I had a meeting on Friday with my District Manager and the one of the HR Managers for the region. We had a visit at one of my stores that revealed "HR Processes" as one of the areas of opportunity.
What does that mean? It means that somewhere someone in HR created this checklist that outlines the exact process for every facet of my job (yes they even blueprinted our office layout). We call these exact processes "Best Practices" (Best for who??). Now, because some boxes were left unchecked on the last visit, my credibility is in question.
My fearless leaders proceeded to give me feedback about how important it was that we were on "Best Practices" before the new HR Trainee took my spot there (in approximately 3 weeks). As I painfully sat through this session, I couldn't help but get frustrated about their unrealistic expectation that I, in my part-time stint there, should turn over a "PERFECT" department to the trainee.
Old School Corporate Math: Complying with every single Best Practice = Perfect
I don't claim to be the best HR cog in the system but I do know that my leadership style is interesting. I understand that the H in HR stands for HUMAN. I'm human and my work is defined by the thing I like to do most: LEADING OTHER HUMANS.
I get so irritated when we miss the forest for the trees. Managers are the ones who produce results within the known boundaries, leaders take risks and create something NEW. Last I checked, my company believed in leadership. In my opinion, the only "HR Processes" that should matter are Development, Empowerment, and Talent Management.
I think Seth G captured the point of my entire rant post best:
The end result is that it's essentially impossible to become successful or well off doing a job that is described and measured by someone else.
The only chance our country (your country, depends on where you live), your economy and most of all, your family has to get ahead is this: make up new rules.
People who make up new rules continue to be in short supply.
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