October 9, 2025 • 52 mins
Welcome to Jaded HR, where we say everything you’re thinking out loud.
This week, Warren and Cee Cee dive deep into the cesspool of professional absurdity. We tackle everything from the shocking politicization of HR to a debate so ill-conceived it smells like a dumpster fire.
What We Raged About This Week:
- SHRM’s $1,300 Blueprint to Hell: We try to stay apolitical, but SHRM is forcing our hand by hosting a debate between CNN's Van Jones and Heritage Foundation's Robby Starbuck, who calls DEI "communist" and a "poison." Is this an earnest discussion or just a desperate, badly timed publicity stunt? (We lean heavily toward the latter.)
- SHRM’s Identity Crisis: Why does the world’s largest HR organization keep acting like a political lobbying group instead of a resource for practitioners? Cee Cee even details the generic form letter she got after canceling her membership.
- Faith-Based Hypocrisy: Warren shares a schadenfreude story about a "true believer" business owner who lost a massive contract on day one, thanks to a well-deserved morality clause and a whole lot of cussing. We love to see it.
- The HR Rights of Passage: We create a cynical checklist of the things all true HR professionals must deal with, including the inevitable hygiene talk (and how the smell of vanilla body spray combined with old ashtray smoke can break a man).
- The Gen Z Stare & Mama’s Helper: Is the new generation of job candidates okay? Cee Cee recounts a chilling, soul-empty experience with a grocery store worker, while Warren's daughter has to deal with applicants whose moms are sitting in on the interview. (Seriously, go practice your active shooter drills instead.)
- COVID-19 Wednesdays: We share a bonus story about an affinity group we are not going to start: the work-from-home Wednesday Orgy club. Don't worry, the drama was captured on a corporate laptop.
Join us as we help you survive HR, one "what the f*ck" moment at a time.
We want to hear from you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:02):
Had you actually read the email, you would know
that the podcast you are aboutto listen to could contain
explicit language and offensivecontent.
These HR experts of views arenot representative of their
past, present, or futureemployers.
If you've ever heard, my manageris unfair to me, I need you to
reset my HR portal password, orcan I ride up my employee for
(00:25):
crying too much?
SPEAKER_01 (00:27):
Welcome to our little slave zone.
Welcome to JadedHR.
SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Welcome to Jaded HR, the podcast by two HR
professionals who want to helpyou get through the workday by
saying everything you'rethinking, but say it out loud.
I'm Warren.
I'm CC.
Alright.
So crazy, crazy couple of weeks.
Even, you know, before werecorded the last episode,
things were getting crazy.
(01:10):
We're going to dive adjacent tosome of the craziness.
I d I don't want to, you know, II don't like talking politics
too much on the the podcast.
I don't like religion talking onthe podcast, but we're gonna go
adjacent to both, I think, inhere as we as we move forward.
So yeah, it's gonna be aninteresting episode, I think.
SPEAKER_04 (01:33):
It's just my my quiet rage.
SPEAKER_00 (01:37):
Oh, don't be quiet about it.
That's that's what that's whatthey're here for.
Uh let's see here.
Before you before we getstarted, thank our Patreon
supporters, Hallie, the originalJHR rock star, Bill and Mike.
And if you want to support us,go to the links.
There's show notes, you cansupport us.
But please also, if you don'twant to give us money, leave us
(01:57):
a review, give us a heart onyour podcast player, do
something as it helps othersfind us and grow.
So and we've we had a reallygood growth month last month.
I showed you some stats.
We had it was actually a very,very high month in terms of
episode download.
So that was that was very good.
I I would hope that Octobercontinues the trend.
SPEAKER_03 (02:17):
So yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:19):
Yeah.
So where to start?
I I think we ought to start withSherm because let's go there.
So we're gonna we're gonnatrying to stay apolitical here,
but everybody on LinkedIn istalking about the the Sherm, I
forget what they are callingblueprint.
The Sherm blueprint.
(02:40):
Yeah.
And you told me the price toattend these blueprint things is
ridiculous.
SPEAKER_04 (02:45):
I Oh yeah.
I I I think it's like thirteenhundred thirteen hundred dollars
right now.
I think that was the price Isaw.
SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
I mean, that's really pricing it out of range
for practitioners, but I can seeuh and I'll I'll get into my
opinion on the situation later,but I can see all the HR
consultants.
