Welcome to the bringing the human Back To Human Resources,
podcast, the podcast, all about the delicate balance between
people and business. And quite literally reconnecting
the to my name is Tracy Ruben, and I've spent nearly my entire
professional career in a jar, join me as I share stories,
opinions and words of advice with you each week.
After a long day in my new job but lots to share lots of things
to reflect on. And the first thing that I want
to say before I even get into that is a congratulations to the
giveaway. Winner XO Julie cat on
Instagram. She won the giveaway from last
week, which was the, you know, one year anniversary of the Give
away. So very excited about that.
That it was actually a really successful giveaway.
Thank you to all of you who participated.
It was very exciting, very exhilarating, and I'm so glad
that you were able to get involved and that we could
connect. And I just also want to say
thank you so much for all of the kind words.
So many of you reached out and not only congratulated me on my
new role, but also on one year of the podcast and it really
means a lot. So thank you.
Don't forget to rate. Rate review And subscribe,
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So, the first thing that I thought about talking about for
this week's episode and mind you, I am exhausted.
So I'm going to give you the most energy I possibly can this
A totally like crazy idea to record this episode after my
very first day in a new role, but the first thing, and the
only thing that I really thought about today was like, wow, I
have so much respect for anyone who on-boarded remotely.
So I was in the office today, which was great.
So, nice to be able to just kind of get the lay of the land, so
to speak. But I can only imagine Rajan,
what it would be like, for someone onboarding remotely?
And obviously, I thought about this in my last roll, when we
were onboarding people remotely and I knew it was tough for me
as the trainer the manager, the HR person, whatever.
But I think I forgot how much work it is to start a new
company. And it just like, makes me think
about all these people who have been jumping between like jobs
and roles because they get something better.
And they quit and then they take it and then someone offers them
something else and then they quit that and they take it like
this has been a big theme in the great resignation as they say.
But I really forgot because it's been four and a half years since
I've been in a new role or a new company.
I should say, I forgot how much work it is to just like, unlearn
everything that you learned almost and start fresh.
So, I think the beauty of like being in a roll Oh, that your
experience in is that, you know, how to do the job and the
learning part is where you're getting to meet new people.
You have to remember their names.
You have to get to know the company.
So that is what really my first day was focused on and what my
first few weeks will be focused on.
So I my thought on the bus home today was like, oh my gosh, I'm
going to have to make sure that I never save a podcast episode
for Monday. And again because it's really,
you know, these next few weeks, few months are going to be
really draining and that is what I remember now that I'm in it
from, you know, moving into a new role and I have to say, like
I'm really excited. I was already excited, but I'm
really excited because I'm going to be learning and an advanced
skill set. I think more skills, and I just
like, I like change. I like to experience new things.
So I'm excited for this new opportunity and hopefully, you
know, No, I'll have some more insights to share.
But other than the you know, realization that it's so much
work. The other thing that I wanted to
share is that is just like a tip for how to enter a new workplace
because I don't know that we have maybe we've talked about
this before together on the podcast, but I can't totally
remember. And I especially can't remember
right now, but one of the things that I do a strategy that I
practice is to really just Observe listen and work on
getting the buy-in of the people around me.
And it's really like part of that.
A huge part of that is being yourself being authentic and,
you know, being just you. Because that's the easiest way
to allow people to get to know you to feel connected to you.
And so I go in even if it's in like the same company, but
you're in a new role or maybe working with new people or
facing new people. When you go in with the
intention to just listen and observe ask questions, you know
offer support where possible and like Leverage your expertise,
but not necessarily change anything, unless you're
absolutely have to that allows for the Buy in to kind of be
developed and grow pretty quickly.
So, for me, you know, I tend to be pretty opinionated and
definitely, I know myself. I know that I can have a lot of
Answers to questions. I like to jump in right away.
But especially in the first week.
I really try to like real that in remain myself like be myself,
offer like ideas. If it comes up or if it's part
of like the discussion, but really to focus on asking those
questions, making those observations taking a lot of
notes and then just kind of like being myself.
So hopefully my strategy which has never failed me.
Hopefully it'll work this time. I'm around to, I have no doubts
but you know, the I feel really grateful that I'm surrounded by
really nice people and a really nice environment.
So hopefully I can just have a really positive impact.
So if you are or have recently, switched roles, I'd love to hear
from you. You know, this is it feels a
little different from the last time.
I joined a new company which is four and a half years ago
because we're wearing masks their health insurance.
Safety requirements. There's so much.
It's actually really hard to recognize or like get to know
someone when half of their faces covered if you're meeting them
in person. So I'm going to have to maybe
leverage LinkedIn for this or like the internal like org chart
or something wherever people's faces are, you know, fully
available to be observed. That will probably be helpful.
