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All
the World’s a Stage
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I’ve
worked most of my life in Human Resources (we
used to call it Personnel but I don’t want
to show my age). I like it, I even get a kick
from it.
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But
even I admit that some aspects of the work,
particularly on the training and motivational
side can get a little tedious, a little “samey.”
Training is often very worthy but occasionally
it can be awfully dull. Even motivational
schemes can get very gimmicky and a little
tacky. (I haven’t seen one of those Lion
posters saying “The Customer is King”
recently but I bet if a few of us look hard
enough, we’ll still find the odd one peeling
gently away from the wall by the coffee
machine).
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For
a consultant, I’m skating on thin ice here.
Even worse, I’d have to admit that often the
fundamentals
of what we need to get across to staff don’t
change very much.
But the way we do it can be very
important – it can make the difference
between so-so and wow !
(management guru Tom Peters talks a lot
about the Wow ! factor so I thought I’d have
a bit of consultant solidarity and mention
it).
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It
can be an idea, for example, to introduce some
humour into what you do. I was once
commissioned by a client to write a play to
bring out some key points about different
management styles and the impact these styles
had on motivation and morale. OK, it wasn’t
a great play but it did the job. In fact,
it’s absolutely amazing what you can get
away with when everyone knows “you’re just
pretending.” As a method of communicating
some tough messages or as a means of trying to
resolve friction between departments, it’s
certainly worth considering.
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Don’t
start practising your Oscar acceptance speech just
yet though.
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