10 Things Super-Busy HR People Do…To Free Up Time To Accomplish Awesome Stuff! (Part 1 of 4)
By Alan Collins
Like many HR folks, I’ve discovered that the most precious job asset I have is my TIME. I always seem to be “running out of it.”
There never seems to be enough of it to allow me to think, plan, create, network, solve problems or to capitalize on awesome HR opportunities.
There isn’t a day that goes by I don’t push something aside, and say to myself: “Boy, if I were able to squeeze in an extra hour to work on this, it would make a huge difference.”
Not to make excuses, but there are many enemies stand in my way. I call them TIME VAMPIRES.
What are time vampires?
They are selfish, needy, and vicious creatures who want to suck up all my attention, energy and productivity.
They’re absolutely everywhere. They’re always on the attack. And, they’re ruthless.
I confess that I’m not always 100% successful in dealing with them and it’s a never ending battle. I’ve learned painfully that I can’t give up, so I persist. However, I’ve discovered that the #1 key to protecting myself from these blood-sucking creatures is being able to spot them and deal with them when they first appear.
So, if you’re a super-busy HR pro, juggling a thousand different priorities, and want to figure out what to do so you can accomplish those things that really matter…then, tune in.
There are all kinds of time vampires you should be aware of. We’ll cover strategies for dealing with 10 of them in this three-part series. Below are the first four in this series…
Time management strategy #1 — Stop “Mr. Gotta-Minute”
The most evil time vampire is Mr. Gotta-Minute. He hides in the shadows outside your office or outside the stall when you’re in the john — waiting to attack. When you least expect it, he pounces on you with: “Have you got a minute?” He has a knack of pulling this crap just when you are in middle of a finishing up an urgent HR project or rehearsing for a crucial presentation to your higher ups.
He can be tough to resist. It seems easier to just deal with his “one quick question”now rather than later. You don’t want to be rude. But guess what, he doesn’t deserve your courtesy. If you think about it, he’s really dissing you by implying that his time is more valuable than yours and that what you’re doing is unimportant and interruptible. So go ahead and drive a stake through his heart with no remorse.
Here is the stake you use to stop him in his tracks: “I’m busy right now. Let’s meet at 4:30 p.m. for 10 minutes and tackle everything on your list at that time.” Of course, this bloodthursty vampire may not get it the first, or even the second or third time you do this.
But keep whipping out your stake every time, over and over again, eventually he’ll get the message. One day, he’ll call you and say: “Hey, I’ve got these four things I need to go over with you. When can we get together?” After getting over your shock, congratulate yourself for having house-broken this particular vampire.
Time management strategy #2 – Kill Ms. Meeting-Itis
Another dangerous time vampire is Ms. Meeting-Itis. You know you’ve met her when she drags you into a 30-minute meeting for the sole purpose of planning a much longer meeting. She knows that for some HR people being in meetings is seductive. It’s a way to feel important and a great way to hide from making decisions and taking responsibility for them. “Meetingitis” is a disease that turns many HR pros into unproductive, slow-moving, indecisive drones.
How to kill her: First, before you pull out your stake and go for her heart, push back on her first. Ask: “Do I really need to be in this meeting?” “ Is there a more time-efficient way to handle this?” Or “Can I send an e-mail or voice-mail message to each meeting attendee before the meeting with my thoughts?”
If that doesn’t work, and you must attend a meeting called by this hell-bent, blood sucking animal, here’s what you can do to get in and out fast. First, find out in advance what you’re expected to contribute, then in the meeting provide a prepared, super-concise presentation. Then, have an exit strategy. Get someone to come in to get you. Or to call you on your cell phone or blackberry at a certain time. You can then excuse yourself to take the call, promising to return – but don’t.
Time management strategy #3 – Drive away Ms. Drama Queen
Everyone knows about drama queens. They turn every little issue into an emotional crisis. She needs constant coddling. If you don’t give her regular compliments about her work, she turns into a child who isn’t getting enough hugs from Mommie. No matter how much you indulge her, she will always find a new way to soak up your precious time by pulling you into her drama by demanding that you give her reassurance, attention or a shoulder to cry on. Meanwhile, while she’s resting their head on your shoulder, she’s sticking her fangs into your neck and taking out a pint.
