HR Tips For Working With Clients From Hell…
by Alan Collins
On a few occasions, I’ve had the delightful privilege of working with the client from hell.
You know the type…
The client that doesn’t think HR can do anything right. The client you dread getting telephone calls from. The client, who when his or her name pops up on your caller ID, you feel like throwing up before picking up the phone. The client that you lay awake the night before trying to figure out a way to avoid meeting with the next day. The client that no matter what you do, no matter what HR heroics you pull off, will find something to beat you up for.
You feelin’ me?
As an HR professional, you’ll work with a lot of clients. Obviously, 95% of them will be terrific and won’t have horns or carry a pitchfork. One such client is Tony Hsieh who is featured in the video below.
Let me tell you about Tony. He is the HR client from heaven. The gold standard. If you ever have an opportunity to work with someone like Tony – run, don’t walk. Tony is CEO of Zappos, a $1 billion online shoe company with 1000 brands, 90,000 styles and 1500 employees. He is the one CEO that all of his retail competitors look up to with awe and respect. Refreshingly, he does not look like or sound like today’s typical CEO.
At Zappos, Tony has fostered a culture based on an extraordinary vision, values and HR engagement. I know that sounds like motherhood and apple pie, and that’s why listening to Tony is important. He’s the real deal. In this video, Tony is giving opening remarks at SXSW, the famous interactive, film, and music conference that takes place every spring in Austin, Texas.
Every word he says in this video is gold – so you’ll want to watch it from start to finish. As you listen, imagine what your HR life would be like with Tony as your client…
Here’s the point: One of the best things you’ll ever do for your HR career is to seek out and work with the Tonys of the world. There are lots of them out there — in all organizations, at all levels — from Warehouse Manager to CEO.
These clients are looking for great HR folks also. They want to partner with those who share and can help them realize their own visions for their organizations.
But make no mistake about it, clients like Tony are very demanding and won’t hesitate to kick you in the butt too…but in the process will also grow you, stretch you, challenge you, inspire you, nurture you and give you tough love along the way. And that’s what you want.
Now, having seen Tony, let’s get back to the original point of this article: What do you do to address clients from hell? Two things.
1. Avoid them in the first place.
When you’re interviewing for that new HR job, interview the company as hard as they are interviewing you. Ask insightful and tough questions to the business leader of the client group you’ll be supporting. If the business leader or your main client is too busy to meet with you, that’s a big red flag. And, again, a poor match will make your HR life a living hell. If you don’t know what to look for when interviewing your clients, it’s easy. You want to try and get as close to a Tony as you can.
2. If you’re already in a bad client relationship, start your exit strategy.
You want to pull the plug on this assignment ASAP. Your options: Transfer. Post for a new job. Have a candid discussion with your boss about another client or assignment. Leave the organization. Or offer to job swap with some other unsuspecting HR colleague (hey, just kidding!).
Either way, whatever you do, don’t fall in the trap of trying to fix this person. Research conducted by the Center For Creative Leadership reveals that trying to change your client is a waste of time – especially if they’ve been around awhile and their behavior has been tolerated. So stop wishing he or she will change and put your own needs first.
If your exit from this role is going to take some time, don’t be vindictive. Be patient and bide your time. Continue to give this jerk the same responsive, professional, value-added HR support that you always have. Just because you’re getting crapped on, is no excuse to return the favor.
However, don’t plan to stay in this role long. In tough times with downsizing still occurring in many organizations, you never can tell how much weight this madman’s perceptions will be given in HR layoff decisions.
Let me be clear: the “personal development,” “character building” and the +5% compensation bribe…er, increase you might get to work with bad clients is overrated. It may sound great at the time, but isn’t worth it. Whatever you gain developmentally is offset by the hit you take to your HR reputation, your personal self-esteem and your mental sanity.
Life’s too short. Avoid toxic clients at all costs. You deserve better.
P.S. If you’re interested in more information and getting a copy of the Zappos Culture Book that Tony referred to in his video go HERE.
P.S.S. I’d welcome your feedback on this article. CLICK HERE to add your thoughts, pushbacks or any additional suggestions you’d recommend.
© SuccessinHR.com
About the Author: Alan Collins is CEO & Chief Editor, SuccessInHR.com. He was formerly Vice President – Human Resources at Pepsi where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. His new book is Unwritten HR Rules: 21 Secrets For Attaining Awesome Career Success in Human Resources which is available on Amazon and by CLICKING HERE.
April 15th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Excellent article. I remember the great clients and the bad (challenging) clients; although I can honestly say that I have had very, very few bad clients throughout my career. It is best not to try to change them, but better to try to understand their expectations, put your best foot forward, deliver results to the best of your abilities, all while seeking the right opportunity to move on.
April 18th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Joyce, great hearing from you. Hope all is well in Fla. Couldn’t agree with you more. best, Alan.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 am
This was in fact inspiring and that is the “a ha” for me. Motivation for me is internal. I don’t believe one can be motivated to sustained change from external sources.
I continue to admire these stories from start-ups but truly wonder if you can complete an “extreme make over” of an existing company.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:19 am
Thank you, once again for the terrific article.
I watched the video of Tony Hsieh and I respect the culture that he created at Zappo’s. I am a Zappo’s customer for 3 years but was unaware that the employees’ are engaged to the degree that was mentioned in the video. As a customer, I would rate the service,from the call center,as excellent .The delivery of outstanding service is obviously due in part to a culture where everyone is committed to leading by example.
Thank you, for sharing!
November 4th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Alan, thanks for sharing. Enjoyed the overview on culture and like the culture book idea @ Zappo’s, as well as HR ensuring culture fit.
If you can work for a great company, a great boss and in a great role then you have reached the pinnacle. Having two out of three is probably where most people are.
There are some clients I prefer not to work with, as I am a strong believer in positive change, whereas some clients embark on such destructive change, that it significantly impact on people’s future reactions to change.
Having a bad boss/client is always challenging and requires a major alignment of values, knowing you may just need to use your exit strategy.
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:52 am
Alan;; thanks for sharing this perspective..very apt and meaningful write up..Njoyed it…
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:58 pm
[...] be that you’re doing more grunt work than you’d like. It could be that you’re working with a client from hell. And, you’ve tried to take responsibility for making things better. However, if repeated efforts [...]
March 12th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Alan,
Another insightful, impactful and fun to read article.
I really appreciate teh refreshing approach you take with teh topic of HR leadership. As a PepsiCo colleague, your points are even more salient to my experience.
Keep it coming!
July 7th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Good day Alan,
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I would very much like to review the Zappos Culture Book. However, the link di not work for me. Would be so kind as to check the link?
Thanks,
CJ