Témoinage

Reforming radically the human resource management

In the email sent by Thomas Kallstenius on his first day in office, one could also learn that Fernand Reinig would “ focus on two special projects from now until the summer: Human Resources and the transition period of [...] our new Director of Administration and Finance ”. He did the same job at CRP-CUL/Lippmann during 27 years. Let us be honest here, Mister Reinig is absolutely not the right person for these two “special projects”.

Take the human resources. In any company taking the well-being of the staff and its innovation potential seriously, human resources should aim at this: 

https://www.facebook.com/patrimoine.rh/videos/186418552239803/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARBsjW19yKNW5SJDQCEUdUjYSQYd8wAKHQb6IiCS7MsB0UBIDqL49qnMKNzxMrfTHJHFXRrsSK3bzgmo

instead of this (which is what Mister Reinig has created, with the willing help of stooges like Stéphane K.):

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001872679404700701

Right now, the relationship between the staff and the director of human resources is one of constant suspicion and justification. If you did not badge, the email you receive will be entitled “unjustified absence”. If you ask for a part time, you will have to justify it. If you already work part time and you wish in a given week to change the day or half day when you are not at LIST for that week only, you are being asked again to justify it, the change has to be for “professional reasons”, and must be allowed by your manager. This constant reminder to the staff that it is not free to organise itself autonomously, the fact that freedom to act as rational and reasonable human beings is constantly being denied, is disastrous for the motivation. Get off our backs ! Dear Mister Kallstenius, you hardly realize how dramatically you can liberate LIST staff from this constant pressure. Change the HR from the Damocles sword it is right now into the friendly, helpful institution it should be. Let for instance part time be a simple and quick procedure, and make it culturally acceptable. The staff will be thankful, and on the long run, it will help creating an atmosphere worth working in, and promote a true “esprit de corps” instead of this travesty of professionalism based on the sick premise that people only work out of fear of sanction (any psychologist will tell you that it is precisely this practice that creates work shirkers, anxiety and helplessness).

Pablo N.