Hey, it's it's a businessexpense, they can write it off,
and it's not as important.
But if you're you know, I'veworked multiple places where I
(03:13):
work now, supports my Shermmembership and pays for that and
would pay for seminars uh andthings like that for me, but I I
I don't see a lot of companiesuh you know really shelling out
the money for something likethis.
So I think it's gonna be a lotof the non-practitioner
consultants and the other peopleI love and and this type thing.
SPEAKER_03 (03:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:36):
So for those of you who are uninitiated, there is
going to be a debate on the atSherm Blueprint in Louisville,
Kentucky on October 26th to29th.
Okay, three days for twelvehundred dollars.
But one of the big things is andit titled this A Dialogue You
(03:57):
Won't See Anywhere Else.
Two Perspectives, oneconversation on diversity and
inclusion.
And the the speakers are VanJones, CNN host, founder of Rap
Report Company andDreamMachine.org.
And on the other side is RobbieStarbuck, the head of Capital
Markets Heritage Foundation.
(04:18):
And I saw this maybe three weeksago for the first time, and you
know, with all the the I'll I'lljust go ahead and say it, the
Charlie Kirk things going on,and it it the rhetoric around
the very first post I saw aboutthis coming from Sherm, well I I
bet you it's probably been takendown, was just really I don't
(04:45):
know what uh the right word is.
It was inflammatory.
Comments all over the place.
Oh yeah.
I couldn't tell you who eitherof these people were before
this, but apparently people haveuh posted quotes and of what's
this Robbie Starbuck, and he hassaid things like DEI is immoral
(05:06):
and DEI is communist, and thingslike that.
So is that true?
Yeah, maybe, probably.
I don't know.
I don't I don't care really thatmuch.
My my care level on this israther low.
But I here's where I want to tryand play double devil's advocate
and applaud Sherm, in that Ilike the idea of having a debate
(05:29):
of people with opposingviewpoints who can, you know, I
I don't I'm I'm not younganymore.
Uh my views on life, theuniverse, and everything are
pretty well set.
It's going to take a lot to makeme change my my views on
anything.
So this debate, if it's donewell, can be really, really
good.
(05:49):
If it's not done well, we'retalking dumpster fire to the
extreme.
And because I like I likehearing debates of people I
disagree with.
Now, I'm not one of those peoplethat's going to yell down
someone, oh, you can't say thatbecause who knows what reason.
But I I like that.
I some of my best times ever arehaving a couple drinks with
(06:11):
friends.
Is like I said, I'm fiercelyindependent.
Nobody agrees with me on youknow more than two or three
topics.
Oh, we'll agree on this, we'llagree with that, and then we're
not going to agree on too muchmore.
But I love having thoseconversations with people,
especially over a couple ofdrinks and things like that.
As long as the people can, youknow, okay, whatever.
Warren's full of shit, butwhatever, you know, and and not
(06:32):
take it personal.
Those are some actually reallygreat times sometimes.
But uh totally agree.
SPEAKER_04 (06:39):
That's fun.
This person, though, that's myquestion.
SPEAKER_00 (06:44):
Like now, have you heard of Robbie Starbuck before
this?
SPEAKER_04 (06:49):
I had not until I did some digging.
This I'm gonna be honest, thesecond I heard that he was with
the Heritage Foundation, I thinkmy ears perked up.
SPEAKER_00 (06:59):
And I have no idea what the Heritage Foundation
stands for and is about or any.
I'm sure, based on all thecomments, I'm sure it's a
right-wing think tank of somesort.
SPEAKER_04 (07:08):
It is, and they they do really are one of the big
funders of Project 2025.
So they're like personally forme, they're not my favorite
foundation.
So to kind of hear that, I waslike, oh, who is this guy?
And then when I did some moredigging, just hearing some of
(07:31):
the stuff that he has to say.
Like, like you mentioned before,like he says DEI is a poison and
we won't rest until the publicknows how companies have strayed
from American values.
I mean, he has other like thingsagainst the transgender
community, the LGBTQ community,he has accused Dr.
(07:52):
Fauci or has said Dr.
Fauci is a mass murderer.
Like, he's just kind of like whyhim?
I under like I I totally agreethat a a good debate with up
opposing viewpoints isimportant, but having someone
who has said things that are sopolarizing, but also against
(08:16):
such marginalized communities,like you're you're literally
gonna bring the antithesis ofDEI in.
