrapped bunny needs to be picked up and felt, because appearances may not be the full story. Is the bunny solid or hollow? It's still chocolate, but is it really good to the core? As the health care proposal is picked up and weighed, we find it's missing a few things at the center. Like the ongoing use of Emergency Rooms as primary care providers for the booming illegal immigrant population in the U.S. Like the cost distribution. Money is a zero sum game last I checked and you don't get more of something without paying for it. Michael Cannon wrote, "Government programs do not contain health care costs; they shift, increase, and hide them. Government shifts the cost of my consumption to you. Costs rise overall, as they always do in a commons: nobody spends other people's money as wisely as they spend their own." Amen, Michael! Name one program the government has created or problem it has "solved" that it hasn't made worse or eventually corrupted through application of politics. And just because the government says we're already paying for all of these issues doesn't mean I believe them. The government has been price fixing the health care system for years in the form of "reasonable and customary" reimbursements for services provided to those covered by Medicare and Medicaid. That's clearly helped contained cost.

Sure enough. We've figured out we've got a hollow bunny. It's still shiny. It's still chocolate. Which is probably better than nothing in the Easter basket except unrefrigerated hard-boiled eggs (eew!). So we unwrap it and we take a bite. Oh NO! ICK! SPIT! GROSS! We find out it's last year's hollow bunny, and it's stale and the cocoa butter is separated, and we're pretty sure something is alive in that hollow core. What's creeping around in it? The first piece of scum we find is the Middle Man. Middle Man creeps around in the heart of things, does nothing, and spoils everything. Does anyone else remember the days when mom wrote a check to the doctor at the time of service for your ear infection? How much of this situation is the hedge-fund, junk bond system called health insurance? These are the people who for the last several decades have said they are negotiating health care costs lower for us, but yet, they keep getting higher. How does that work? [Insurance is a racket designed by lawyers, executed by lawyers, and foisted on a paranoid population, but that's a rant for another day.] Ask the Amish. They negotiate cash payment rates far lower than what any of us, including the government pay. Why? Cash now beats fighting insurance companies and the government later for money. Cash flow is king, even in the world of health care.

The second piece of creeping crud we find under the foil and gnarly chocolate we thought was something good is Middle Man's best friend No Personal Accountability. The company that generously helps me acquire health insurance (at a nice premium out of my paycheck and their profits, too) put into action a "play or pay" system this year. If I don't take so many steps to maintain a healthy life, I pay more for my health insurance. Period. My participation is evaluated quarterly. Play that quarter or pay next quarter in higher premiums out of my paycheck. The government is never going to get this radical. No Personal Accountability is at the heart of most government programs. Heck! Our government is still arguing about whether welfare recipients should be tested for illegal drugs. Really!? Wow.

For those shouting at your computer, "We've got to do something! We cannot continue this way." I agree. But let's start they way any fixer-of-broken-things would -- using root cause analysis. This plan doesn't address what's broke. It just addresses the symptoms far greater issues.

So, welcome to your Health Care Easter Bunny. Foil-wrapped? Yes. Shiny? Yes. New? Maybe. Better? No. Yes, really.

Sustainability

2011-08-12T04:49:00.001-04:00

Ghost Writer touches on the periphery of Marti's much-loathed carbon footprint topic discussing sustainability in an HR Leader and Manager context.

So if you haven't been sleeping under a rock, you've heard seemingly endless stream of messages regarding sustainability - the broad term meaning, "How are we going to do this forever without harming the environment?"
However, I think something very big, massive, huge, and overwhelmingly large (dare I say ginormous?) missing from the dialog is sustainability of humans in the workforce. This is the next big thing on two fronts for HR Managers and Leaders.
On front one, this is about the question, "How do we keep enough people employed to buy whatever we're selling?" To protect people, and make more money by avoiding safety issues, many companies automate jobs, and as a fixer of broken stuff, I have no problem with this. We assume people will find work in less strenuous environs or learn to program these robots, but in reality, that means less lucrative service jobs. However, as the self-serve checkout line has shown, even those jobs aren't beyond automation.
On front two, there's the dwindling supply of hard-working knowledge laborers running these ships. No administrative assistants. Slow computers eating valuable minutes. Inefficient, yet necessary for our primitive human selves, travel for face-to-face "show me" follow-up and meetings. Increasingly large responsibilities assigned to an ever-decreasing pool of people with the assumption we will "work smarter" (hate that saying, BTW) or "prioritize" those tasks. Prioritize: secret code word for mindful neglect, strategic procrastination, or in a best case, benign neglect of stuff that should get done (but ain't gonna get done, because I like sleep, but Marti doesn't need it cuz she lives on coffee).
These are the next big questions for HR Management and Leadership. How do we leave people in the process so there is real money circulating to buy things? Secondly, for those in the few jobs left, how do we make those jobs humane? Because, I can tell you, Marti's 16-18 hour days are inhumane, even though she survives them. My Tums habit isn't altogether sustainable either.
Then again, I pull a page from economics class. Will supply and demand take care of this for us? Is our current, unsustainable human resources malaise just a function of shifts in supply and demand that haven't settled into a new normal?

