For 2020, I have settled on “read”. Up until a few years ago, I was what many would call an avid reader. Starting in childhood, including reading 22 Hardy Boys’ books during a 21 day stay on Cape Cod, I was rarely found without a book nearby. However, that has changed in the last few years and I have found myself missing the joys of a good book in favor of time in front of a screen. I want to make that change in 2020.

So, my word is “Read” and I am taking a few steps to help myself do better in this realm. Today, I bought 6 books of various genre and have them ready to go for the new year. If I devote 30 minutes a day toward reading that is not on a computer or smartphone, at a minimum I will have 183 hours done before the end of 2020.

While my external presence remains more limited than in years past, I will be at WorkHuman Live in San Antonio this May and at least one other event which is yet to be determined. Other known excursions will include a #StateLineCrew meetup with some of the great HR pros of Illinois and Wisconsin and a family vacation (minus one ): ) to Mallorca.

As always, the future is unknown but I remain positive about the possibilities that we all can embrace in the days, weeks, months, and yes, years ahead.

For me, the title of this blog is a continuous reminder of my first job. However, the lessons go much deeper.

As a 16 year old ride operator at Kings Island, I learned first-hand the importance of treating people with respect, even when they were not reciprocating. Whether it was working with the little kid rides or the biggest coasters, the emphasis on guest service was the same. Safety was 1st, always. Following that essential commitment, providing good guest service was the highest pillar we needed to achieve.

Those lessons continue to serve me well.

It was with some bemusement this summer when I had a chance to watch my son experience his first job. Asked recently what he learned, he replied that he learned he did not want to perform manual labor for the rest of his life!

For some others, the lessons included:

“I learned that people are not always upfront and honest”

“Having the right tools makes things easier”

“Corn leaves can be sharp”

As you continue through your work, take a moment to think back on your first job and reflect how a lesson learned continues to help or influence you today.

My son, an incoming junior in high school, finished his summer reading this past weekend, hasn’t located his backpack to use, and is spending more time worried about his appearance for school pictures on the 1^st day than on determining exactly where he is supposed to go first on the 1^st day!

My daughter, entering 7^th grade, has had her backpack prepped for a few weeks, rechecked it several times to ensure everything is in the correct order within the backpack, and already knows where her 1^st class is located so she can go right there when she arrives at school!

The vast differences in the preparation of these 1^st days I imagine are quite reflective of not only their personalities, but age too. While he would not admit it, there is excitement in my son to get going in this year. Meanwhile, my daughter certainly has apprehension of a new year with new teachers and the rise of additional expectations that come with each advancing year in school.

These are the same feelings that appear in our people at work from time to time too. I’m sure someone you work with is experiencing excitement about future possibilities while another may be feeling anxious over events where they have little or no control. What are doing to support this spectrum of humanity? Do you know where you fall on it?

One of the reminders that I am most likely to use at work this time of year as we have many new people joining the District is that while we in HR have heard a question many times, for this person, this is their 1^st time hearing our answer. Are we making sure that the answer is as complete and informative for this person as it was for the 1^st person who asked it on our 1^st day? It’s important that we make every effort to make it so!

Enjoy the 1^st day. While you’re at it, enjoy the 1000^th one just as much!

What class (in high school, college, or grad school) influences you now in a way that you did not anticipate at the time you originally took the class?

I know I need to think on this one for a bit. I hope you do as well!

My answer comes in my next post! Feel free to chime in.

This is one of those times where my day job and my interest in politics come together. As has happened in many states, the legislature here in Michigan, in all their wisdom, has come forth and mandated an evaluation system for the teachers in our state. Like many other states, the focus is less on creating a road map for improvement (which is what I like to see in an employee evaluation) and more on ensuring that someone is held accountable for the success and/or failure of those being taught. There are so many things wrong with the process as mandated that its legitimacy is easy to question.

I feel very fortunate to work in a District that takes this responsibility seriously and currently has a process that has some forward looking elements so that our professionals in the classroom can continue to grow and improve their craft.  We have excellent teachers who (mostly) want to improve and build upon their knowledge and skills. I fear as the momentum toward growth measures becomes a reality, that real conversations that take place around improvement will yield to chats about testing and preparing students for the high stakes tests that now can not only determine a student’s potential path, but their teacher’s path forward as well.