And I feel like I mean at thatpoint, screw it.
Like, why don't you skip overMr.
Starbuck and just have a clansmember in there?
I don't know.
Like, if you want to talk aboutopposing viewpoints, but the
point is that people feel sopassionately about their points
(08:39):
of view that for me, I don'tthink that having a discussion
with this individual is going toreally like change anybody's
mind.
I think people are verysensitive right now to a lot of
these things.
SPEAKER_00 (08:53):
I mean, you know, last two weeks the sensitivity
has just gone it it's on 11right now.
And it actually more than morethan just like I said, Charlie
Kirk, there's been just a lot ofstupid shit happening in the
world.
Again, it's nothing new, but ifthe more these things happen,
the more the sensitivity getsdialed up.
(09:14):
And you know, it you gotta likethey say, read the room.
And I don't know if the room isquite uh there yet.
But I I I hope we're wrong, andI hope this Starbuck guy can
have a good discussion and notget, you know, stuck in ideolog
ideology.
(09:36):
Boy, I can't say that word rightnow, and and just you know
regurgitate party lines orwhatever it is on DEI.
You know, I I'm I'm just I'mmorbidly curious at this point.
I really uh you know uh I reallywant to know, but I I uh there's
(09:58):
uh no way I'd pay any money tosee this.
I I hope that there's enoughpeople that do go and maybe post
about it that we can get a trueand accurate opinion of what uh
what went down with it.
SPEAKER_04 (10:09):
So I know.
And just so like this is uh Ihave so many oh never mind.
I'm not going down there.
All I know is that this I feellike this is just some stupid
like this is such a badly timed,ill conceived publicity stunt.
(10:30):
That's what I feel this is.
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (10:32):
And on top of that, Sherm.
Is gonna be uh Sherm ispoliticizing HR.
Uh and like I said, I don'tagree with well over half of the
stuff Sherm is politicizing oneway.
I think they're turning moreinto a political lobbying animal
(10:54):
than a uh a resource for HRprofessionals uh to to utilize
and bring bring them together.
I think they're causing a lot ofrift in between uh HR
professionals overall.
And well, I'll go to that thisnext, but you know, on on I
think part of the problem andthe reason we need to have this
(11:16):
discussion is because DEI in inwake of the Brianna case, the uh
the George Floyd case, all thosethings that happened back to
back to back, which made G DEIgo from not even on the back
burner, it was still in thepantry somewhere, to first uh
front first and foremost, we hadso many of these HR professional
(11:38):
consultants who put out somereally bad shit and some of it
was bought into by thegovernment.
We've seen the stories of justthis It's like someone who had
zero clue about DEI at all, anduh and in many ways, thou those
are the things that bad DEI madeevery DEI since then worse
(12:04):
because or it go fall under thegr worse scrutiny.
SPEAKER_04 (12:07):
So if Yeah, there's some there were some bad DEI
practitioners who came out inthat first wave.
SPEAKER_00 (12:14):
And they're the same people that are gonna jump on
the next wave, whatever thatmight be, uh after the DEI goes
back to the back burner and somenew hot topic is up, they're
gonna be the expert on whateverand write 30 books and do
keynote speeches and things likethat.
And but they uh i i if DEI wasdone well from the beginning, it
(12:36):
this wouldn't be as much of anissue.
There'll still be issues becausethere's gonna be all those
backwards, there's stillbackwards people, and there's
nothing we're gonna do to fixthe backwards people in the
world uh as human resourceprofessionals, other than not
hire them and get them the hellout of our companies as as soon
as they are they revealthemselves.
But no, they're is yeah, it Ijust think that I we we started
(13:00):
the game from you know alreadylosing because of the way it was
it was done, and uh it we can'tplay catch-up in the yeah and
then people and once again neverheard of this Robbie Starbuck
before, but people like him havemaybe glammed on to some of the
worst bits of that bad DEItraining for whatever reason,
(13:23):
maybe you know, it agree heagrees with some of it, or he
thinks it was done so badly.
I I have no idea what his view,you know.
I feel like I said, I figurehe's pretty far right, but I
have no idea where he's comingfrom in that.
And that's what sort of gives methe morbid curiosity.
And this Van Jone person, I haveno idea anything about him.
(13:43):
I I don't watch any newschannel.
