I recently received an unexpected thank you card from an employee. Why? Because I told her I'd get back to her by the end of the day with an answer to her questions and I did.
Jane called me requesting information about her training pay, getting a locker assigned and help in accessing our payroll website shortly after she began work. Since I was in a the middle of a project when she called, I explained I needed a little time to get her the info she wanted and asked if it was okay to forward the information to her via email (because it was simplier for both of us to send the website instructions she needed in writing) by the end of the day.
I sent the email in the afternoon and within a few hours received an effusive email reply thanking me for my detailed and prompt response to her questions. While I appreciated her thanks, I was puzzled over its intensity; even more so when I received another hand written thank you note in the mail from her the following day.
Is follow through so unexpected these days that employees are surprised when they get it within their companies? If so, it makes me sad as one of of the few "entitlements" I strongly support in any workplace is the right of any employee to receive quick and accurate answers to their questions. If we expect employees to be accountable for their own performance, I hope we're regularly leading from the front of that pack.
5/6/10
Don't bite the hand that feeds you ....
I think the employment relationship is like any other relationship in your life, you get out of it what you put into it. If you value it, you take care of it. If you don't, you generally lose it and usually you don't even realize you've lost it until it's over.
Where does it start to go wrong? In our own heads. When we think our companies should treat us better than they do, when we think we're not getting enough recognition or pay, when we believe we are not being treated fairly, we plant the seeds of our own unhappiness.
Employment, whether we admit it to ourselves or not, is a voluntary activity on both sides. Either party can walk away at any time (barring an employment contract or agreement). So wouldn't it be more effective to leave if we are so unhappy and can't make our employer treat us the way we think they should than it is to complain while still taking their money?
I've spent the last day assisting a manager who is dealing with an employee who can't seem to stop himself from talking to the company's customers in a negative way about how the company operates. The company recently made an operational change that was discussed and agreed to in advance with the employees involved (including this employee). The first day the change was implemented this employee, instead of trying to make sure the change worked for both himself and his employer or even just waiting to see what impact the change would have on him, immediately started "sharing" his negative thoughts with "his" customers, coworkers, and even in an inappropriate way with other company managers. His manager, in response to the problems he was creating for the company by involving customers & coworkers, sent him home to spend his time off thinking about whether he really wanted to work for this company. How will it end? Badly unless and until this employee figures out that if he can't be trusted to back his company up in public (he can discuss his concerns behind closed doors with the management staff), he will not be allowed back to work.
Today's lesson? Disloyalty to your employer hurts you more than it will ever hurt them. You'll be gone and they will still be standing. So if you are truly unable to restrain yourself from acting against and talking badly about your employer while onsite and on the clock, it's probably time to voluntarily change your job before the choice is no longer yours to make.
Where does it start to go wrong? In our own heads. When we think our companies should treat us better than they do, when we think we're not getting enough recognition or pay, when we believe we are not being treated fairly, we plant the seeds of our own unhappiness.
Employment, whether we admit it to ourselves or not, is a voluntary activity on both sides. Either party can walk away at any time (barring an employment contract or agreement). So wouldn't it be more effective to leave if we are so unhappy and can't make our employer treat us the way we think they should than it is to complain while still taking their money?
I've spent the last day assisting a manager who is dealing with an employee who can't seem to stop himself from talking to the company's customers in a negative way about how the company operates. The company recently made an operational change that was discussed and agreed to in advance with the employees involved (including this employee). The first day the change was implemented this employee, instead of trying to make sure the change worked for both himself and his employer or even just waiting to see what impact the change would have on him, immediately started "sharing" his negative thoughts with "his" customers, coworkers, and even in an inappropriate way with other company managers. His manager, in response to the problems he was creating for the company by involving customers & coworkers, sent him home to spend his time off thinking about whether he really wanted to work for this company. How will it end? Badly unless and until this employee figures out that if he can't be trusted to back his company up in public (he can discuss his concerns behind closed doors with the management staff), he will not be allowed back to work.
Today's lesson? Disloyalty to your employer hurts you more than it will ever hurt them. You'll be gone and they will still be standing. So if you are truly unable to restrain yourself from acting against and talking badly about your employer while onsite and on the clock, it's probably time to voluntarily change your job before the choice is no longer yours to make.
4/28/10
On the radio.....
I was listening to Charlie Sykes' program on WTMJ this morning. He read an email from an applicant interested in an internship who was outraged (and expressed it!) that the organization didn't return his email when he's waited an entire 24 hours for them to respond. The applicant stated how appalled he was by their lack of professionalism, how it cast doubt on whether he'd consider working for such a company, etc, etc. The topic for discussion was whether these types of emails are actually sent to employers and how would listeners handle them. The answer to the first part of the discussion is an emphatic yes. People not only write but submit outrageous emails to employers - it's a growing trend. One of my more notable recent ones was in response to an email I, as a courtesy, sent to an applicant letting him know why he would not be hearing from us any further:
John (name has been changed to protect the guilty!),
Just wrote you about this position being on hold and
asking if you would be interested later if it opens up.
Just read through your application more closely.
Since you are looking for full-time work (this is part time)
and this position pays substantially less than you are expecting,
it wouldn't be a good fit.
Sorry!
My less than courteous reply from the job applicant?
"Unfortunately you must have a fear of someone who has a masters degree and has excelled at a higher level than you will ever obtain. While it is true I am looking for full time due to state of economy I would accept part time for now. I only work for establishments that encourage people to excell to a new level obviously you are not one of those places."
The next time you wonder why an employer doesn't contact you (unless it's for an interview), remember this missive. I'm filing this one under the very large category of "no good deed goes unpunished."
