Comments on: Is Your Company Brainwashing You?

By: Jeanne Male

Jeanne Male — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:29:38 +0000

Time and again I have seen how corporate brainwashing backfires. HR recruiters unwittingly create uncoachable PrimaDonnas when employees begin to believe “we only hire the best”.

By: John

John — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:21:50 +0000

Excellent points and perspective. I’ve seen this and sadly can say that I have fallen victim to it as well.

I think that when you start to drink the Kool-Aid, you eventually go blind.

By: TheHRD

TheHRD — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:56:43 +0000

Interesting comments and I wonder how much of this is clumsy expressions rather than clumsy thinking. A little along the line of “people are our greatest asset”…..

Really we are looking to recruit the people that are the best fit to the organisation and role….or am I being too symplistic….again?

By: Trish

Trish — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:06:47 +0000

@HRStalker- Great point, leave the brainwashing to advertisers!

@Peter- Thanks for the comment. I think what you’re getting at is true- you have to look at the whole picture. Not only hiring the best qualified candidates but then creating the culture that will enable them to thrive. Well said.

@Steve- So glad you commented. I agree with you that it is important to praise employees. What I was getting at though is that it all sounds hollow to me when every single company says “we hire the best and the brightest”. There isn’t any substance there anymore because it’s an overused phrase. Maybe companies need to focus on the progress review after the first 90 days and tell the person then if they are the best person for the job. Just a thought. Thanks for reading and commenting. I love the interaction Steve.

By: Steve Walker

Steve Walker — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:54:31 +0000

Really interesting thoughts. My take on it though is that you can’t blame organisations for wanting to motivate their staff by telling them they’re the best. We’re always being told by the staff of clients we work with (HR and management training) that they’re not given enough praise or recognition when they do something well. Compared to that feedback void, being told you’re the best when hired sounds like a good thing to me. http://www.calibrehr.com