If the President were a Fortune 500 CEO...

2011-08-10T22:08:00.003-04:00

I have worked for Fortune 150, Fortune 45 and, yes, Fortune 1. I've even worked for the second larget privatee company in the United States. There is one thing for certain, executives are expected to be the Chief Advocate of their company. It is their responsibility to put the best face forward for the sake of the company's reputation and profitability. The President is the head of the executive branch of our government. This makes him the CEO of the single greatest country in the world, the United States of America. However, the CEO of our company, in which we are compelled to be unpaid shareholders, publicly embarrasses us. He tells the world that we will stop paying our employees, we will default on our debts and our executives can't get along with each other keeping us from making sound decisions. In the real world where a business generates money instead of taking it, that type of behavior would cost a Chief Executive his job. If you doubt we are a business, take a minute to ponder the fact that this Democratic Republic has a credit rating with all of the major agencies. Countries invest in us and expect a positive results. When the face of this business denigrates it and shows our bare behind to the world, the board of directors and shareholders should demand their resignation. It is strange indeed that it is harder to remove an elected official than the head of a major company. When did this particular executive forget that we, well maybe not me(I didn't pick this guy), put him there and he owes us better. Our leader should represent our business with the fierce loyalty and care of an executive receiving millions of dollars in options for his trouble. The pension for a President sounds like a fair trade for that, so now we deserve to be properly represented. Our leader needs to get his mud in a pile and lead us with pride.

Survival

2011-08-07T06:29:00.002-04:00

Seth Godin has a book "Only the Paranoid Survive". One of many in his arsenal of experience and advice. I lack the focus of a paranoid, so I needed a different definition of survival. As I was embarking on the typical 5am journey to get to a location and squeeze one more thing out of my day, the emotional toll of long days kicked into overdrive. It is easy to get personally invested in outcomes and I consider parts of my work to be a battlefield. Once I conquer the hill, having to conquer it again because of others really turns a day the wrong direction. Whether a candidate flakes out and doesn't show for their first day or scheduling puts a process back a week, the goal does not shift. It simply is not met on time. As I enjoyed one of the lovely Interstates I could easily call home, it is evident that I am very near obsessive in goal orientation. At this time, my goal is to survive. However, my definition of survival is lofty. It is not enough to get it done. It must be on time or early and before everyone else whenever possible. That is survival. Getting things done before everyone else and early every time is success. This is the battle for the basics. Getting things done only makes way for more things that may be more strategic and helpful to the growth of the team. This still does not improve the sleeping and head clearning time.
Unfortunately for my husband, the same standards don't apply at home. Survival is simpler here. Don't piss off the spouse, don't think too much, and help with the housework. Right now, we both suffer from sleep deprivation due to the introduction of a Siberian puppy into our routine. He screams like an angry seagull when he wants to go out at 5am on any given day. He barks at the cats, chews on the Labrador and generally makes a "hot mess" out of the house. If you don't trap him in a section of the house, he leaves a hot mess as a gift. This too shall pass. I'm not entirely certain the phrenetic pace at work will, though. It is amazing that enough parents instilled some strong sense of loyalty, personal responsibility, sense of pride, or requirement to save face that people continue to push through this crazy work world we imposed on ourselves. Yes, I could do less. Yes, I could change my expectations. However, my goals is survival and my definition of survival is lofty. This is not changing any time soon, so you will have to get used to it.

Biggest Bully on the Block

2011-08-03T08:30:00.001-04:00

Ghost Writer considers the question, "When do customers, of any form, go from being demanding to the Biggest Bully on the Block?"

So I have a customer, a lot of them actually internally and externally, who expect a great deal from me. That's fine. That's the world of work, but lately there's a Bully on my playground. A capital "B" Bully in bold form. This Bully wants my lunch, my allowance, my homework, and demands exclusive rights to my future lunches, allowances, AND my science fair experiments. Further, the bully wants to stop by my house, check out how I live today, decide how I should really live and take everything that doesn't fit the Bully's assessment of my needs. WOW! Now that's my definition of the Biggest Bully on the Block.

Unfortunately, this Bully controls Business, big capital "B" business. Failure to allow this Bully access to my homework, lunch, allowance, science fair project and my home will have far reaching consequences for many people. However, when does a Bully just get called a Bully? The hardworking geeks need to rise up and say, "ENOUGH!" I spent plenty of years subject to playground bullying, and I learned early and often, "Don't go near them. They don't become less of a bully because you befriend them."

In the world of business, though, it seems as though we choose to keep doing business with the Bully out of fear of life without the Bully. These are the moments when I want to say, "Are we credible business people if we let the Bully run our lives? I'd rather be unemployed than cave to this Bully's demands." I have been informed that is a personal choice, not a business choice based on the needs of many.

So now I have to formulate a strategy based on the Business' choice to allow the Bully to ransack my house. How do I watch as the Bully decides what's right and wrong in my house? Maybe that's my problem. This isn't MY house. It's the business. This is just business. This is just business. Will I believe it if I say it enough?