Every day, it seems like a new depressing story pops up about the unemployed. Some employers won’t hire them or think being unemployed is a scarlet letter. Others who are disproportionately impacted because of their age, race, disability or veteran’s status tell stories of months without an interview. Still others who are stuck in the never ending cycle of submitting a resume, interviewing and not getting the job. Not because they aren’t qualified or aren’t doing it right but because there are hundreds of qualified people too.
Your job might not get blown up but you still need to work
Then there are harder stories. People selling houses, losing things and even marriages and other family ties being dissolved.
There is a lot of hand wringing that happens in HR circles over this stuff. I don’t think a meeting of HR people has gone by without talking about how many people have been laid off. HR people sharing war stories of prepping layoff papers. As if we need another personal reminder about how grim the picture is for some of these people. What it feels like to layoff a guy who is 50 years old when you’ve heard the stories about what many of them have to do to find work. Or single mom’s. Or young people. Or minorities.
I consoled myself with the fact that we offered severances, that I would offer to look at their resume or help connect them with people in my network. But it’s not enough. A pat on the back and a reassuring smile worked in good times. You know the guys and gals who worked hard and were smart would get picked up. Not anymore.
We need to do more. As a group of people who know what it is like out there, we have to do more. The people that read this blog, the HR pros, the business leaders and the folks in the know, we all need to do more.
Now some of you may be stepping back and thinking, “Hey, wait a second. This isn’t my responsibility. Remember you said HR is all business. How is this business?”
This is all business, baby. This is about going from the dying/surviving cycle to thriving. It’s about believing in something greater and seeing the bigger picture. You want to talk about some stupid seat at the table? Get out of here. That singular focus on ladder climbing has made HR people lose sight of their biggest customer: employees. If you want to talk about getting strategic and thinking about the future of your workforce, the key will be folks that know how to learn and apply new knowledge, have vision for where they want to go and have the fundamental skills to do both.
Career Competency
An administrative assistant who can type 75 wpm and answer a multi-line phone but can’t do a page layout in Microsoft Word or know how formulas work in Microsoft Excel has little chance of getting a job later down the line if he or she doesn’t up their skill level in these areas. A mechanic that has no idea about the computer based tools that can be used in his or her field needs that opportunity to learn about it. In some instances, they simply just need to know about something bigger than their day to day jobs.
And it isn’t just about teaching raw skills. That’s the fundamental part that HR folks should all be doing anyway (for our own company’s benefit if nothing else). It is about teaching people how to investigate new things, research their careers and other interests and learn about the world outside of their cube, workbench or corner office. It’s about thinking that the way to personal fulfillment might not be through their career at all but (gasp) the things outside of work. And if they are looking for career fulfillment, helping them achieve it (whether it be at your company or the next one down the line).
Pie in the sky? Of course it is.
Being better educated about themselves, about their career and about the learning skills that make a person employable in the 21st century is a lofty goal. And putting that on employers is a tough sell. But you’ve seen it out there in the field if your employees have to leave. It is brutal.
Your employees deserve to know that it is brutal. And instead of fear, they have to be empowered by someone who knows what they need to be successful.
July 13, 2010 at 5:40 pm
I have been trying to do this Lance with various levels of success – some people are lapping it up and others are not seeming to get the message …
July 14, 2010 at 12:25 am
Terrific! I’m clapping, can you hear?
July 14, 2010 at 3:30 pm
You are so right, Lance! And even though it’s an uphill course, we can’t afford to allow this to stay ‘pie in the sky’…neither individuals or organizations. With an over 10% unemployment rate, but with jobs going unfilled for lack of qualified workers, as a country we must do something.
I call this “career ownership” and have been using this focus as a career coach for years. I just published “Career Ownership: Creating ‘Job Security’ in Any Economy” that shows people how to learn their value, investigate their organization (current or target) and align the two. With that alignment, they have created a partnership. When they can make a business case for the partnership, they put their value in terms every business person understands.
When individuals begin to take responsibility for aligning their value with the organization’s needs, several things happen: they increase their efficacy and self-confidence, take responsibility for their learning and development and have a way to present themselves to their “#1 customer,” the employer. They become “assets” as opposed to “expenses.”
It’s a radical shift in how we think of “work” and “career,” but then our economy has made a radical shift from “Industrial” to “Information / Service” –and each requires different beliefs, skills and behaviors to be successful.
Thanks for writing a compelling and realistic look at the employment market and the economy…I’m glad to help you spread the word!
July 15, 2010 at 6:54 am
Lance, this is a great read and I applaud the concept. It would result in a win-win situation. I do think that Janine’s term on “career ownership” is perfect because there has to be a personal responsibility on the individual’s part to WANT to develop.
A great example: I work for a small and lean organization. I met with every employee on a one on one level to understand more about what they did and about them personally. One of the questions that I posed was, “What would you like to learn or be exposed to that would help you grow, allow you to do your job better or assist you in a future role?” There were 6 people out of 60 who actually had a valid answer. Here are the answers I received: “I don’t have time to do more.”; “Nothing, I’m doing everything.”; “Well, will the company send me to a class?”
Needless to say, I bet you wouldn’t hear these comments from someone who is unemployed. Yes, organizations have a responsibility to their employees but employees have a responsibility too — this relationship (between employee and employer) must be mutually beneficial for it to work.
I firmly believe that even if we provide the career-pathing opportunities and developing initiatives, the intrinsic desire to expand and create a vision has to exist with the person.
July 15, 2010 at 7:37 am
Thanks for the great example of what the reality is with employees today, Kimberly.
Dan Pink’s latest book, Drive, is a great read that shows us how strong intrinsic motivators of mastery, purpose and autonomy are and how the business world has chosen to ignore this for so many years…offering carrots-and-sticks instead. When the work to be done requires people’s brains and hearts, carrots and sticks don’t work–but intrinsic motivators do.
Most of our institutions (schools, businesses, colleges) are structured to get Industrial economy outcomes: passive individuals who listen and do what they’re told, i.e. their job on the assembly line. This is a belief system that is really difficult for people to give up, because in the process of learning the behaviors that are OK, an individual’s self-confidence and efficacy is diminished or lost. In essence, our businesses continue to reward employee behavior when what they really need is “partner” behavior. I think that’s what you came up against, Kimberly.
So we’re looking for behavior change, but it takes some change of beliefs and mindsets, too. Without changing mindsets (about how work must be done, i.e. responsibility from both employers and workers) any behavior changes are only temporary. Believe it or not, many unemployed really don’t change their beliefs about responsibility… the years of reinforcement of “how work should be” is deep.
Coaching is one thing that can work because a well-trained coach can help people surface their beliefs, bump them up against today’s very different reality and then decide–each person individually–if their beliefs help or hurt them. The first step, though, is having many more conversations like this one that begin the understanding of what is in the way of changing how we work and how we can get beyond those obstacles.
Thanks again for the article, Lance, and for contributing to the discussion, Kimberly!
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July 21, 2010 at 2:20 pm
This is a great post Lance. There is always a chance everything could get taken out from under you so being prepped is wise. Not only does researching and learning new skills and tools that are out there help yourself but they can also help the company while you are in that position. It adds value to your current position.
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