For those complaining about an appraisal you received at work, remember it can be worse; the government could have designed it!

The discussion began when a student inquired about handling an employee situation after someone has done something wrong yet they insist that they’re right. After joking that a situation like that would never happen because HR is always right, I shared a story that affected me.  Without sharing the lurid details here, the story was about me being accused of doing something that I did not do. Rather than argue and hold hostility to those involved, there was reflection on the things that I had done in relation to the situation as well as the things that I had not done that could have prevented the misperception from occurring in the first place.  In short, it still benefitted me to learn from the situation and get better so that I would not be in the position again where I could be wrongly accused.

Even when one is not wrong and is still being accused, there is always room to improve. I reminded the group that learning from a negative situation can provide great dividends moving forward and that many of my most valuable lessons had come from the mistakes I’ve made, not the immediate successes.  Had I simply been bitter about being accused and reacted in a hostile manner, it is likely that the lessons learned would not be as positive and I would not have gotten better moving forward. To simplify it, it is important to get better, not bitter.

In my short tenure in my new position, it has become clear that my presence outside the administrative office is a new fangled concept to many.  I’ve heard phrases like:

“HR has never been here before.”

“Why are you here? Is something wrong?”

“I hope you’re not here because someone is in trouble.”

“Wait, you’re the new HR Director and you came to see me?!?”

While this seems novel and funny (and yes it is!) it is more a testament to a fundamental disconnect so many in HR have from the daily realities that occur in the organization that we are hired to support.  The only way HR can be relevant to an organization is to understand what being relevant in the organization means and what it looks like. In addition to visits to schools I’ve gone through a morning shift with a school bus driver, prepared and served food in a school cafeteria, and set-up chairs for a PTO meeting one morning before breakfast.  Each one of these experiences has informed me and will allow me to make better decisions that will benefit the district, the employees, and ultimately, the students we serve.

Serving lunch to middle school students provides valuable insight!

One of the phrases I use when asked why I’m visiting is:

“I can’t do good work unless I know what is needed and that can’t happen by sitting in my office and waiting for things to come to me.”

It will take time, but I am confident that my presence will cease to be alarming some day! As I gain more knowledge and understanding of the operations in the schools and other student support services, this presence can expand our opportunities to ensure that our HR department provides positive and proactive support to everyone in our organization.

There are corporate partnerships aligned with educational institutions that create value and link the knowledge that can be taught in schools with the skills needed by employers.  Creating relevance is key to many students (one of the R’s touted by our superintendent) and having someone to show these real world applications to students can make a difference in both the classroom and the workplace.

Whether we like it or, boosting education attainment is a workforce issue and it is essential the companies step up to declare what they need, how they can help get it, and partner with as many entities as needed to get what they need out of the educational system.

In his opening keynote this morning at the 2013 Illinois SHRM conference, Dr. Daniel Crosby cited some frightening statistics related to reading.

First, 27 percent of population of the United State holds a bachelor’s degree.  Of that 27 percent, a full 42 percent never read a book again after their academic careers are over.  This leads to the most disturbing statistic of all for me.  A full 80 percent of US households do not either buy or check out a book in any given year.

Dr. Crosby summarized by stating that means that 4 out of 5 households are more likely to get their learning from Duck Dynasty or Honey Boo Boo than from a good (or even bad!) book.

This folks, is frightening!

What does this mean for our workplaces and what we do in HR?  

Think about this as you plan for that next big workforce initiative or new innovation.  The decision about how we communicate something can become even more important than the something we are talking about.  Perhaps we are moving toward a future where reading will not be as fundamental.  As an avid reader, that bothers me a lot!  However, it can mean a shift to recorded messages on video, using social media effectively (although that still requires reading!) or even face-to-face conversations.  The media matters more than ever!

Progress always involves risks.  You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.

-        Frederick B. Wilcox

Life has a funny way of presenting opportunities.  Without taking a risk, so many instances of progress would not occur.  Even as we have become a more risk averse society, there are those who are willing to take risks in order to achieve something more.  I am seeing this play out firsthand as our family transitions to Michigan.  Yes, we left things we cherished in Bloomington.  However, it is looking toward the future and its infinite possibilities that should determine the path we take and decisions we make.  Learn from the past, but do not let it limit your future potential!