I know it seems a little early to look back on 2009 with 1/12th of the year yet to pass, but our friends at SmartBrief have asked each member of the Workforce Advisory Board to share their lessons learned from this year.
From my perspective, I can sum up 2009 in one simple word:
Vampires.
2009 Sucked
Millions have lost their jobs and remained unemployed. The official rate stands at 10.2% (as of October) among the general population. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the situation is much worse for African Americans (15.7%) and Latinos (13.1%). No surprise that this makes the list, as I’ve personally engaged with thousands this year who struggle to secure the precious few jobs that are available. This really sucks.
Millions also lost their homes this year. According to RealtyTrac, over 300,000 homeowners received notices of foreclosure, repossession or default in October alone. That’s one out of every 385 homes nationwide, with California, Florida, Michigan and Illinois accounting for over 50% of the total. Have you ever walked through a tent city filled with the displaced? You should, as you will get a sense of just how horrific the situation is. This is another “10″ on the suck-o-meter.
There are a thousand other reasons that 2009 may have sucked for you and it surrounds us every day. Two wars. Loss of healthcare. Amber alerts. Workplace violence. Swine flu. The list goes on and on. And although many are going to surround a table during tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner and express gratitude for what remains, there is no question that this year has forced many to fundamentally reevaluate their lives and priorities.
HR Is (Un)Dead
A raging and vocal debate subsumed a portion of the human resources market in 2009. Was HR dead? Did HR rise and live again? Will HR walk the halls of corporate America forever, or will a wooden stake of the future finally put HR down? Or, perhaps we should just leave poor HR alone and do nothing.
Like the vampire, HR had a questionable reputation among the living working in 2009. For some, human resources is dark, mysterious, reviled and can strike without warning. For others, it’s a misunderstood profession that just wants to be respected and – dare I say – loved. Some pitchfork carrying torchbearers even cried for a revolution in 2009, while others would prefer an evolution. Many questions remain, but this much I can confirm – the likeness of HR professionals can be captured on film.
Vampires, Seriously?
A recent quote in an article on the vampire craze aptly summarized why I chose this particular metaphor.
“It’s about love and loss and friendship and getting through things you’re not sure you can get through, but you do anyway.”
And that my friends is 2009 in a nutshell. Love. Loss. Friendship. Getting through some of the worst times we can imagine, and doing so because we don’t have a choice.
How did you see 2009? Any other vampire-like characteristics I missed? Share your thoughts, be thankful that the year is nearly over, and let’s keep the conversation going.
Great analogy for 2009, Mark. I heard this morning that not only was 2009 one of the worst years on record, that the entire decade was probably right up their in the ‘worst decade’ list. The Sept 11 attacks and the economic meltdown as bookends to a sort of ‘lost’ decade.
Let’s hope and strive to make 2010 the year it starts turning around.
How would the HR vampire react to garlic flavored bacon?
Thought for a moment you were going out on a limb, but the vampire theme makes sense. 2009 sucked for many and HR is definitely not ‘undead’. Speaking about many HR pros I know, I’d say we (shockingly) live up to some additional vampire characteristics. Let’s run through a quick checklist:
*So, vampires are mysterious and wear mostly black. Well, we are definitely the mysterious secret keepers of the company, so (CHECK)
*Vampires are soulless creatures. While I know those of us in HR know we are not soulless, I bet if you asked anyone who was laid off this year, they might answer that differently, so (CHECK)
*Vampires have the ability to read a victim’s thoughts. Minus the “victim” title, I’ll say that good HR pros have an uncanny ability to read people, so (CHECK)
* And, vampires have unnatural speed. Who else in the company can juggle payroll deadlines, I-9 compliance, visas, recruiting, exit interviews, compensation etc? Pretty fast paced HR world we live in, so (CHECK)
On a fun note, I recommend a series of vampire books for the ladies http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net/betsy.html. It’s about a 30 something recently “undead” vampire who is unwed and unemployed. Fitting.
Nice post. Bring on 2010!
How awesome that you thought of vampires. When I think of the vampire craze, I think of this post:
http://www.esquire.com/features/thousand-words-on-culture/vampires-gay-men-1109
This rings so true. I understand how terrible our unemployment is, but the fact is that I have 70 open job orders that I am trying to fill. It seems to me that people need to be open for change and if that means relocating, then you have to do what you have to do. As long as Obama extends unemployment, I’m sure I will still have a hard time filling my open job orders.
Believe me, receiving Unemployment Compensation is no disincentive to accepting a job or being available for one. It is a humble pittance, not sufficient to keep body and home together (to say nothing of wheels…)
Nobody who is receiving Unemployment Compensation finds it a satisfactory situation or an adequate substitute for having a decent job in their chosen occupation. They are desperate enough as it is…
Extending Unemployment Compensation is throwing a flotation-pillow to drowning masses, and is no barrier to filling open job orders.
To find the real barriers, look instead to hiring managers who ask for candidates with four wings and tortoise-shells who can walk on the moon — and believe they can get them — and when presented with perfectly well-qualified candidates who are merely mortals, will hold out on making an offer or will “rescope the position”.
You — and I don’t mean just you personally, but everyone in the recruiting industry — will continue having a hard time filling open job orders unless you can convince the Hiring Managers to behave more realistically and rationally.
In “Predictably Irrational”, Dan Ariely illustrates many kinds of commonplace weird self-defeating behavior. One that comes to mind here: A person shopping for a digital camera finds two that meet the criteria; both are very similar with only tiny differences. Often, that person will agonize over the minutiae for a month or more before making a choice, instead of picking one or t’other arbitrarily, and will, consequently, lose a month or more of picture opportunities.
Similarly, I have seen companies keep a position open for months, searching for the “perfect” candidate — rejecting “merely adequate” candidates — while the work remains undone.
If you can convince the HM’s to take a more realistic view, you’ll be doing us all a favor!
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