Philosophizing

Photo: NIOSH, Public Domain,
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39802192

This week more than most, I have had time to talk to companies about their philosophy toward employees and the role of HR. So I thought I would take a minute to share the basics of my own.

• Our employees are potentially the single greatest competitive advantage we have. If that isn't true in your workplace, it's on the company's leadership.
• Most employees want to do a good job; many want to do a great job. Only the very rare individual stays up nights thinking of ways to make your life miserable.
• Respect, civility, and fun make any workplace better.
• Employees model their leadership, so choose your models wisely.
• Maximum transparency is best. What employees don't know about the employer's motivations and actions, they make up. What they imagine is never good for the employer.
• Honesty truly is the best policy. But if you make a habit of shooting the messenger, you won't get it.
• HR's job is to help the organization take advantage of the enormous talent of the workforce in order to achieve the organization's goals. Not to be the compliance Nazi or party central. Compliance and fun are important, in small doses. They should comprise a very small slice of HR's time.