Knowledge vs Wisdom & what to keep

In a recent HR seminar I entered into a discussion about layoffs and making the decision between the senior employee who gets paid more, and the two interns who get paid little or nothing.

The decision usually comes down to dollars, and that with letting go of one person, the company saves a larger percentage of their labor budget, and keeps several more "flexible" employees.

This is an all too common situation and I understand some of the mentality. It looks good on paper, and the younger employees are also usually more adaptable to schedule changes, overtime, and being told what to do. So they cut the more experienced employee.

And in turn they cut out their knowledge base. Yes, I know that the college graduates have the "new" knowledge. And perhaps they work a bit faster and with less complaint but they also lack the ability to adapt to unknown situation by pulling from years of experience and resources.

I went to the hardware store to figure out how to reattach my daughter's door. It was falling off the hinges and the wood around the screw was so stripped that I could pull out the screws with my fingers. The first person I ran into at the store was no more than 28, maybe. The advice given to me was sound, get some wood filler, a bonding agent that will fill the hole and act like wood one it cures. Very good, so off I go down the aisles looking for wood filler.

In my journey I come across an old man. I am not saying this to be ageist, he was a classic old man with glasses on the end of his nose, a slow saunter to his step and very gray hair. He asked me what i was looking for and I sighed and re-explained my situation. He smiled and said, "Have you tried using a matchstick?"
Me - "Huh?"
"Wood filler might work, but most likely when you try to drive a screw through it, the filler will crack loose and just turn with the screw. Just jam a matchstick or two in the hole and when you put the screw in, the wood will expand and fill the hole."

I went home, jammed a matchstick in each hole and the door is as good as new. Saved me material, sticky mess, and curing time.

So when you are thinking about getting rid of that more senior employee in exchange for your two less expensive kids... Think about the holes you need filled that just need a matchstick.

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To Know HR, read Know HR

In case you haven't used the nifty little widget on this page to see the blogs I have been reading, you should check out Know HR. His writing is humorous, pertinent, and refreshing. There are plenty of corporate training, HR focused, training & development blogs online. There are frankly, too many to read. Most of them parrot each other regarding the latest trends rolling out of Newsweek and T&D magazine. Frank Roche however, speaks from a different platform. See the smile?

He says, "I’ve been a professional dog handler, a polymer physicist, and a poet, but quickly realized that “being an artiste + $1.75 wouldn’t buy me a cup of coffee at Starbucks.” I write. I read. I pay attention."

I love his diverse background and unique perspective. Take the time, read good stuff, Know HR.

ROI

He speaks yet I do not hear.
What I hear he does not speak.
The message is wrong.
He's insincere.
He sounds just like her.

She rambles on my voice mail.
She sends empty essays to my inbox.
The message is wrong.
She's insincere.
Her words, to me, are stale.

Everyday I hear these cheers.
Everyday I am disappointed.
The message is wrong.
They're insincere.
They've been saying the same for years.

Someday I will believe again.
Someday I will have faith.
A message that's true.
A message, sincere.
Someone with visions of change.

-timuri

PRIDE and Diversity Education

Sunday is Pridefest in Denver. The LGBTQIA community is once again gathering in the park to announce that they, that WE are not to be ignored. For those wondering about the alphabet soup acronym, it stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, Intersexed, and Allied. Allied, that's most of you, hopefully. The people who are "in the social norm" but also interested in the rights of all people.

Being an activist I'm involved in a variety of social justice and equality projects. But around this time of the year, more than others I am reminded of how far we've come, and how far we still need to go. I've been teaching diversity education longer that I've called myself a trainer. In any company I worked for I was always the person that my manager could come to to ask questions about the queer community.

I've fielded questions about how to handle employees who transition from being one gender to another and stayed in the same job position. Other employees came to me to ask if I thought it would be safe for them to come out, which I always found rather funny since I was already out, thus I thought they would have already determined that. I figured out why later. In all of these situations I just gave them the best advice I could since I had no "formal" training. After I had formal training, I think things actually got worse.

Diversity education, didn't help teach people how to accept each other, it taught us how to be tolerant of each other.

Layoffs & Limp Logic

I'm trying to figure out where the logic is when companies make their layoff decisions. It seems companies cut a swath through the HR and training divisions early in the cutting. Aren't these the people they hired to help the rest of their employees feel better, work better and stay with the company? These are the people that have a personal desire to see your people be better at what they do, it's part of their make-up. So why get rid of them? Isn't that like cutting off the proverbial nose?

I understand the bottom-line logic. HR & Training produces no revenue. But neither does a dis-satisfied employee. I'm betting that those people working in the company that just saw their friends "let go" are not happy people. They are taking the newly released out for drinks and sitting around complaining about the company. Is that the kind of energy they want to foster?

I'm just trying to get my head fully around the idea so I can unravel it. With layoffs come change, instability, new responsibility and confusion. Wouldn't you want to have the best team you could, on hand, to make sure you can keep the remaining talent you have left? I know I would.