Multi, dar slabi

Se pare ca aceasta minunata criza a adus mai mult de munca departamentelor de HR si in special celor din recrutare. Ma uit cu groaza la sutele de CV-uri primite pentru orice pozitie, indiferent de nivelul ierarhic, specializarile cerute, experienta, language knowledge, etc.
Orice pozitie care apare pe piata, primeste automat sute de aplicatii. De la sofer de tir, chelner, secretara (sau “assistant manager”), electromecanic, sudor la director de vanzari, director de HR, procurement manager, etc. Oricine aplica pe orice.
Asa ca recruiter-ii trebuie sa isi plimbe ochii pe sute si sute de CV-uri, care mai de care mai interesante si mai pline de motivatii.
La interviu toti isi cauta ceva mai interesant de facut, ceva mai challenging, ceva care sa le largeasca orizontul si sa ii scoata din starea de rutina in care se zvarcolesc ca niste viermi de nu stiu cati ani. A fost nevoie de o criza ca sa ii scoata din starea de moleseala in care se aflau. A fost nevoie de niste restructurari, reorganizari, eficientizari pentru a-i pune pe toti pe foc.

Asa ca, spor la aplicat – dar mai intai de toate cititi cu atentie cerintele postului. Nu va cheama nimeni la interviu daca nu indepliniti minimum de requirements.

HR pentru oameni?

HR-ul ar trebui sa fie pentru oameni/angajati/clienti interni. Sa fie alaturi de eu ca un real suport si nu doar ca o parte administrativa. Important e sa intelegi angajatul si nevoia lui – exact ca intr-un proces de vanzare. Cum poti oferi suport, atata timp cat nu intelegi nevoia reala??!!!
Important este sa creezi o legatura cu angajatul trecand peste partea de recrutare, administrarea cartilor de munca, oferirea de informatii cu care nu are ce face si a-l plimba dintr-o parte in alta in loc sa ii rezolvi problema cat mai rapid. Desi noul trend in HR este trecerea de la rolul administrativ la cel strategic, se pare ca inca mai exista oameni reticenti si rezistenti la schimbare. Relatia de care vorbeam mai sus nu poate fi creata de 1 sau 2 persoane dintr-un departament care ar trebui sa lucrez ca o echipa. Degeaba are unul idei mai altfel decat restul echipei, atata timp cat nu pot fi implementate si chiar i se reproseaza ca este prea apropiat de candidati si angajati. Cum poti sa sustii sus si tare ca ai valori ca honest, straightforward si dynamic, atata timp cat iti este greu sa recunosti ca ai gresit si ca nu toate lucrurile depind in mod direct de tine? Cum poti sa alegi calea prin care impachetezi o minciuna intr-un ambalaj frumos de genul “o noua oferta” pentru tine angajatule pentru ca noi ne gandim la tine?

E oare atat de greu sa recunosti pur si simplu ADEVARUL?

Cum poti sa afirmi ca esti dynamic atata timp cat nu faci decat lucrurile pe care le stii, in tempo-ul pe care il cunosti (acela de melc). Cum ramane cu adaptabilitatea, flexibilitatea si orientarea catre client pe care o promoveaza atat HR-ul? Pana la urma si la urma angajatul este un client intern care te ajuta sa cresti dar foarte usor te poate dobori. Atata timp cat piata fortei de munca este atat de variata iar diferentele salariale nu mai sunt atat de mari, ce ramane? Aici poate interveni HR-ul care poate aduce o diferenta. Insa e atat de greu sa modifici ceva atat timp cat eroarea este chiar din HR. Cum poti asigura echitate in cadrul firmei cand tu nu poti asigura echitate la nivelul departamentului? Daca nu poti citi semnele din propriul departament cum poti avea pretentia ca oameni care nu au pregatire de HR sa vada aceste lucruri mai bine decat tine? Si totusi asta se intampla, pentru ca inca mai exista oameni care stiu sa asculte, sa citeasca printre randuri si sa caute o solutie nu numai sa arate cu degetul.

HR-ul pentru oameni?
Imi este greu sa fac o astfel de afirmatie si din aceasta cauza aleg sa pun sub semnul intrebarii acest lucru.

Pacat. E un domeniu frumos care intr-adevar poate produce o schimbare. Dar o schimbare se poate produce doar daca ai oamenii potriviti si astia se gasesc din ce in ce mai greu.

fuga dupa job-uri

Nu credeam ca a cauta un job poate fi o activitate care sa iti consume toata ziua si sa te lase lat la finalul ei. Acum incep sa ii inteleg pe candidatii mei. Cat de mult conteaza cand cel cu care te intalnesti ajunge la ora stabilita sau chiar ceva mai devreme. Cat de importanta este prima impresie pe care ti-o lasa intervievatorul si cat de bine te face sa te simti in primele cateva minute.
Chestii pe care le faceam din instinct ca si om de HR, le observ cu mare usurinta cand sunt de partea cealalta a baricadei. Chiar conteaza toate nimicurile astea cum ar spune unii mai “dastepti”.
Avand in vedere ca in ultimii 3 ani nu am iesit din firma in intervalul 9-18, nu mi-am putut imagina ce inseamna traficul din Bucuresti in timpul zilei. Pai ce se intampla la ora 18 era o minune, totul decurgea normal, ajungeam acasa in maxim 45 minute. In timpul zilei, am reusit sa parcurg aceeasi distanta in 60 minute. Din cate am inteles sunt anumite valuri pe anumite directii. Cu timpul, daca inveti aceste fluctuatii te poti deplasa prin Bucuresti fara nici o problema. Eu nu am reusit inca aceasta performanta.
Tot ce am reusit pana acum a fost sa petrec 2 ore in trafic pentru o discutie de 45 de minute. Totusi este o experienta foarte interesanta. Te duci sa discuti cu oameni de pe la agentii cu care acum 2-3 luni lucrai si tu si ii rugai sa iti gaseasca niste candidati. Acum ii rogi sa iti gaseasca un job.
Apar intrebarile clasice: de ce ai plecat de acolo? ce cauti? cum trebuie sa fie job-ul? imi povestesti ceva despre tine? cum era organizat departamentul? cum ai ajuns in firma? cum ai ajuns in HR? vrei sa ramai in HR? cati bani vrei?

