Company Policy Sucks? Change It To Suit You - Or Move On!
I don’t like the gym. I never liked the gym. Many years ago I used to go to the gym; dragging and forcing myself there; only because I knew it was good for me. I came up with all kinds of creative ways to get myself to the gym, but I never really wanted to be there. The only reason I used to go…………………………….
I had a crush on the aerobics instructor - Sue.
But that was then - 1987.
In the early 1990’s I learned a valuable lesson. I found out you do not have to continue doing what does not excite you. So I stopped going to places I hated. Where possible, I stopped doing things I hated. I stopped hanging around with people I ha……….. , uh I mean, who hated themselves. It was a turning point in my life and pivotal in the (for the most part) happy life I lead today.
Recently I was having lunch with Alicia. I was hearing woes about her independent contractor gig. She is a full-time consultant; but has an arrangement with a seminar company to do some training for them. She has reached the point of hating it. She has been affiliated with this company for years and is watching them go through some evolution. Evolution usually means policy change; or should I say company policy change. And let’s face it; it is called company policy for a reason; it is there to benefit the company.
So I listened to her whine about changes to travel policy, mileage policy, per diem policy and hotel policy. As she was talking I saw Dorothy, Toto, Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow pounding on the door for admittance to Oz. Then I saw them whisked off to be groomed. Perhaps you remember “CLIP CLIP HERE, CLIP CLIP THERE, WE GIVE THE ROUGHEST CLAWS” Yep, that’s what is happening; corners are being cut; and as Alicia sees it; it is she who is being clawed; not the client. Every time this company calls to schedule her for a seminar she gets uptight. Crazy flight schedules to save a few bucks. Lesser quality hotels in out of the way places making it more difficult to get to client locations. You get the picture.
So I asked her why she stays. I asked her how much of her total annual income she derives from this arrangement and is it really worth it when you’re this miserable. And I asked her what she is doing to change the situation.
Just off the top of my head I see some possible solutions:
- End the arrangement and move on
- Negotiate a new arrangement with them
- Absorb some of the incremental costs for flights and hotels to have times and locations more favorable to Alicia (if it makes financial sense)
Considering Alicia loves the work; she loves training groups of people; I would be looking at the last option. That just might be the way to take that sucky policy and change it to suit her needs. In the end she is in control of this situation and at times I think she forgets that. They call her and if she is available she goes; if not they find another trainer. Not many people have a sweet deal like that. Do you?
Here is what I know. Employees are often times willing to share what is bothering them, but not willing to come up with possible solutions. Here is what I also know, companies do not want to lose quality people; and there are always exceptions to the new company policy. I hear more and more stories about people who are making career changes with no experience. There are companies willing to take a risk. I hear more and more stories about people making career changes at the company where they are employed. Often times training and development of an employee is cheaper than hiring a new employee; especially when that employee has shown initiative and desire. I hear stories all the time about people who figure out how to make lousy situations work for them. Just recently I found myself speaking to a group of people whose company is going through some policy change. I was brought in to speak to the group on what they are going to do to make the changes work for them; not what they think they will do, but what are they actually going to do. We came up with some really cool options. Now of course there were those folks who thought I was nuts; and vocalized it (but those are the ones who hate themselves). I reminded them of one thing……………..their company hired me to come in and do this. So am I nuts or are they miserable, afraid, scared and untrusting?
Company policies are always changing. So if the policy sucks, the situation sucks, or your boss sucks; what can you do to make it better? Change is inevitable - everywhere. Figure out your way to deal with it; and when you have exhausted those efforts, then you should move on.
Rich DiGirolamo is a professional speaker from Wolcott, CT. He calls himself The Big Kid and enjoys “making painful processes fun.” To learn more about Rich please visit http://www.richdigirolamo.com or http://www.recessatworkday.com
Tags: critical thinking, employee engagement, employee morale, human resources, manager, managment, career