Here’s the stake you use to drive this awful vampire away: Cut to the core of her problem and tell her what to do. This is exactly NOT what she wants. She doesn’t want solutions, she wants an acting partner in her drama. If you refuse to play along, she’ll likely look for new blood to drain elsewhere. Another option is to take over the conversation with a long, boring story of your own: “That reminds me of the story of what happened to old Uncle Ned during World War I…” In other words, turn into a vampire yourself and start sucking. She’ll look for her own exit strategy.
Time management strategy #4 — Interrupt Mr. Trivia.
You know him. He’s the guy who can’t tell the difference between no-big-deal and a,crisis. He has a knack for interrupting you and and pulling you away from important tasks to deal with his own minor issues (i.e: The copy machine is stuck).
This is the stake you use: Interrupt this interrupter. Tell him something like, “I’ve got a lot on my plate today, so I will only be addressing issues that are a nine or ten on a one to ten scale. Everything else must wait until next week. Are you convinced that the issue you’d like to discuss is a nine or a ten?” Once you hear the word “no,” leave. Leave, even if you’re in your own office! By tomorrow, he’ll likely have forgotten. And you’ll live to work another day.
As with all vampires, your productivity increases by leaps and bounds as you get more skilled at spotting them and driving stakes through their hearts.
These are the first four strategies. Six more will follow.
Let the hunt begin.
Got comments or push-backs? Please post them HERE.
About the author: Alan Collins was Vice President – Human Resources at PepsiCo where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. He is now President of Success in HR, Inc. and the author of the HR best seller, UNWRITTEN HR RULES . His new book, BEST KEPT HR SECRETS is now available on Amazon.
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good article to go thru.
regds,andy
Hello Alan,
And the are really great 
)
Whenever I come here to read your articles, the comments usually are sort of “great, thanks” and so on.
But to this one I have a different comment (and thus maybe more interesting
I partly agree. But we must always see the difference and sence when we need to listen.
We, HRs are here for listening and talking to people when they are comming. I don’t know, maybe in the USA people are different, but in countries, where people are precoucious and not so open by their nature (f.e. Lithuania, former part of the USSR), you have to be very careful to say NO, – it took a great deal for that person to DARE to come (especially the Blue Collars).
I am a HRM only employed for 1,5 months in the company I am now. If I start using this technique, nobody will ever come to talk to me at all. I was making information meetings to employees and a part of my personal introduction was “my door is always open for you”. Yes, I realise that this disturbs me and takes time from other tasks, but talking to people is a PART OF MY JOB and I think every HRM must have a spare hour on agenda for that (usually it just pops up in this “got a minute” way). I must feel the pulse of the company and different departments and be able to find out when there are issues (usually people are afraid to say loud that their boss is a jerk and this poisons the whole department, – especially in the blue collar level).
I will be grateful to hear your feedback.
Best regards
Ausra
@Austra – thanks for your comments. Paragraph 2 is the key to this article. This is for those HR folks that are super-busy and don’t have enough time to think straight. If this is the case, you have to make trade-offs and take strong steps to protect your time. I strongly believe you have to TRAIN PEOPLE on how to best use your time without being a jerk. Nothing wrong with creating an hour to talk to people – but permitting them to drop in unannounced all day long — especially if they’re taking you away from critical organization priorities is not part of the HR job. Instead, train them on how to best use your time and your expertise. However, like any advice on this blog, customize it to your situation – some of it will fit, some won’t.
Cheers,
Alan
Another excellent article for harried managers, be they HR or not. Thank you!
Good article, tips & reminders – Time is such a priceless resource and one never has enough yet must be protective of it. Looking forward to part 2 & 3! M
Thank you for the wonderful advice.
[...] You can find Part 1 of this article HERE, Below is part [...]
It is not that clear cut. When you lead people, and try to have “open-door” culture, it is normal to have people interrupting you unexpectedly. The key is to close the door when you want to focus, and open the door when you don’t mind being interrupted. If you close your door all the time, however, it turns into a problem as well because people might perceive that as a sign of hierarchy, distance, etc. Communicate and make it clear what stype of communication you prefer with people around you.
It’s clear cut to me. And you said it better than I did:
1-Close the door when you want to focus.
2-Open the door when you don’t.
3-Let people know what the hell you’re doing – especially if you’re super-busy constantly.
Well put.
My only add to what you said is: if they don’t understand, screw ‘em.
Not all that complicated.