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@kunashe Seems like as a representative of HR, she shouldn't have been managing anyone.
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@kunashe Our current HR lady is really cute, overboard nice to everyone, and has a lot of both alpha/extroverted males and introverts in her corner. I'm 99% if she called the developers into a meeting for a personality test, the young bucks would stumble over themselves to be in the front row. If she only knew the power she wields.
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That's a very bad approach.
HR has an obligation to the company, to facilitate teams that work best.
Now teams have some bad apples (they all do), but personal relationships make it impossible to identify them. And because of them, the whole team suffers (they all get valued less, achieve less, improve less, waste time), the company suffers (less development), and it's just all bad.
You went into that personality test in a confrontational manner. Just because someone somewhere mishandled the results didn't mean that this will be the same case here, yet you've went on a crusade, for literally no gain.
Bad apples can be made adequate, by proper sessions of "what do you really want and what are you going to do to get it?" kind of talks with HR and management. Compromises are reached. Productivity is gained. Or an uncooperative person is fired.
The irony is that your attitude adopted during this basically justifies the results of the test. -
@apisarenco I don't know, given our current HR situation, I'd say we gained a lot. Not by anything I did, I wasn't the only one tired of all the "touchy feely" nonsense.
'Sally' was a nice enough HR rep, but she tried to change the culture to her liking instead of embracing the current culture and trying to improve it for the benefit of the people. I can't say enough nice things about our current HR team. This company would not have the great people we have without them. -
@PaperTrail yes, ok, you might think so, but do you have the bigger picture? Are you positive that the company is doing good? Why would they look to hiring a new HR head? Because from this action it looks like there is some work to do that the current HR isn't well equipped to do. So maybe there is a problem that you're not aware of, or are ignoring.
Far too little info on this. But from what I already saw, the non-cooperation was from your side, and I witnessed a hostile culture that maybe actually does need to be changed. -
@apisarenco I am 100% certain. We've had our fair share of HR 'leaders' that forgot or didn't realize they were supposed to serve employees/people first, personal egos last.
We've got the most cooperative collection of leaders we've ever had in my many years with the company.
Goofy stuff happens everywhere. Good people do bad things, people make mistakes, but the exceptions (what I rant about on devrant) don't make the rules anymore.
My definition of 'hostile' is probably different than some.
When an ex-IT manager got in my face, screaming about how I helped a user behind his back (long story, he wanted the credit instead of me), it took all I could from knocking him on his fat ass...that is a hostile work environment in my opinion. -
@PaperTrail your current system sounds like it works for you. Also, it sounds adorable. I have a friend in a similar situation-- gorgeous, brilliant girl, putting her philosophy degree to work in an HR department for a tech company.
I think part of the appeal is that she doesn't abuse her power and that she is very good at what she does. It's all about using just the right amount of power, but no more. -
@PaperTrail that too, is hostile. It's also hostile when a new person is received as an outsider and nobody wants to cooperate.
Look, if HR needed only to lie back on their asses and do nothing but ensure fresh coffee and drinks, discounts at gyms and handling employee onboarding/offboarding, then they wouldn't have hired that "hot shot". Unless management is extremely incompetent.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing you of lying or anything. It's just that I've seen first hand how people get the sure impression that they are perfectly aware of what's happening in the company, when in fact they have no clue. So take your own sureness with a grain of salt. Be more skeptical rather than tribal. Ask why that HR hot shot was hired. Ask yourself if you don't jump to conclusions too often.
At worst, I'm wrong and you'll hate me for that. At best, you might avoid a needless crisis. -
I once saw a job listing that had the section "You are:" and it listed off technical, leadership skills, the usual, but ended with the bullet point "A kind and loving person". Now I'm not a "mean and hateful person" but it was pretty clear it wasn't going to be a great culture fit if they were all about warm fuzzies and excessive emotional sensitivity.
I'd say that they have just as much right to cling to that kind culture and resist change just as I would push hard against a "how to manifest your own brightest light" kind of culture. Fight for what you believe in.
Related Rants
Here we go
Summing up many ridiculous meetings I've been in.
Many years ago we hired someone for HR that came from a large fortune 500 company, really big deal at the time.
Over the next 6 months, she scheduled weekly to bi-weekly, 1 to 2 hour meetings with *everyone* throughout the day. Meeting topics included 'How to better yourself', 'Trust the winner inside you'...you get the idea.
One 2-hour meeting involved taking a personality test. Her big plan was to force everyone to take the test, and weed out anyone who didn't fit the 'company culture'. Whatever that meant.
Knowing the game being played, several of us answered in the most introverted, border-line sociopath, 'leave me the frack alone!' way we could.
When she got the test results back, she called an 'emergency' meeting with all the devs and the VP of IS, deeply concerned about our fit in the company.
HR: "These tests results were very disturbing, but don't worry, none of you are being fired today. Together, we can work as team to bring you up to our standards. Any questions before we begin?"
Me: "Not a question, just a comment about the ABC personality test you used."
<she was a bit shocked I knew the name of the test because it was anonymized on the site and written portion>
Me: "That test was discredited 5 years ago and a few company's sued because the test could be used to discriminate against a certain demographic. It is still used in psychology, but along with other personality tests. The test is not a one-size-fits-all."
VP, in the front row, looked back at me, then at her.
HR: "Well....um...uh...um...We're not using the test that way. No one is getting fired."
DevA: "Then why are we here?"
DevB:"What was the point of the test? I don't understand?"
HR: "No, no...you don't understand...that wasn't the point at all, I'm sorry, this is getting blown out of proportion."
VP: "What is getting blown out of proportion? Now I'm confused. I think we all need some cooling off. Guys, head back to the office and let me figure out the next course of action."
She was fired about two weeks later. Any/all documentation relating to the tests were deleted from the server.
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