I walk by the my news uhconsumption of news TV is when I
walk through the lobby of mywork and we have all the
wonderful channels playing,whether it's Fox or CNN or
whomever else, they're allplaying, and that's where my my
big ticket news comes from.
But yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (14:04):
It's crazy.
I do want to I do want to make aa a statement that I got so
disappointed in Sherm over theRobbie Starbuck of it all that I
did write them a strongly wordedletter.
SPEAKER_00 (14:16):
And you will never get a response from that.
SPEAKER_04 (14:19):
I did.
I got a response.
Was it a a blank a form letteror was it it was I I have to say
that it was like some kind of aform letter.
In any case, like it was Yeah,it was just it looked like it
was just something that theywere like, oh crap, we're gonna
get so many of these, like justcopy paste all day.
(14:41):
And I think because it came tothe Robbie Starbuck form letter
in the I think they did, and andyeah, so I I I was like, my
membership is coming up shortly,and I don't think I'm gonna be
renewing.
So and they're like, so sorry,please reconsider, like we
(15:02):
understand, we valid differentviewpoints, blah blah blah.
Like it was it was just verylike what a generic.
SPEAKER_00 (15:09):
Yeah.
I and going to another topic,Sherm itself.
I I like I said, I don't believethey're they're advocating for
HR professionals anymore.
I I I do not believe thatanymore.
But what company out there is inthe in the you know the air
(15:31):
apparent spot?
There's I I I like a lot of thestuff I see on hacking HR.
I'm trying to think of the otherHR website that I follow that
has some good information.
It's apolitical, because like Isaid, I I get turned off very
quickly when the polic uhpolitics gets turned on.
And especially for somethinglike Sherm.
I there's no no need for that.
(15:52):
But oh gosh, what is hacking HR?
What's the other one?
Oh, I'll I'll have to remember.
Anyways, but is there anothercompany that can come in and
fill the boots and be there asthe company to, you know, say
that, hey, we are the thecompany that I think it's gonna
(16:14):
be different now.
SPEAKER_04 (16:14):
I think I mean look at what AI's doing.
Like, are these kind of arethese organizations really gonna
be that necessary?
I mean, you can get an answer,like you can open up Chat GPT
and you can get like drafts offorms and drafts of policies,
and and I mean you have to factcheck everything.
You can do whatever you want.
Like, you don't need Sherm'sdatabase anymore of templates.
(16:40):
You don't need their articlesanymore because the funny part
is is you can backend thosearticles in like Chat GPT and
AI.
Like you can ask it to summarizean article that might be like
paywalled.
Yeah, like there's just no more,there's just no more use for it.
And I think you're right,they're no longer a resource for
(17:01):
professionals, they are I I seethem turning into like a
lobbying organization.
And and and that's that's thecrazy part for me about the
whole Robbie Starbuck and theHeritage Foundation and the
connection with Project 2025,because that is literally like
like that basically is,especially when we talk about
(17:24):
you know, DEI and and and stuffin the workplace, like just
taking back like pay equalitypolicies and weakening gender
discrimination protections andeliminating like all these kind
of things that would assist inchildcare, family leave, and all
that kind of stuff.
And it's like that is so antlike, and I get it, I'm not like
(17:47):
naive.
Like I know HR serves both theemployees and the company,
right?
There's that loop.
And they should.
But I mean, that that those kindof things and those kind of
policies that they're liketrying to put out there are just
like so anti-HR.
It's like it's just ridiculous.
(18:08):
It's I don't know.
I think such a shit decision,Sharon.
SPEAKER_00 (18:13):
Yeah.
Oh, it is.
SPEAKER_04 (18:14):
They just want the publicity.
SPEAKER_00 (18:16):
Yes.
And and I think that's anotherthing.
They do like the publicity.
They do like, you know, there'sno such thing as bad publicity.
I think they sort of fall intothat that little old mantra of
some sort.
So but the next thing and wewere talking about online, I've
been getting inundated or notinundated.
(18:38):
I've gotten a a few thingslately on the board of directors
for SHERM.
And oh yeah, it's it's veryironic.
Uh, you know, I tell you, I'vebeen in HR for, you know, gosh,
more than twenty-five years now.
I've been a member of SHERM forprobably close to 15 to 20, it's
(18:59):
fifteen of those years probably.