But yes, please, reach out. If you have recently made a
transition, I'd love to You're some of the things that you've
done to make that transition and some of the challenges may be
that you've experienced some of the things that have worked for
you. I do get a lot of messages
naturally about people who are either looking to move or have
moved. So, I think it would be just
helpful overall. So those are my, you know, fast
facts. Quick tips for you, the rest of
today, the rest of this week's episode.
I want to spend answering some questions and talking about
jumbo. Just some things that have come
up through DMs that hopefully and answering them will also
help answer maybe some questions that you have.
I usually get a lot of positive feedback from parts of the
episode that are focused on answering questions.
So without further Ado, let's get to the first question.
Someone asked me really a specific question about the
great retention and this person said my employer recently
implemented performance, too. Oceans every 30 days in your
opinion. Is that a little bit too much?
And my answer to this person was actually that I think it depends
on the kind of discussion that is basically happening during
that performance discussion. Is it a check in or is it a
lengthy meeting? Is it a discussion on what like
you the employee wants from a growth or development
perspective? Or is it like a coaching
discussion saying, you know, or providing feedback?
Back, for example, and I said, I think it depends on the
industry. So overall to answer this
question in general. I think it really does send a
good message. I think that the manager is
going to be committed to having these what are probably
check-ins with employees every 30 days.
Because my point of this person is that actually it sounds like
it's just a recurring meeting where the person is.
Able to have that steady recurring meeting that they know
and can anticipate is going to be in a certain format, and they
can, you know, maybe create their agenda with things that
they need or want from their manager.
And there's a real benefit to having that recurring meeting.
And I mean, at the same time, I think if you're having a
recurring touch base or meeting with your manager, it probably
could just be folded into that instead of being an additional
meeting because that just boggles has you down, but maybe
there's a specific reason why it's a 30 day or every 30 day
performance discussion. Now, the other thing that as I'm
reflecting and answering this question again, but really the
first time for all of you is that it's possible that this
manager is, is implementing this for a specific employee based on
their performance, or maybe like the performance that could be
subpar or below. Because that I could understand
from like a talent management perspective.
If a manager is struggling with the performance of an employee
and they want that recurring meeting outside of their normal
like project check-in type of touch base to talk about
performance. So it could be, you know, on a
more constructive plane or point of view, but it sounds to me
like it's really just a recurring check in and I am in
favor of any opportunity for a Manager to be consistent with
their follow-up and support for their employees.
A second question that I recently received.
Was it kind of actually, I'll backtrack it started out less
about or less like a question and more like a concern from
someone who was like, clearly, very frustrated and upset.
So this person said, hey, I'm in this role.
Like I was hired for this role. That is But, like, not that,
it's an entry-level role. And I'm supposed to be doing X,
Y & Z. And in the first few months, I
was doing X Y, & Z. But in the last few weeks, I've
been doing work, that feels really low level really low
scope, and it makes me feel unappreciated or
underappreciated. I think the person said and they
were super upset and basically shared that, you know, this is
something that's really impacting their happiness at
work. And asked like what do they do
about it? So my advice was actually first
to say, okay. Well, let's figure out where you
feel the difference. Like, is it that this that your
manager is giving you busy work, or is it that you have actually,
like, taken on more? So, you're doing the important
things, but you're also doing things that are just overall
helping your manager, or the team, or could it be a third
option, which is that, maybe the workload is a little bit
different right now. And so, these are the things
that, although they don't feel, Like they're very important,
they're important in the moment. And so we had a conversation
about like basically analyzing the work and why this person was
feeling that way and just in general breaking down where that
feeling was coming from. Because I do think that's an
important practice. Like we all can feel a certain
way and take you know, something out of an experience, but you
do, I think find if you don't have a mentor or someone that
you can just like speak into the abyss to find that.
That person, because that's kind of what the practice that I was
like, engaging. In, with.
This person was really to try and understand and break down
every single feeling so that that person could like
understand what they were feeling thinking and what they
needed. And so, when we went through
that practice, I then asked them well, like, have you mentioned
this to your manager of you mentioned this, to the people
who are, you know, maybe basically giving you this work
and thus making you feel Sway. And this person was like, no.
I haven't spoken to anyone. I don't want it to look like,
I'm not, you know, committed. Like I'm not a team player
because I am. And my advice was like, again,
just because you bring up something that's a concern, or
if you share feedback. It doesn't mean you're just
interested. And so I actually said, instead
of giving feedback. You can just say like, hey, I'm
so excited to be on this team. This has been such an amazing
experience and opportunity. I wanted to take a moment to
share with you how I've been feeling recently because, you
know, they're in the last few weeks.
It feels like the workload has changed a bit and you know, I
really believe in what I'm bringing to the table and the
skill set that I'm bringing to this team and I want to be able
to have the most positive impact possible and support as much as
possible. What do you think?
