“No other choice?!” That’s me, getting ready for possibly the most dreaded election day in U.S. history. I pulled up my sample ballot, to research the issues – which prompted this post.
Much of what impacts daily lives happens closer to home, and yet I see that most of my state and community level representation is running unopposed.
No Choice is Not a Option
How is a society to advance and grow without options, without choices, without a variety of voices?
Say what you want, people are talking. Granted they’re not listening, and it’s mostly blustering b.s., but at least there’s conversation. See: AP’s Divided America series.
In business and HR, it’s kind of the same.
Companies play lip service to the idea that ‘front line is the bottom line.’ The hardest working, public facing, customer serving employees are sometimes deemed the most replaceable, lowest paid, under trained, ‘entry level.’
When there’s a problem, the finger points to them. When there’s a success or great idea, the higher ups get the credit. Employee Relations, trapped in the HR silo, is clueless and powerless to address issues. (PR and Internal Communications, MIA).
Ex: a good employee turns to Human Resources about an issue with their supervisor, asks for a confidential, no retaliation meeting. HR’s response is “only thing I know to do is to call you in with the supervisor” – which leaves your employee no choice: leave.
Side note to HR: You do have choices. Managers have bosses, so do you for that matter. Start there. Otherwise you perpetuate the idea that you’re just there for TPTB, that HR doesn’t care about employees.
Where’s the conversation? How are your best and brightest employees to be happy without the safety of being able to speak up? How will they stay motivated and engaged without options and opportunities, without a choice?
Employees are not an audience, employees are key stakeholders and positive relationships with them are essential to any successful company. This is why HR is more than hiring, firing, and benefits. This why HR needs PR.
Choice. Conversation. A voice in the organization.
We’ve all been there: how do you handle the ‘take it or leave’ choice?