No matter how successful we are at treating others fairly, there will always be an occasion in which someone feels that they were wronged or treated unfairly. When an employee feels their rights were abridged or policies were not applied consistently, it is essential to respond to the concerns in a sensible, comprehensive and objective manner. It is the investigation process that will permit complying with regulations, and a good thorough investigation will help avoid claims of discrimination.
A few weeks ago I had a kickoff at a client site with a
project team that included the regional HR staffing director and corporate
training manager. In a side
conversation, we had an opportunity to talk shop about other projects and they
brought up their recent budget planning and how it had always seemed they were
jockeying for each other’s slice of the pie.
“How would you
distribute our budget percent between our departments, Adam? Are great employees born or made?” This clearly was not a question I thought
would bode well for me. When possible,
in the world of consulting, you try to deliver win-wins, as every contact is a
potential ally down the road. After
cracking a few jokes about knowing the limits of my scope and moving on, I gave
it some thought on the flight home.
I attended a seminar recently that vowed to ‘wow’ in terms of its unique approach to reframing, if not transforming, the time management discussion. The facilitator challenged all participants to consider the consequences of just being simply average. Would there be a Great Wall of China, the pyramids of Egypt, or bold female figures such as Joan of Arc or Amelia Earhart? These landmarks and famed individuals essentially serve as benchmarks for being better than average, even extraordinary.
Think back to a typical workplace in 1992, twenty years ago. What were the hot I-O topics then? Now imagine 10, 20, or even 50 years from now. What will the new hot topics be? The Jan-Feb 2012 issue of The Futurist, a magazine from the World Future Society (WFS), and a YouTube video from odesk.com called The Future of Work pose some interesting possibilities.
Compared to workers today, workers of the future might be…
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