How can I get more involved and then through that type of
conversation? You're giving the manager or the
other person in the situation. In this scenario, the floor to
basically evaluate what you've just said, think about your
position in the company or in the on the team.
And then like, really reflect and this person ended up going
back to their manager and sharing this.
And, and all in the same vein, or like, right before this
person went to their manager. The manager was like, hey, Hey,
like, I'm picking up lunch for us.
Like you deserve some recognition.
You've been doing a great job and that made the employee or
the person who reached out to me, feel that much more
appreciated, which was great. And I think it was like perfect
timing for that person to go and have like a, you know, an
optimistic Outlook, but then yes, they did go to their
manager and share those things and their manager was super
receptive and it ended up being that the workload has just
shifted a little bit because it's what the demand is today.
And that Eventually, as the workload shifts again.
This person will have like that. More quote, unquote, important
/. Interesting work that they
really appreciate about their role yet once again, or yet
again, so I thought that was an important experience for this
person because they were really starting out in their career.
They're very hungry for the next step and the next, you know, the
next best thing, so to speak. And they want to just do the
absolute best that they can in this.
Roll in order to be successful and, you know, a considered a
candidate for another great role.
So I get where this person was coming from, but I do think
that, that was an important exercise because one, it's
really empowering for the person to like, go to their manager and
say, hey, this is how I've been feeling.
What do you think? What can we do about this?
And I think it's just it helps to remind the person that you
know, there are lulls in. What we feel is important work,
but all of the work that we do, does lend to the bigger picture
and is important. And there's always a, why behind
the what and figuring out, what that why is is so important to
feeling dedicated and committed to the role.
So, if you're a manager and you have an employee who maybe has
felt this way recently or something like that.
I encourage you to explain the why we always say this in retail
explaining, the wise is so important for the Person on the
receiving end of your message to understand why it's important.
Explaining. The wise, understanding the wise
that is the key phrase and some of you might be thinking, well,
why does someone need to know the reason for doing something?
It's not about a sense of entitlement.
It's actually a matter of driving accountability and
fostering ownership, within that person.
Like, if someone says to me do this, but then I met, you know,
maybe I'll just be like, okay, this is just Going to have to
do. But if someone says to me, hey,
we need to do XY and z or I need you to do X, Y and Z.
Because this is what it's going to work toward or lend to or
improve. Then I'm like, Oh, my work is
going to be 10 times as good, maybe because I'll be more
committed. I'll have a bigger picture
understanding of the, you know, the reason behind the work and
having that reason gives you almost like a broader sense of
understanding so that when you are completing the work, even if
you would complete, the work just as well, without the wise,
it gives you so much more visibility.
So that when you're thinking through problems or you're doing
the work, you could potentially anticipate more of what you
need, less of what you need, because you understand the scope
of the work that you're doing. So, it's not a sense of
entitlement thing. When managers are asked to
explain the why it's a Of driving ownership and driving
accountability. So, those were the questions
that I got this week. I'm going to save some other
questions that I got for another episode because I'm going to
keep this one a little bit short and sweet today because you can
probably hear it in my voice. This was not the right strategy.
I am so tired. I have so much respect for
anyone that has started a new job in this crazy new world, and
And, you know, I really like I'm so excited for what my future
holds for what anyone who's started a new role at your
future holds, but I'm looking forward to like, I feel just so
motivated. Like, I'm looking forward to
waking up early tomorrow, getting to the office.
Like this is probably the most motivated.
I felt in a very long time because it's, I don't know.
It's just something new and something exciting.
Like, I mean, I obviously loved my last roll of my last company.
So much and they'll always be like friends and family to me,
basically, but I do think this is where change can be really,
really exhilarating, especially if you've given a lot of
yourself to your to, your company and your old.
I was just my last company for four and a half years.
So it feels good to have like a new fresh start somewhere.
And I'm looking forward to the challenges, the ups, and the
downs. I, you know, I'm excited to work
through those things and I'm excited to kind of travel again.
Hopefully, I'll get To do more of that.
But in general, like I'm probably never going to record
again Monday night, but definitely not this month
because it's just way too much to ask of my mind body and soul.
So next week. I will have already recorded
maybe over the weekend. I will say, I am recording in my
robe. I'm waiting for my ubereats
delivery for dinner because I plan on really relaxing tonight
and just getting myself, ready for Or tomorrow, but thank you
for being here, along for the journey with me.
Super excited for what's to come.
And there actually is a lot to talk about.
That's been going on, like, the employment, HR employment world.
So with employment laws of vaccine mandates so much.
So the next few weeks are probably going to be a little
bit heavy with like HR specific stuff and not necessarily
Tracy's life on the podcast today.
So stay Tuned. Don't forget to rate review And
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So with that I am going to say have a wonderful rest of your
day, wonderful rest of your week.
Week. Thank you for being here and I
will talk to you next week.