And and most of the time I didpay for it myself when I was
with one employer who didn'tsupport it, but uh most of the
time it's been employer paid.
But I've never voted.
I don't even know who the boardof directors are.
I don't know who is is you knowis running and what their
(19:20):
backgrounds are and why theywould be a good person for the
board of director.
And I think I fall right inlockstep with uh however many
other hundreds of thousands ofSherm members there are.
I don't think that people knowthis stuff.
And maybe, maybe now that it istime to vote for that, maybe we
should actually take a look atthese people's background and
(19:42):
not just what Sherm sends us.
You know, do do your cyberstalking, find out who these
people are, and and then nextelection cycle, start getting
people involved who might be abetter thing.
I was telling you offline,someone I would love to see on
the board of directors, maybeKate Bischoff.
She would be incredible, she'svery opinionated, she's very
(20:05):
smart, she has a HR background.
I think she would be and she'svery anti-Sherm.
I think she might be the the thefirebrand boat rocker they they
might need.
But I don't know if she has anyinterest or anything like that.
But I just know from her oldpodcast and following her on
LinkedIn and stuff, she's gotsome very strong opinions on
(20:26):
Sherm and what they are and arenot doing.
So yeah, that's that's that'swhere we are with this the state
of Sherm uh right now.
SPEAKER_03 (20:34):
But state of Sherm.
SPEAKER_00 (20:36):
I'm I'm really I I do want to see at the end of the
month how this all plays out andhow it went.
And maybe Sherm will put somevideo clips on there, some
unbiased video clips that are,you know, not editing it to make
one person look great and theother look bad.
Is that okay?
Once again, not affiliated withany party.
If I watch CNN, they put themost awful looking picture of
(20:58):
Trump who looks like he's beenconstipated for two months and
just ate Taco Bell or somethinglike that.
And but uh they'll put the mostbeautiful picture of AOC on
there, and you look at the nextmonitor, they have this really
strong, tough macho Trumppicture and AOC looking like she
just strepped out of a trailerpark fire.
(21:19):
And and it it it it's those typeof things, just the imagery.
Like I said, there's no volumeon there.
There's it's just the imagery,they're gonna find these worst
stock photos.
You know, the left is gonna findthe worst stock photos of people
on the right, and vice versa.
And it it's just when I seethose type pictures, it just it
before I've seen a word, itturns me off.
SPEAKER_04 (21:38):
And I'm like, oh gosh, yeah, what it just I
wonder if they're going to do ifthey're gonna make people lock
their phones in those like bagsso no one can record it.
SPEAKER_00 (21:48):
Oh, have they done something like that before?
Sherm?
SPEAKER_04 (21:51):
Oh, so I went to go, I saw John Stewart a few a
couple months ago.
Uh huh.
And he like did a liveperformance here, but like they
had these bags, and you had whenyou walked in, you had to put
your bag and your Apple Watch inthis little thing and it locked,
and it couldn't be unlockeduntil you exited, and they had
(22:12):
to have like this magnetic thingto unlock it.
But it was to prevent peoplefrom videotape, like
videotaping.
I know Dave Chappelle does thatand his shows up here in Yellow
Spring, but like it's there, youknow, it's becoming more and
more of a practice, and I'mthinking, I'm thinking if
they're gonna lock it downbecause this is getting so much
publicity, and they probablydon't want people like doing
(22:34):
what doing what you kind of justsaid of just one way or another
just making it the worst thing.
So and they can also, you know,do a do a stream of it for you
know forty-five dollars.
SPEAKER_00 (22:48):
I would not pay forty-five dollars.
I want to see.
SPEAKER_04 (22:59):
You put up three?
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (23:00):
I'll put up three if they they want to stream it for
three dollars.
But no, I I first I hadn't heardof that locked bag thing.
I think that's an incredibleidea.
I didn't think they should do itat movie theaters and other
venues where the public is.
SPEAKER_04 (23:15):
And can I tell you, it was a little freeing.
Like we were in that venue andwe had nothing to do except talk
to each other.
Like we were with a group offriends, and it was just like we
didn't have our phones to lookat, and then you didn't have to
worry about someone like tryingto sneak a picture, and then
their screen is like in the way.
(23:36):
I loved it.
I think all concerts, well, notall concerts, but I think a lot
of things should should startgoing.
SPEAKER_00 (23:42):
I like that.
