Friday Follies Happy Hour 2011.03.25

From somewhere deep in the recesses of my memory the following snippet from my past floated up into my consciousness today:

"Bartender - give me another beer before Happy Hour to get me in the mood..."

Perhaps it was triggered by the following email I received from our HR department.

ACTION REQUIRED: please complete online training called "Effective Hiring Practices"

I got your "ACTION REQUIRED" right here...

Colleagues,

As a result of the System HR Audit conducted in November 2010, those involved in the hiring process or who may be involved in the future are periodically required to receive training which covers proper hiring policies, procedures, and documentation requirements in order to help them make wise hiring decisions and employ the most qualified applicants.

I've hired and fired people for 30+ years, IMO fairly successfully. Now, all of a sudden, I'm not qualified to do so without wasting time taking a worthless online training seminar. If you've ever taken an online driving course to get out of a traffic ticket you're familiar with the quality of those courses. This is just a CYA ploy by the HR dept. in a feeble attempt to justify their existence.

I've been on two search committees - one for a faculty member, and one for the department chair - in the past year. Both of our recommended candidates were hired, and both have worked out well. But I guess I need more training in how to make 'wise hiring decisions.'

To accomplish this, all administrators and faculty are required to complete the online training called “Effective Hiring Practices.”  The training is to be completed now and every 2 years thereafter.   This very useful training addresses hiring effectively and fairly, preparing/updating position descriptions, posting vacancies, developing interview questions, conducting interviews, and checking references.

Silly me. I thought the HR department was supposed to prepare/update position descriptions, post vacancies, and check references. Last time I looked we (the faculty) weren't allowed to do any of that. 

Shortly, you will receive an automatic email notification to complete the training.  Please ensure you do so by April 30, 2011.

If you have questions, please call the HR Office.  Thank you for your cooperation!

Bite me!

Here's how I wish I could respond. As you watch the video, note the actions of a couple of the wimps towards the end. Instead of pitching in and helping subdue the hero, or protect the women, they hover around the periphery filming the action with their cell phones.

They're obviously HR managers...

Take this Job and Shove It - watch more funny videos

(Pardon the obnoxious pre-video commercial, but I couldn't figure out any way to delete/skip it. In any event, it's only 15 seconds long.)