Diversity in the Workplace

I am a lifetime HR professional.  It is what I have always done.  Over the years, there have been ever increasing discussions around diversity.

When people think of diversity, generally they think of ethnic diversity, followed closely by gender diversity.

But diversity is so much more than differences in ethnic background or differences in gender!

My administrative assistant is less than half my age.  Let’s call her Peg.

Peg: I’m puttin’ on my boots tonight and going to a Luke Bryan concert!

Kari: Sounds like fun! We have tickets to see Bob Seger next week!

Peg: Oh! The dad from Full House?

Let’s not forget to honor the little things that make us all different and diverse!  And let’s not forget to have a sense of humor!

Keep on smiling!

Bob Saget

Bob Seger

Sealed With A Kiss

We have instant messaging capability at work, to communicate within the company. Today a fellow HR Manager asked me a question via IM. My response to him included information on the 401(k) plan. So I typed in 401(k) in the response and when I hit send, a funny thing happened. Big red kissy lips came up on the screen. Whaaaaat? There it was staring at me. 401 and then a big pair of red lips.

(In case you haven't figured this out yet, I'm not always wise to the ways of this newfangled technology.)

I quickly typed in, “Wow, I don’t know how that happened?” No response.

Then it hit me. The (k) must turn into the big red kissy lips. 

So, just me being me, I typed one line with just (k) on it and when I hit send, there were the lips again. (Brilliant, right?)  I quickly typed an IM that said the k in parentheses must be producing the big kissy lips. This whole time, my peer is not responding. I am starting to panic.

I typed, “Truly didn’t mean to harass you! I had no idea that would happen!!” 

He finally responded with, “OMG, I am laughing too hard to type!” 

Whew!!  

What am I thankful for today?  That I work with people who have a great sense of humor!

Keep on smiling!

Dear HR

Human Resources professionals fulfill many roles that they probably never dreamed of when the set off on their HR careers.  Depending on the day we may find ourselves posing as a counselor, a security advisor, a life coach, the fashion police, a party planner or in this case - a private investigator.

Thank you to my HR friends for sharing this email so we could flex our problem solving muscles and work together to find an appropriate resolution!  The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Dear HR,

I am really upset over stolen food items since Friday.  I had 7 dilly bars stolen between Friday, September 23^rd and Tuesday, September 27^th.  Yesterday afternoon I put a 6 inch sub in the refrig and now it’s gone.  That’s like $10.78 stolen in 3 work days.  It’s getting to the point a person can’t afford to bring food here.

There are many possible ways to handle this scenario.  Here are three:

1)      Rummage through the freezers and refrigerators in search of items that are not appropriately labeled with names. A Lean Cuisine, a half-eaten bowl of soup from home, leftovers from a local restaurant, a half full water bottle and a can of V8 should be fairly close to $10.78.  Bring it to the employee’s desk.  Apologize that this happened to her and let her know that HR fully believes in an eye for an eye approach to justice so you stole some items for her that you felt would be as close in value to $10.78 as you could possibly get.  Throwing in a penny you find in the parking lot would also be a nice gesture.

2)      Tell the employee that there are security cameras installed inside each refrigerator and freezer.  Upon receiving her complaint, you immediately reviewed the security tapes from September 23^rd through Tuesday September 27^th.  Share with her that due to the stop time technology used, sometimes entire faces were missed as they opened the door, searched through (apparently with the intent to steal food) and quickly closed the door. Sometimes all you could see on the tape was a glimpse of a suspicious looking hand reaching in and grabbing. Alarmingly, the security tape captured images of a couple of individuals wearing ski masks as they were accessing the refrigerators and freezers. These are obviously the leads you are pursuing first.  Also let her know that to help in the crime busting efforts going forward, you are requesting an upgrade to the security camera system in the refrigerators and freezers, including retina scan technology to ensure you are able to catch and prosecute these cold blooded felons in the future.  Although you were unable to retrieve her Subway sandwich or Dilly Bars, you are deeply committed to making sure no one else suffers the horror that she must be feeling. 

3)      Or sometimes a simple handwritten note is the best approach.

Dear Employee,

The food items you referenced have been removed for your protection.  As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to healthy living and employee wellness initiatives, we have removed all unhealthy items from company refrigerators.  Certain sub sandwiches may be allowed under our wellness program, however, yours was a Spicy Italian with extra mayonnaise – not conducive to a low fat diet.  We have replaced your Dilly Bars and fat-laden sandwich with an apple and a salad.  You’re welcome.

Sincerely,

Human Resources

Disclaimer: To those who have read this far without a sense of humor, please note that neither I nor any of my HR colleagues would actually respond to an employee in this manner. But it is fun to think about!

Thank you to my wonderful friends in HR departments across the country that also have a true appreciation for the humor in our everyday lives!! The camaraderie and the laughs inspire me.

Keep on smiling!

A Fun Policy Review

I have worked in the Human Resources field my entire adult life in a variety of different industries and roles. When a young HR wanna-be asks me what is the most important thing for them to learn, I always give the same answer. If you want to be successful and have longevity in this field, you absolutely MUST keep a sense of humor about you at all times. If you do not currently have a sense of humor; develop one.  Because you’re going to need it.  Seriously… you will.  Taking things too seriously will eventually wear you down and the big HR arena will chew you up and spit you out. In a very politically correct way of course.

My theory is that happiness isn't just about the glass being half full.  It’s about that little glimmer of funny that exists in everyday challenges.

So that’s my philosophy.  Here’s the latest and greatest that made me laugh.

I work for a big, Fortune 500 company and am so thankful to be here. I have recently moved to a new role within the company, so to me, everything is new and I am wide-eyed with all the learning.

Last week we were reviewing a policy that has been in existence for a LONG time. I’m sure people have looked at this policy for years but it was my first time reading through it and something immediately jumped out at me.

Pedestrians:
To assist in identifying pedestrians, high visibility, reflective vests must be worn by all individuals entering the warehouse.

I have a much simpler process for identifying pedestrians. And it doesn’t involve additional wardrobe items or additional rules. Here it is.  Are you ready for it?  The pedestrians are the ones WALKING.

But thank goodness there are policies like this in the interim, for those who haven’t had the opportunity to learn the identification process I have developed.  I’m working on scheduling a number of training sessions to share my groundbreaking technique. And then I think we will be ready to update the policy.  :)

It’s all in good fun!

Keep on smiling!