No, I'm assuming you have toturn your phone off first
because I I could see it'slocked, and now it's you've got
a loud, annoying ringtone, andthere's nothing you can do
that's going off.
But that that's that's prettycool.
I hadn't heard of that.
That's I like that.
SPEAKER_04 (23:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (23:58):
Okay, well, let's continue to tiptoe across lines
that we don't normally do, andwe did politics.
We're gonna we're politicadjacent.
Let's do religious adjacent now.
SPEAKER_04 (24:09):
Ooh, this is I feel like this is Thanksgiving
dinner.
We're doing the politics andreligion.
SPEAKER_00 (24:15):
Oh gosh.
So I'm gonna try uh I I I don'twant to fend I honestly I don't
want to offend anybody, but I'msure something I'm gonna say is
going to offend people.
But uh a person I know has acompany that is they portray as
a faith-based company.
Their their business cards,their their signage and things
(24:39):
all will have various Bibleverses on it, and the owner of
this company really toutshimself as a uh I want to say
holder in that art thou artbecause that's that's has some
negative commentations, but as aas a true believer who you know
(25:00):
I I don't know what the rightword is, but he he wants you
know he is in God's favor, Iguess.
He wants everybody to think thathe that's how he is.
Well, this this company won areally massive award from
another faith-based Oh oh thiscompany won a another very
(25:22):
massive award from another faithbase faith-based company, and
then you know what happened?
Day one, they're out at theclient site performing their
services, and the owner, Mr.
you know, God's BFF or whateveryou want to say, is there
(25:43):
cussing out his employees andlike laying into them, and the
CEO of the company they'reworking for walks up, records
it, doesn't say anything to him,goes in the building and finds
out who is this company, they'regone.
And because when they signedtheir contract for the the the
the company the the company theyengaged signed their contract,
(26:07):
the company also had them sign amorality clause associated with
it.
So and they lost on day thefirst day of performing this
contract, they lost it becausethe owner is, you know,
hypocritical, we'll say.
SPEAKER_03 (26:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:23):
Yeah.
And and was berating his peopleand things like that.
But I I back the story up.
I I run across the this personevery few years, and we don't
we're not close.
I you know, it's not my cup oftea or anything like that.
But about five-ish years ago, wehad a conversation, and he
actually asked me some HRquestion, is what brought this
(26:44):
all up.
And I said, Well, while we'retalking about it, I said, your
signage is at the time, hissignage, his business cards, is
everything in the world likethat, had something to the
extent of the industry he workedin, works in, is notorious for
mm maybe not hiring legal peopleand or people who don't speak
(27:05):
English.
So, anyways, their signage andtheir business cards said
something to the effect of youcan always call us and and
understand us because we onlyhire Americans that speak
English.
Something to that effect.
That's probably way more verbosethan it actually said.
But I said, look, uh when he'sanswering Yeah, exactly.
(27:27):
When he's uh asking me the HRquestion, I said, Look, you're
gonna want to change that littleslogan to something else because
uh that's outright saying thatyou're discriminating against
anybody who's not uh anAmerican.
It did say something we onlyhire Americans who speak
English, but I don't rememberwhat the the rest of it is.
But I said uh they're gonna nothire someone and they're just
(27:51):
gonna point to your businesscard, point to your sign, point
to your website, and say, hey,tell me they didn't discriminate
against me.
And actually they did they didchange that.
But you know, sometimes you likeseeing people fail.
I d I I halfway want to likeseeing this person fail, but I I
you know just because they're ahypocrite, you know, they've
never done anything bad to me,uh other than be just be
(28:13):
annoying.
But uh so I don't they're notsomeone that yeah, I want to see
this person fail.
You're just not my cup ofchildren.
SPEAKER_04 (28:20):
Just kind of like a chuckle, like a little serves
you right type thing.
SPEAKER_00 (28:27):
So, anyways.
Well, while I'm into do you haveanything?
I'm just feeling like I can go.
Or do you have anything?
I don't want to.
SPEAKER_04 (28:35):
I know, I'm like thinking like I got nothing this
week.
I got nothing.
SPEAKER_00 (28:40):
Okay, I don't I am blank headed.
No, it it's been that type ofweek for me too.
I did uh but I didn't want tojust leave you out of anything.
But no, no, no, no.
We launched for the ride.
SPEAKER_04 (28:53):
I'm being a passenger princess today.
