Part of our continuing series of posts on “Managing By Cliches.”
Like Don Quixote, HR people sometimes idealistically "tilt at windmills" -- fighting battles that can't be won.
HR people generally try hard to “fix” things — people, organizations, relationships, etc. There is a bit of the idealistic and ever-hopeful Don Quixote “tilting at windmills” in all of us, I suppose — always trying to make things better, even when others with a more objective view might see the situation (or the person) as hopeless. In the end, though, the most challenging “truth” that we need to accept as HR people might be that we can’t fix everyone or everything … especially if they don’t “ask” us to “fix” them.
Bob, The Customer Service Rep Who And Hated His Customers
Just from the “headline” above, you might say, “Well, that seems like an easy one.” And you would be right. The “fix” — for “Bob” to get a new job, and maybe even a completely new line of work — is easily seen… by everyone except for Bob, of course.
As it turns out, Bob is a bright, hard-working, earnest 30-something who, for the past decade or so has worked two full-time jobs at the same time: managing a restaurant and leading a customer service team in a busy office. The good news is that he is talented and performs well at both jobs. The bad news is that the cumulative weight of satisfying customer demands at both jobs has left him burned out, resentful of even the most innocuous of customer request, and generally feeling Continue reading
HR Perspectives 