Ivan, you wrote...
> In fact, the empty space might really be the richest source of information
> of how the organization REALLY functions. That's where all of the
> "informal interaction" takes place. For instance, we pay a whole lot of
> attention to the formal socialization process the organization develops
> for those entering the firm, or experiencing significant job changes. But
> we generally ignore the the continuous, life-long socialization process
> that takes place from the day the employees enters the organization until
> the day he/she leaves. The constant orientation, training and development
> the employee receives from every one else who "knows how things are really
> done here" is a pretty much overlooked process in most places!
Excellent point!! HR departments are notoriously famous for focusing on
"finding the best person for the job" -- many of them succeed at this.
But then they just drop the person into the 'organization soup' and assume
that they will learn to swim with the right currents. In other words,
they ignore the on-going socialization process. They think their job is
done once the person is found and placed.
IMHO, I think that finding and placing the best people is only half of the
job. [This also happens with women and minorities in organizations -- they
are hired by the numbers (AAP goals) but then are left to drift in the
organization's currents. Most of them do not hook into the right info
flows and informal networks, soon feel(and are) excluded and leave the
company. HR now has 'rework' to find the best employee for the job. A
vicious and EXPENSIVE cycle! Obviously this cycle does not help org.
learning.]
Instead of just placing the right people, maybe HR's job should be to
place and CONNECT the right people so that they become fully integrated
into the work AND social systems within the firm. IMHO, smart people
without the right connections make for a very dumb company!
Therefore, one of my favorite quotes of late is: "It's the connections,
stupid!"
--Valdis Krebs Krebs & Associates
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>