HR is a tough job. One day you talk about engagement and well-being, and you throw perks at people to convince them to join or to stay. The next, you’re at the helm of a restructuring program.
I listened to this testimonial of someone hit by the massive redundancy wave that is turning the tech sector upside down. Many people will feel like this, and HR professionals should listen carefully.
There will always be clashes between the different actions an HR professional needs to take. But to protect the profession and to be truly honest, we might need to say different things.
Here’s a try:
- You’ll have a good job, not great, just good. You alone can make it great. – If you want a career, you need to work for it, like anybody else.
- You are here to perform, and your customer should thank you for that (but some of them never do)
- We don’t ask you to adapt to us; you’ve been hired because of who you are and what you can do.
- You can work at home when it’s appropriate for your colleagues and customers. That’s up to you to decide.
- We won’t call you on the weekends unless it’s needed. And we’ll apologize for it.
- We don’t like people with big egos. You can just deflate yours before you enter.
- Whatever the color of your skin, your religion, your sexual orientation, your gender, or your identity, we’ll give you all the chances to make you successful in your job and career. But you have to take them. Nobody will do it for you.
- We won’t love you, but we’ll respect you. And we’ll care.
- We are not your surrogate family, but we hope you are part of a real family. We can offer you support, help, advice, and even friendships … but not a family (unless you get married to a colleague)
- If you’re in trouble, we’ll help you if we can. And for sure we’ll listen to you.
- We can’t make you happy, but we are committed to not making you unhappy. A little secret: don’t fuzz too much about happiness, it makes you unhappy.
- You will like a lot of the things we do, but not always and not all of them.
- We can’t promise you eternal employment, and that’s good for you. But should it end, we’ll respect you and your rights.
- Let’s make sure that should you leave, it was worth your while.
- We’ll pay you decently so that you can live decently. The second part is really up to you.
- We don’t do perks; bring your own. If you want a massage, pay for it yourself. The ping-pong table and the glide is not with us.
- If you want pampers, it’s too late for that.
A bit brutal, but probably more honest.
Photo by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-with-hands-on-her-face-in-front-of-a-laptop-4226215/
