A FELLA goes into a barbershop for a haircut. Just as he sits down to wait, a young kid starts climbing out of a chair.
The barber says to the kid before he goes ‘I have a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, which do you want as a treat for being so good while getting your hair cut?’. The kid takes a few seconds to think and replies ‘two quarters please’.
As he leaves the barber leans over to the new customer and says ‘that’s just the stupidest kid you’ve ever seen. Every few weeks he comes in here, I make the offer and it’s the same result: he takes the quarters’.
The customer gets his hair cut and leaves. As he passes an ice cream shop he sees the kid coming out. He goes over and asks ‘Hey kid, why do you keep taking the two quarters instead of the dollar, that’s half the money you could have got?’
The kid replies: ‘because the day I take the dollar, that’s the day the game is over’.
This is a classic case of perception. The barber thinks he is being the big man. Making fun of the kid every time he comes into the shop, for the benefit of amusing himself and (he thinks) his customers.
The kid however is happy to play the game and take a little humiliation in front of the customers, on the understanding that he comes out of the barber's with money to spend each time he gets his hair cut.
The barber has one perception of the relationship and the kid has another. One reality, but different viewpoints, different understandings, different motivations.
How often in business do we only ever think about an outcome from our perspective? How often are we only concerned about cost/benefit analysis from our side, about whether we get what we need and damn the rest.
With social media, folks tend to live in echo chambers, only reading, following or conversing with people who share their viewpoint, reinforcing their beliefs. Sometimes it’s the same in business; other people’s motivations, feelings or concerns don’t get factored in, and we only listen to what re-enforces our own thoughts.
But here’s the thing: as a HR person (in fact, as a people leader or manager of any variety), it’s your job to think from different angles.
When you consider introducing a new policy, procedure or benefit it’s your job to think about how this impacts all the different sections of your workforce. It’s your job to think about how other people might perceive what you are trying to do, to consider potential reactions.
Will people value it, will they be upset, will they take little notice at all? That way you can start to pro-actively address potential issues before they arise.
Unlike the barber, you are effectively analysing the potential cost-benefit relationship from both sides.
Maybe you are having to employ the disciplinary procedure? If so, it’s vital you think through what the circumstances were like from the employee side.
Listen to their argument, their mitigation. You absolutely do not have to agree with their thinking, but at the very least you should be able to justify your own decisions, and this will help you do that.
If the worst comes and you end up in tribunal it’s too late at that stage to start considering what the other person has said in their defence. Do it at the time, where mistakes can be corrected (if necessary).
Has someone raised a grievance? Be empathetic; think about how the world looks from each person’s viewpoint. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, or sympathise with them, but it does mean that you have an understanding of where they are coming from.
What may seem trivial to you may be a big deal to others. And as all HR professionals should know; perspective and the viewpoint from the person raising the issue is a key factor in these matters.
I’ll not lie and say it’s always easy to see other viewpoints, sometimes on the face of it there seems to be absolutely no merit in doing so, but even a little empathy, a little effort to think from the other side can result in a big gain or, more often than not, save yourself from big pain further down the road.
:: Barry Shannon is head of HR at STATSports
