Monday, May 28, 2007

HR advice from a retired Human Resource Practitioner



It would seem the Human Resource Management is Common Sense unfortunately common sense is never common.


Advice for HR Practitioners



* Never allow the HR function in your organization to be relegated to an administrative function. It is more than signing annual leave forms, churning out worthless weekly manpower reports which no one reads or making sure the cookie jar in the staff rest room is filled.



* Always treat the people you encounter the way you want to be treated.


* Always be "available" for employees. Do not answer the phone when you are "dealing" with someone; give the individual your 100% attention.

* You are the "balance" between Management and Employees. Maintain it.


* Always maintain your integrity. If no one trusts you, you cannot do your work effectively.


* Never make promises you cannot keep.


* Never be afraid to make difficult or unpopular decisions if you know it's for the benefit of the organization and / or employees.

* You will never satisfy 100% ; use the 80 / 20 rule.

* Never be afraid to say you don;t know and that you will find out. Don;t try to "wing it"; you will be "caught". Make sure you get back to the person with the info asap, if not your integrity will be shot.

* Don't build boundaries for yourself. For example when you have to recruit for a specific position, don't start out by excluding certain groups of people ( aka discrimination); female, handicapped; 50-somethings



* Hire the best person for the job. When I was working for Apple Computer, it was refreshing to see that the Company believed wholeheartedly in this. The best person for the job was not the person who was technically the best , neither was he/she the one with the most experience either. We had an English major heading the Engineering Department and an experienced supply management person doing HR. We tend to "hire with blinkers". Part of the problem is convincing the Hiring Manager that the person is suitable for the job. As an HR professional thats your job.




HR Advice for All :
* Learn to "play the game"; don;t fight the system; you will lose. If you don;t like the game , then leave for another organization ( game) .
* Get a mentor.

* Never leave a job without another one lined up.

* Severance or Retrenchment benefits don't last that long. It may seem like a large nest egg at first , but it's not, unless we're talking about "golden parachutes" that are in the millions of $ but other than the CEO who gets those ? .

* When you are faced with retrenchment always remember closed doors , open others. Look at possibilites that you never imagined............be creative; hobbies can be turned into successful businesses.

* Don't stay unemployed for too long; it will be difficult to go back into the job market. Potential employers have a "problem" with this; although I don;t know why.

* Don't burn bridges. Singapore is very small ; remember the six degrees of separation rule ( Google it if you don;t know what I'm talking about)

* Take on whatever projects your boss hands you; bosses like "gung ho" staff and guess who will be remembered when its time for promotions?
* Unfortunately the boss IS always right but in the "rare" instance where he/she is not , don;t state the obvious...........just let it slide.......pointing out your boss's mistake
is NOT a good career move.


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