SPEAKER_00 (28:57):
My my company launched their annual reviews a
couple of weeks ago.
And we're going to work so good.
SPEAKER_04 (29:06):
In October?
SPEAKER_00 (29:08):
Yeah, they're effective January, the one.
So yeah, that's next year that'sgonna be my big change.
This year, my big change to ourannual review is uh we're only
we're only giving our employeesfour weeks to complete their
self-evaluation.
I want that to be two weeks.
You can you can do it in twodays.
SPEAKER_04 (29:27):
You can do it.
SPEAKER_00 (29:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (29:29):
You can do it.
Because here's the thing if ittakes someone two weeks to do
it, it's gonna take them fourweeks to do it.
So just do it at two.
SPEAKER_00 (29:39):
Well, they're not gonna get a choice because
through the you can set upworkflows in our HRS system for
the review on day twenty nine,their review will be advanced to
their manager without theirinput.
So we're 'cause uh athistorically at that four week
mark hunting thirty, fortypeople down.
(30:00):
I need you to do your review,new do your review, do your
review.
And I I just I just said to thepresident and the COO, I said,
I'm not chasing these peopledown.
This is their performancereview.
If they don't want toparticipate in it, I said, you
know, we're giving them theopportunity, but I don't want to
force them.
If they don't want to do it, andI my opinion is that if you
(30:20):
don't participate, you shouldnot be able to get anything
above satisfactory.
Satisfactory is becomes yourcap.
That's my opinion.
We're not enforcing that, but uhif you don't submit on time, and
there's no way to back it out.
I I did I kinda sorta it was ahappy accident that I realized
that okay, so John Doe, he had ayou know four weeks of bad luck
(30:44):
and couldn't get it done overfour weeks.
I can't back it.
I I would I could cancel it andrelaunch it.
I could always do that, butthere's no easy way to back it
up.
So yeah, I'm I'm looking forwardto it.
But I was thinking there's onecriteria that is not on our
performance review that I wouldlove to see on on Performance
(31:06):
Review, and it is personalhygiene.
I I run across somebody on theregular who smells like the
wonderful mixture of a oldlady's ashtray and vanilla body
spray.
And one or the other by itselfis already stomach turning.
(31:27):
And but the combination, it hasa synergistic effect, and it's
coward take me away.
Can make me want to hurlsometimes.
And I just I know so manysmokers who hide their scent,
their their smoking smell very,very well.
I was actually worked withsomebody for years before I
found out they smoked, and Iactually asked them, I said,
(31:48):
when did you start smoking?
When I was like 16.
I was like, I had no earthlyclue.
And I'm sensitive to cigarettesmoke.
I if you're five cars in frontof me and smoking, I can smell
it on the highway or somethinglike that.
Just like nowadays I smellmarijuana all the time.
You drive anywhere, you alwayssmell marijuana and things like
(32:08):
that.
SPEAKER_04 (32:09):
Oh, is that is that legal there too?
Because same here.
SPEAKER_00 (32:12):
In Virginia, it is.
North Carolina, not so much, butit doesn't matter.
Uh it's been decriminalized.
So you if you do something elsestupid, they'll tack it on, but
they're not just going to arrestyou for recreational use.
But anyway.
So it anyways, but I just thepersonal hygiene.
If I do i i I can see personalhygiene being part of your your
(32:35):
review if you're like a verycustomer focused person and and
things like that.
Like a masseuse.
If a masseuse came in to mestinking like anything, just uh
having a noxious smell orlooking like they haven't bathed
or something like that.
Someone who's like that, who'sactually touching me and that
close to me, that would be ahuge problem.
(32:56):
But you know, in the officesetting, hygiene, I I don't
know.
unknown (33:01):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_04 (33:03):
Have you ever had to have a discussion with an
employee about their hygiene?
SPEAKER_00 (33:08):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
It goes up there with the thepoop and the porn and everything
else of uh of HR rites ofpassage.
That is that is one of them.
We have to make I'll make acynical meme one day of the HR
rights of passage.
You aren't a HR a true HRprofessional until you've dealt
(33:32):
with poop.
Porn.
Hi, Gene.
I don't know what else to throwin there, but I can come up with
some more for that.
So you do you can't callyourself a uh uh shr
professional until you've dealtwith all the above.
SPEAKER_04 (33:47):
My friend had to deal with the uh the the COVID
the COVID-19 Wednesday orgies.