John (name has been changed to protect the guilty!),
Just wrote you about this position being on hold and
asking if you would be interested later if it opens up.
Just read through your application more closely.
Since you are looking for full-time work (this is part time)
and this position pays substantially less than you are expecting,
it wouldn't be a good fit.
Sorry!
My less than courteous reply from the job applicant?
"Unfortunately you must have a fear of someone who has a masters degree and has excelled at a higher level than you will ever obtain. While it is true I am looking for full time due to state of economy I would accept part time for now. I only work for establishments that encourage people to excell to a new level obviously you are not one of those places."
The next time you wonder why an employer doesn't contact you (unless it's for an interview), remember this missive. I'm filing this one under the very large category of "no good deed goes unpunished."
4/26/10
hmmmm....
Unlike my enthusiastic approval of a badly needed offensive lineman for the Pack in the lst round of the draft, the jury is definitely still out on our #2 pick (Mike Neal - defensive tackle). Not a need pick and defintely not listed under Gil Brandt's top 100 yet taken at the 56th pick of the draft. Other websites had him listed as low as the 168th spot - hardly a value pick. Add to the equation that our next pick cost us the entire 4th round to select (Safety Morgan Burnett - gave up 2 picks to move to 71st pick from the 86th slot) and I really wonder what's up. Why not take Burnett at the 56th pick and wait a round or two to draft Neal? TT must really believe in this guy but he believed in Justin Harrell (another reach) too and look what that got him - an expensive benchwarmer who's consistently hurt.
Burnett might be a good addition but when I read he likes to blow people up rather than tackle them, I have to wonder if he isn't just Atari the sequel. Unless this guy learns to use the arms God gave him to tackle with, he will not outplay Mr. Bigby for the starting spot.
Of the late round picks, I liked the Newhouse selection only because I saw his relative (cousin?) Robert Newhouse play like a demon for Dallas. If he brings the same family pedigree to GB, I'll view the late round selections as a success.
Lessions to be learned from this? Just the realization that recruiting talent in any organization is as much art as science. It's not just ability that determines whether you are selected by a company, it's also dependent on who is hiring you, what the company culture is and their perception of your potential in moving the organization forward. If you've ever been passed over for what seems a perfect job for you or been selected for a job only to find out that your strengths are not a good fit in that position, you soon understand that the recruiting process is far from perfect. But right now, like the draft, it's the only process we have to pick talent and we often aren't able to truly realize who our star performers are until long after the selection process ends.
Burnett might be a good addition but when I read he likes to blow people up rather than tackle them, I have to wonder if he isn't just Atari the sequel. Unless this guy learns to use the arms God gave him to tackle with, he will not outplay Mr. Bigby for the starting spot.
Of the late round picks, I liked the Newhouse selection only because I saw his relative (cousin?) Robert Newhouse play like a demon for Dallas. If he brings the same family pedigree to GB, I'll view the late round selections as a success.
Lessions to be learned from this? Just the realization that recruiting talent in any organization is as much art as science. It's not just ability that determines whether you are selected by a company, it's also dependent on who is hiring you, what the company culture is and their perception of your potential in moving the organization forward. If you've ever been passed over for what seems a perfect job for you or been selected for a job only to find out that your strengths are not a good fit in that position, you soon understand that the recruiting process is far from perfect. But right now, like the draft, it's the only process we have to pick talent and we often aren't able to truly realize who our star performers are until long after the selection process ends.
4/23/10
Welcome to the NFL Mr. Bulaga!
Lots of happy Packer fans today as our first pick was not only a need pick but a value pick at offensive tackle. Bryan Bulaga was rated anywhere from a mid-teen to a top ten pick in many 2010 mock drafts. A tier one player according to Gil Brandt (one of the most credible guys I know of when it comes to evaluating talent) and a Big Ten lineman to boot makes evilcatbert a believer in his ability to play with the big boys. Now let's lock up an outside linebacker who can play both like and opposite of Clay Matthews and tonight's draft will be just as joyous!
4/22/10
The most wonderful time of the year ....
It's NFL draft day - the biggest, baddest recruiting day of them all! I'm doing my Snoopy dance of happiness and waiting for that clock to start running. Offensive lineman aren't the glamour boys of the league but we (meaning Aaron Rodgers actually) can't survive the game without them - find us a tackle, Ted - our old ones are breaking down! Outside linerbacker? Some good ones should still be on the board when we arrive fashionably late for the first round. Cornerbacks? We got the Woodman (Charles "The Man" Woodson can lay you out!) and Al's working his way back to us so some rookie will have a lot to live up to. Safety? Are you hearing footsteps Atari? You gotta keep ahead of the competition cuz it's coming. Stay tuned football fanatics. We'll know when we hit pick #23. Go Pack!
4/15/10
A time to remember what really matters...
I spent last evening at the home of one of our employees who's mother passed away just before Easter at age 82. It was her memorial service on 4/14/10. What impressed me most about this occasion was how Robin's "work family" was able to support her during this very difficult time. Coworkers prepared food, brought drinks, played host/ess and comforted the bereaved in whatever way they could. Whether it was members of her immediate department or managers/coworkers from other departments, there was a steady stream of support for her during what had to be a terrible, terrible day - saying her final goodbye to her mom.
The most important thing I did yesterday was spending time with Robin, her brother and my co-workers. While we enjoy having others with us during the good times, it's the ones who stand with us in the darkness that carry us forward and whom we carry with us throughout our lives.
The most important thing I did yesterday was spending time with Robin, her brother and my co-workers. While we enjoy having others with us during the good times, it's the ones who stand with us in the darkness that carry us forward and whom we carry with us throughout our lives.
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