Si uite asa, de 2 saptamani ma plimb din agentie in agentie in cautarea job-ului ideal. Bineinteles ca si eu sunt ala pretentios nevoie mare. Dupa patania actuala, vreau sa aleg cu mare grija job-ul. Dezavantajul meu este si datorat timpului extrem de lung petrecut in aceeasi firma.

Perseverenta si speranta care moare ultima ma motiveaza.

Keep walking!

Telecommuting/work from home/ saving space, money and energy

A new for Romanian employers and employees but at the same time old subject: TELECOMMUTING. I know that I already wrote about this subject as a part of flextime, but I found more interesting things about it, especially a lot more advantages then disadvantages and I’ll let you decide if it’s a good idea or not.

http://www.ahbbo.com/telecomalternative.html

http://www.gilgordon.com/telecommutesafe/telebenefits.html

http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/work_from_home_disadvantages

Advantages:

1. Reduces number of people “job hopping”; decreasing training requirements.
2. Improves Health by reducing stress related to compromises made between Family and Work.
3. Improves Productivity: Time saved can be used to improve productivity. Much time is spent on unnecessary activities by people who commute back and forth to work in the conventional manner. With telecommuting, one no longer needs to be always preparing for the commute and for being “presentable”.
4. Allows closer proximity to and involvement with family. Working in the home offers people a greater opportunity to share quality time with family members, to promote family values and develop stronger family ties and unity.
5. Allows selection of a remote work site that is mutually acceptable to all family members and allows spouse an opportunity to pursue his/her career.
6. Allows employee freedom to choose an environment that is more suitable from a social and economic standpoint and to live in an area with people of common interests.
7. Conserving Energy. The three major areas where energy can be conserved are:

- Vehicle-related materials and resources;

- Highway-related materials and resources; and

- Office-related materials and resources.

1. Preserves Our Environment by reducing land use requirements for highway expansion and by reducing slow-moving automobile emissions.
2. Promotes Safety by reducing highway use by people rushing to get to work.
3. Retention of Valued Personnel. The availability of telecommuting as an option means that the employer may well retain valued personnel under circumstances
   when the employee may otherwise be forced to resign due to
   changing life circumstances. Obvious examples include
   pregnancy and relocation to accompany a transferred spouse.
4. Attract Quality Recruits. If the business has a telecommuting policy, this will be
   attractive to many prospective employees, allowing the
   employer to better attract more quality recruits.
5. Reduce Absenteeism. The flexibility inherent in working from home translates to
   reduced absenteeism. No longer does the working parent
   have to take a “sick” day to care for a sick child.
6. Broadens Labor Pool. Telecommuting allows the employer to recruit from a
   broader labor pool than would otherwise be the case if the
   employee had to travel to the employer’s office each day.
   Geographical boundaries become less significant for one
   thing, but special needs personnel, such as those with
   physical disabilities who prefer not to work in a traditional
   office environment, or with chronic illnesses, can still
   participate in the workforce. This allows the employer
   to recruit from the broadest talent pool possible.

Disadvantages:

1. Isolation. One of the reasons you will be more productive working
from home is that you will have fewer interruptions.
That, of course, is a double edged sword. You may
find yourself missing those drop in visits and gatherings
at the water cooler that you think of now as
interruptions.

• Overcoming isolation: schedule regular business lunches, walks, or tennis games. Some people who work from home need more social contact than others; figure out how often you need to see coworkers, and build it into your routine. Schedule one or two days a week in-office.

2. Out of the Loop. You will also be out of the loop with what is going on at
the office. This makes it difficult to participate in the
office politics that can be so crucial to the wellbeing
of your career.

3. Propensity to Overwork. The fact that you are living and working in the same
space makes it less easy to turn work off at the end of the
day. Say what you like about your evening commute,
it at least signals the end of the workday. You may find
yourself working at 10:00 at night just because you can.

This can quickly lead to a lack of balance between
your personal and business lives, the very thing you
were perhaps hoping to redress by making the move to
working from home.

4. Invisibility Factor. You should be alert to the fact that not being in the office
could lead to something of an “out of sight, out of mind”
situation. You need to be certain that your work is
visible, even if you are not.

5. Lack of supervision. Some people who telecommute are disciplined enough to work on their own without management spurring them on. Others need the structure of the boss or coworkers around, or they get tempted by the tv, chores around the house, or the sofa (nap time!).

• Overcoming lack of supervision: Set daily and weekly goals, and be accountable to a colleague or your boss for them. Be brutally honest about what you have and have not achieved – you’ll quickly find yourself working productively. If you can’t work from home successfully, consider going back to the office or keeping a meticulous journal of your minutes and hours worked – and insist you only get paid for those (no doubt a rare occurrence in the work from home world!).

6. Friends & family. When they know you’re working from home, they’re more likely to call or drop in. Kids may feel free to wander in and out of your work space, or have roaring fights when you’re on the phone with clients.

• Overcoming friends & family. Screen your calls and don’t answer personal ones during your work day. Be firm with your kids or partner: you are working and unless their hair is on fire, you’re not to be interrupted. Meet your friends for lunch or walks only during your scheduled break times (if you make exceptions, make sure you’re not permanently disrupted by changes in your routine).