My grandmother worked at a General Motors metal fabrication plant, raised five daughters, had the most wonderful dinner on the table each night, looked absolutely beautiful at all times, and never once complained of burnout! She might have had a nightly cocktail or two, but no burnout! But, that was back when kids walked to school, uphill, both ways. Nowadays, …
A Leaders’ Guide To Ethical Layoffs
Layoffs are going to happen, and unfortunately for a lot of organizations, they need to happen in order to survive. Unfortunately, most will be done brutally, unthoughtfully, and impersonally. This is because we do not train people to end relationships. When it comes to layoffs, what we often prioritize most is efficiency. But why? Why at the end of the …
When Incompetent Management Does Bad Things Under the Cover of a Global Pandemic
I love that FOT Grand Poobah Kris Dunn is taking names and kicking keisters by calling out how badly some companies are handling employee layoffs and furloughs during our “global pandemic economic meltdown.” How so, you ask? His recent Fistful of Talent post — How S**t Got Sideways as Companies Fuurloughed/Laid off People in the Coronavirus Meltdown — offers great …
Let This Moment Radicalize The Way We Work
In a matter of weeks, the way most of us work has significantly shifted. Even if the Novel Coronavirus hasn’t sent your organization’s staff to work from their dining room tables, it may mean you are working long shifts in potentially high-risk situations, working in locations you did not expect, or in many cases, not working at all. There is …
Welcome to the Circus, HR
HR, welcome to the proverbial circus of politics in the coming year. HR and Talent folks will be hard pressed to ignore the firestorm created by our politicians in our country the past few months. It hit a crescendo this past week as Presidential Impeachment proceedings took center stage. We always have been dealing with politics, specifically legislation and to …
The Office Halloween Party Rules!
Is your office dressing up for Halloween? Mine isn’t. It’s not that I wouldn’t. Okay, I wouldn’t. But if others wanted to, I wouldn’t say “no”. I mean everyone has that one person in their office that’s a little way too excited over Halloween. I get it. I have kids. They lose their minds at the thought of free candy and dressing up. But you’re …
Human Resources – Achieving the Right Balance of Head and Heart
A few years ago, I received a crash course in the importance of balancing head with heart when serving employees. As I went about my HR routine, I would engage with a particular employee in polite banter. We commiserated on how we dreamed of retirement, shared a love for southern cooking and travel; and who was serving the best food …
Employee Relations Moment of Truth: We All Fail
Do you know how I got into HR? I wanted to work with people. Every time I think about that sentence these days, “I want to work with people“, I can’t believe how naive I was. Does anyone say they don’t want to work with people? I imagine there are some, but really, how often does that happen? Part of …
They Did Not Suck: 5 Rules For Saying Why You Got Fired or Left Your Last Job
Gather round the monitor kids, because I’m about to break off some knowledge that a lot of you don’t fully understand. Let’s start with a general rule: If you’re interviewing for a job you really want and you’re not currently employed, the elephant in the room is why you aren’t still employed with that company. Now let’s enhance that a …
Fire With Grace
Grace is a word not often used in a business context. It should probably be used more. And even less so, grace is not something we typically associate with firing someone, taking away someone’s source of financial security, involuntarily. But we should. Because when it comes to firing someone, grace on the part of the employer is what’s needed most. …