If someone is walking around with their fly down, do you tell them? Short term humiliation is almost guaranteed for both persons, so most avoid the hard task but in the process cause a worse situation for the poor unaware “flasher”. There are many written and unwritten rules in workplaces that prohibit the truth about the fly being even spoken about. Imagine how much could be solved if the truth could be told instead of avoided.
Take for instance the process of obtaining a license for various tasks. The purpose of a license should be to certify that a person is competent to use or do a particular thing. The reason is largely to protect themselves and others from potential risks. So think about this conundrum: you pay a fee to a training provider to get a license. The training provider is also the assessor (and even if not, their role is to get you a pass), so it is in their interest to concentrate mainly on the aspects that make you pass, or most people won’t refer the trainer to others, and eventually they go broke. So to pass people, they dumb down the training content to the bare basics, and make the testing process difficult enough to make it look like it’s hard, but in reality it’s not covering all required aspects.
So when you get someone who actually wants to learn and improve the standards, what do they do when they can’t the depth of training they crave? You can’t complain, or it’s very likely the assessor will indeed toughen up the requirements and not pass you, making you resit the course again.
We can see the result of this in many ways. It can be quite scary to look at how some people drive a boat or Jetski, as it’s clear they have no idea what they are doing, risking running aground because of poor navigation skills or sinking their vessel because of poor handling skills. The same applies to many other licenses and certificates which are more tick and flick than actual competency, for instance First Aid, car/truck licenses etc.
In a work context, people are licensed or have certificates to show they have qualifications to conduct certain work. Clearly though the authorities know this is an issue, because they put the onus on the employer (not the licensed employee) to ensure the job is done safely. If the work by the qualified person is done incorrectly and fails, it’s still the employer’s responsibility to provide the warranty. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?
It all started a few years ago when we decided that there are no winners but that everyone had to get a prize, and we couldn’t tell people their weaknesses because it might offend or hurt their feelings. Mediocrity became acceptable. When little Johnny applied for their first job and didn’t get it, this was often the first time people were told they weren’t a winner and someone was better than they were. To avoid the hurt feelings and risk of adverse action claims, applicants usually don’t get proper feedback on why they didn’t get the job, instead just a basic notification of how great they are but someone met the job requirements better.
Employers’ hands get tied behind their back before a person even begins employment. Employers can’t ask about a person’s health conditions or if they have had any Workcover or other claims – information which should be in the interest of employees to share with employers so they can better prevent any future issues.
Reference checks are likewise just as useless, you can give employment dates and similar, but any comments about performance carry risk. Saying a person is good and they turn out not to be is perhaps not quite as bad as giving out information about the real reason someone no longer works for you as it can lead to defamation. So best to just stay mute.
I used to give constructive feedback to unsuccessful candidates as it could help improve their potential for the future. And goodness knows many candidates need career guidance and even tips on what to do (and not do) during the recruitment process. But giving feedback requires kid gloves.
So the conundrum is, whilst we would all benefit from being open and honest with employees and potential employees, we tread a narrow path. Is it easier to put up with the issues and stay silent? Or do we live dangerously and tell the much-needed truths? All too often, we chicken out, give the benefit of the doubt, but learn the hard way later.
Words from the wise
“Do I look fat in this?” has only 1 safe response: “Do I look stupid?”
“What can be swallowed, or swallow a person? Pride” – relevant Conundrum for this month’s newsletter!
As always, Onwards and Upwards!
Fred Carlsson
General Manager
