HRCleanUp

Harry Potter and the Human Resources Department

I’m not sure where I’m going to go with this but everyone around me is reading the new Harry Potter book—you know, the one where somebody dies in the end.  We all know it is going to be a showdown between Lord Voldamort and Harry Potter. 

   

What do you think it would be like to be the Director of Human Resources at Hogwarts?  Think of the policies and procedures you would need to have in place if your employees could travel via the flue network or conjure up evil demons in seconds flat?  Do you allow magic wands or do your employees need to check them in with security? 

   

For some reason, I don’t think they have an HR department.  However, if I were the director of Human Resources at Hogwarts, I know these things to be true:

1.       I would partner with senior leadership to stamp out evil

2.       We would all get a half day on Friday’s in the Summer to watch Quiddich

3.       Harry would triumph in the end

   

I'm on page 97.

Lindsay Lohan and Employee Development

I was in LA last week.  And, I admit it, I went on one of those Hollywood tour buses that takes you around to see the homes of the stars.  One of the points of interest for us was the spot where Lindsay Lohan crashed her car and got arrested for drunk driving.  That evening we learned that she did it again—the day after she was released from rehab.

 

Oh, poor Lindsay.

    

But, what we forget is that change is hard even when you are sent to a bajillion dollar rehabilitation facility.  How is it that managers, and executive in particular, expect employees to change with little or no support?  We move entire departments to the south or to China and we expect everyone to just accept that and go on.  Or, we implement new software that changes the way we do work.  Again, we expect everyone to just move on. 

    

I’m all for moving on.  I just think it is harder than we realize.  Just look at poor Lindsay.  As HR, we need to keep the change discussion running within our companies.  We need to make sure that we give people the opportunity to make positive change, understand when change is optional and when it isn’t and what the consequences for not changing are.