The Sameness Theory

While I have no plans to regularly participate in Throwback Thursdays, I just experienced a flashback on a rather chilly Saturday afternoon!  My mind journeyed all the way back to 1996 when I was recruited to join the career services team of a well known and highly regarded proprietary trade school.  Due to the relocation of a valued team member, I was asked to step in and manage the placement process for a large number of technical students.  A primary selling point of the job was that I would have as much latitude as needed to do whatever it took to be successful.

The job was fantastic.  My students bought into my requests and directions and many of them quickly were headed into the working world to begin their new careers!  Accolades were coming in from employers, my colleagues at the campus level and members of the corporate office.  Things were moving along nicely and our placement rates were on a steady climb!  Then it happened and the bottom fell out.

A new national director was hired from outside to help the company as a whole increase its placement rates.  Without looking at the individual successes that some of her team team members at various campuses were enjoying, she adopted the rule that everyone on her staff must do everything exactly the same.  It did not matter if you were located in Texas or NJ, placed computer programmers, medical office assistants, or automotive repair technicians.  It did not matter if the unemployment statistics in your region were high or low, everyone was expected to do the job exactly the same way with zero tolerance for any local deviations.  Numbers declined faster than they had recently increased. Previously successful schools could no longer enroll large numbers of students and the schools who had already been on the decline kept heading downward.  Eventually, the company realized they had made an error and things were gradually rectified.

Today, as I chat with many companies, it is apparent that this sameness theory is starting to gain steam m once again.  Perhaps, with smaller operating budgets, companies feel having when method of operation is more economical.  Having lived on both sides of the street at various times in my career, I strongly endorse setting guidelines while allowing so level of creativity to exist.  I firmly believe that, in most cases, a happy, independent thinking employee will be much more productive than once who has no options at his/her disposal.

Veterans Job Fair

Veterans job fair in Morristown NJ:

http://www.communityhope-nj.org/files/standdown14/Hiring-Fair.pdf?utm_source=2014+Stand+Down-2&utm_campaign=StandDown+2014-2&utm_medium=email