Let this be your resolution in 2015… “I SEE People”

I spend several hours each week helping my young neighbors improve their English. Last week one of the girls brought a library book that she had chosen for a book report.

She chose the book because it was short – not because of the content. It was a book about an all black baseball team  in the 1940’s in America. (A land and a time she can’t relate to.)  …So as she read the book I had a lot of explaining to do.

And that opened the door to talk about how racism and perceptions impact individuals and our world.

Blowing Up: Boxes, Typecasting & Limits

Blowing up labels and limits

Have you ever had someone make assumptions about you?

I despise boxes….  And typecasting….  And limits…  And then I realized I was holding some assumptions that were putting others in boxes.  Ugh!

…A couple of years ago, I volunteered to help out at a Career Fair.  Early in the day, several vans arrived from Goodwill’s Training Program.

As the room filled with people several things blew my boxes of assumptions apart:

If I Could Recreate HR From Scratch

Earlier this week we launched a new series titled what does HR really stand for:  Human Resources or Human Remains?

When I reached out to my network asking them to participate in this series, I shared an excerpt of a conversation I had with someone with an MBA and years of HR experience.

Chery I have been in HR for X number of years, I have my MBA, I’ve attended tons of seminars and I’ve NEVER heard anyone talk about the HUMANS.

And then I asked these questions:

  1. How do you balance the need to protect the company from lawsuits with the needs of the real live human beings you serve?
  2. What tips do you have for organizations that are seeking to bring the Human back to Human Resources?

Mary SchaeferThis post is the second in the series and was written my another Lead Change Member and Co-Author of The Character-Based Leader Book, Mary Schaefer.  Mary is the President of Artemis Path, Inc. and her passion is challenging others to Reimagine Work.  This is what Mary had to say…

What does HR really stand for: Is it Human Resources or Human Remains?

Over a year ago I met with a group of people about an upcoming speaking engagement.  As we discussed the focus of my presentation I said, “it’s about putting the Human back in Human Resources.”

Immediately one of the men in the group got really quiet and after a few minutes he said,

I have been in HR for several years, I’ve attended tons of seminars and I’ve NEVER heard anyone talk about the HUMANS.

In the past few months as I’ve been publishing stories and lessons in an ongoing series about “The Real Housewives of Expat Men”, this subject has come up again.

The examples below are real and come from people employed with several different organizations.

Imagine…

  • Organizations that notify their people of life-altering changes with a two-sentence email with no details and no timelines, let alone any discussion, questions or answers.
  • Annual reviews that are delivered over a computer instead of by a live person, evaluating the recipient on objectives they were never told they had and leaving no opportunity for discussion.
  • Bosses that make decisions about their employees lives, don’t communicate those decisions and when they are asked about them, then play the blame game pointing fingers at the titled leaders above them.
  • Families that are days away from finishing their time overseas and have sold things, packed, said tearful goodbyes to friends, and have families at home excitedly waiting for them, that are notified two days before they are scheduled to leave that they won’t be going home now.  And as each day goes by their expected departure date continues to change.
  • HR never responding to emails or phone calls and then one day emailing the office and getting a response that says, “Today is my last day, I quit.”
  • Companies that emphasize that their policy is to make sure that EVERY exiting employee receives a survey when they leave the company – no matter why they leave.  However, when a boss fears the information an exiting employee will share, that survey is never given to the exiting employee even when they ask HR for it.
  • HR admitting that the exit surveys that are received are rarely looked at or used to evaluate leadership and organizational development opportunities.

Those stories make my heart ache.  So I reached out to friends with HR Backgrounds that are Consultants, and Leadership Experts and asked them three questions:

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