HR Dilemma: Would You Choose Heaven or Hell Based on First Impressions?

Hi all, Please read this story and share your thoughts. One day while walking down the street, a highly successful Human Resources Manager was tragically hit by a bus, and she died. Her soul arrived in heaven where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself.

"Welcome to Heaven," said St. Peter. "Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had a Human Resources Manager make it this far, and we're not really sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," said the woman.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven, and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in."

"Actually, I think I've made up my mind. I prefer to stay in Heaven," said the woman.

"Sorry, we have rules…"

And with that, St. Peter put the executive in an elevator, and it went down, down, down to hell.

The doors opened, and she found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club, and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow executives that she had worked with. They were well-dressed in evening gowns, cheering for her. They ran up, kissed her on both cheeks, talked about old times, played an excellent round of golf, and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner.

She met the Devil, who was actually a really nice guy (kind of cute), and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook her hand and waved goodbye as she got on the elevator.

The elevator went up, up, up, and opened back up at the Pearly Gates, where she found St. Peter waiting for her.

"Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he said. So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds, playing the harp, and singing. She had a great time, and before she knew it, her 24 hours were up, and St. Peter came and got her.

"So, you've spent a day in hell, and you've spent a day in heaven. Now you must choose your eternity," the woman paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd say this. I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell."

So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator, and again she went down, down, down back to Hell.

When the doors of the elevator opened, she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags, picking up the garbage, and putting it in sacks.

The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.

"I don't understand," stammered the woman, "yesterday I was here, and there was a golf course and a country club, and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage, and all my friends look miserable."

The Devil looked at her, smiled, and told...

"Yesterday we were recruiting you; today you're an employee ;)"

That's really a nice story. It made me laugh as well as provoked me to think about what we can do to stop portraying such things. When you are recruiting, you are given a lot of freedom and many things you are committing to prospective candidates. However, later on, your rights are curtailed, and you are just watching things and tolerating the frustration of employees.

Suggestions to Minimize Employee Frustration

Please give me suggestions on what I can do to minimize such feelings in employees.

Differentiating Between Real and Portrayed Images

Secondly, as a candidate, how can we differentiate between the correct image and the portrayed one?

Please advise...

Warm regards

The Importance of Transparency in Organizations

Look at the crux of this story. This applies to those companies that do not believe in transparency and openness. Please do not generalize this. When you practice this in your company, maybe you will probably agree with this concept.

But I do not agree. When people come for interviews with us, we openly tell them the company's policy, and that is the reason why two dozen people have put in 32 years of service and above. Another three dozen people have 18 years, and many more have 12 years, 14 years, etc.

As an HR person, I do not give any false commitments to prospective candidates. If possible and within the purview of our policy, we say 'yes'; else, we do not accept their demands. We do not mesmerize people with false commitments and stories, showing only the "creamy" layer of the stuff initially, only to taste the muddy layer later on.

That is the reason why we find a lot of people sticking to our organization and also those who left us calling us for an opening and joining us.

Therefore, as long as you are open and straightforward and you do not believe in hide-and-seek business, you do not require to play two different—yet—bitter roles in your organization.

Regards,
Balaji

Yes, it's a very good story. In fact, it's reality. Don't mind, but we all behave like this every time we recruit someone new in our company.

Though it's a very common view about HR, especially from non-HR persons, HR does not have to do it all. I believe during the recruitment and induction program, a new joiner's life is like a golf club, as mentioned in the funny story. However, things may change when the new joiner is handed over to their department at the location. So, we (being HR) should try to make the new joiner's life like heaven afterward and help them settle down.