Recently while leafing through the HR Policy of NGLRSM PLC with the intent to revise the Manual, I came across a passage that kept me thinking.
I would rather go verbatim to press the point home; in part it reads “….the first day of employment is long remembered by most people. The first impression one gets during the preliminary interview or selection interview and the initial information obtained during induction count heavily later in the formation of attitudes towards the job in particular and towards New Generation Logistics, Human Resources Supply and Management PLC in particular.”
It reminded me of my own personal experience years and years ago- in the very spring of my professional life. A possible ugly altercation I was bound to have in the course completing my exit from my one time employer was avoided thanks in large measure to the professionalism of the HR Manager who took me aside and whispered ‘…you are gonna have unpleasant memory of us if you or the other one says anything untoward…remember one never forgets his first interaction and his last altercation- God forbid the latter’. To this day I have a pleasant memory and maintained the bond and silently say to the HR chief-I owe you one big time! You know what I do now? Every opportunity I get I spread a good vibe about my ex-employer.
Patrimony they say is basically composed of tangible and intangible/ corporeal or incorporeal property or in layman’s parlance one’s wealth is either physical or capsuled in state of idea or attitude or patent or copy right. Business is a very common term tripping from the tongues of the multitude, right? Do you know how the law defines ‘business’? It says principally business is an incorporeal moveable and predominantly it consists of Good Will not of building or cars or expensive ICT installments.
In short business is good will. You aren’t gonna believe this but when it comes to the law a business can exist without equipment and other corporeal entities. Business is an idea. It is a good will. Our Commercial Code reads “…it may consist of corporeal/physical elements”, mark the optional qualifier ‘may’. Compare that to the ‘treasure’ traders are actually guarding with heavy armaments while giving little or no importance to the real true wealth. It is almost like guarding the junkyard while the precious stone-the business good will- is left unattended in an open display vault. No wonder in our country businesses fail to launch to higher elevations or falter and die out quietly.
But some are getting it really, really good. They are investing huge sums to nurture good will. There are small business owners in town that treat you so great that you end up pondering- truly puzzled- ‘…I remember her from some place sometime ago.’ I know some are doing it in a clumsy manner like imitating catchy lines from established global brands…I see little wisdom in imitating National Geographic iconic yellow edged rectangle only to argue ‘ours is a square’, or taking British Petroleum’s rebranding phrase ‘Beyond Petroleum’ in an unseemly context.
At any rate, when old hands at the job say a Customer is always right or the Customer is king, I would rather we shouldn’t take it as a cliché idle hyperbolic statement. The saying is rooted in superlative meaning attached to business.
When HR team recruits or selects candidates indirectly it is advertising to sell the Company’s good will. Even if his/her application fails to meet the Company standard or somebody else resume is evaluated better, treating a candidate nicely enables him to carry a pleasant memory around. Placing a courtesy call to an unsuccessful candidate and assuring him that the Company feels honored to have him as a candidate make the latter feel valued. And one who feels valued always exudes of positive attitude towards the Company.
Here is the thing, losing a seasoned employee to another employer is indeed a loss and there is no shame in admitting it to the exiting party. Guess what? The noble gesture may make him come back! Remember the note at the back of some bills/checks? It reads thank you and please come back! If a Company makes an employee come back, it isn’t doing badly. God Bless.