SPEAKER_00 (33:56):
Okay.
I've never heard of a Wednesdayorgy on COVID.
SPEAKER_04 (34:02):
No one else did until they realized that a bunch
of their employees while workingfrom home were actually meeting
up on Wednesdays workingremotely from the same house and
then during their non-meetingtimes just having sex.
And it was like a group of aboutlike eight.
SPEAKER_00 (34:20):
Oh boy.
SPEAKER_04 (34:21):
And yeah, so she had to deal with that.
SPEAKER_00 (34:24):
How do you form that affinity group at work?
Yeah.
I I tried desperately, we're mycompany is is over thirty
percent veteran.
I tried desperately to form aveterans affinity group.
And nobody they didn't care.
I we had the same per we hadthree meetings.
(34:46):
We had the same one person showup to all three meetings, and
then after everybody's like,yeah, they we yeah, we this
nobody's interested.
But like, how do you how do youform that affinity group, the
the swingier the swingers clubor the Wednesday Orgy affinity
group?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (35:05):
And then the and then the really crazy thing, uh
that wasn't crazy enough, if Ibelieve correctly, like one of
the individuals also well, oneof the individuals was doing
this behind their wife's back.
And of course gotta go to theoffice today.
Yeah, gotta go in to gotta go inthe office today.
And he was so and even though hewas cheating on her, he was
(35:30):
convinced that she was cheatingon him.
So he was actively tracking hiswife and like all these really
personal details, like hermenstrual cycle, like
everything.
And it was all on his worklaptop.
So when they ended up likefiring everyone, like going
through their laptops, they werelike, What the fuck is this?
(35:52):
Like, I can't.
I I wouldn't So which one ofthose so which one of those like
checks the mark?
Like what what checks the beststory I get?
SPEAKER_00 (36:01):
Well, you you need to I guess there has to be
something about sexualharassment and sexual issues at
work, I guess.
Okay, I've told this story anumber of times.
I I had a situation, I wasn'tvery close to the VP of HR where
at one place I worked.
I honestly, even though Ireported directly to her, I
would see her four or five timesa year.
(36:22):
I would talk to her on the phonemaybe once a month.
Didn't you know in my what mysecond performance review, I
said, I'm sort of going on thethe assumption here that no news
is good news and everything'sgoing hunky-dory, and she said,
Yeah, sorry, and she apologizedand said she'd be more active
and things, but uh uh she didshe had a lot on her plate and
(36:43):
uh wasn't really able to dothat.
But I told the story so I was Anew there and I had a uh a
sexual harassment issue I waslooking into, and I I was giving
her my I did my report and I wasgiving her my feedback and I'm
making it the report PG 13.
And she just looks at me and shesays, Those aren't the words
(37:05):
that were said.
And I said, No, they weren't.
I said, she goes, I need to knowthe words that were said.
And I took that piece of paperand I'm covering my face as I'm
saying things like I got yourmama swinging from my balls.
Oh no.
And things like that.
I I can't that I remember thatphrase very specifically, but uh
I I couldn't look her in the eyeand say these things.
(37:27):
I just I couldn't do it.
Well, we had last we do firstaid AED CPR training at my work.
Your certification's good fortwo years, but we do it every
year because people are indifferent reviews or cycles for
that certification.
Uh 2024, we got a trainer whowas extremely inappropriate.
(37:50):
I don't know if I discussed thison the from the American Red
Cross.
We got this trainer that wasextremely inappropriate.
And she's uh when you're gettingdown to work on the mannequin
and give the chest compressionsand things like that, she says
she one of the phrases that juststicks out to me that she said
is okay, ladies, you need to getdown on your knees.
(38:12):
And she said something like, andyou know how to do I know all
you know how to get on yourknees.
And then she said, and a coupleof you men too.
And I'm like, I'm just sittingthere.
Oh no.
Oh shit.
I'm like, do I still equallybad?
I'm I'm like looking around,looking to see what the
reactions are.
Some people are laughing, andnobody nobody appeared to be
offended by it.
So I I took it Honestly, I thinkit's hilarious.
(38:34):
It was, but it's not per it'snot good for it's like we're
condoning that.
Well, we we wrote a stronglyworded email to the the
coordinator of training for theRed Cross in our area and said
we under no circumstance stanceswant this person to come back to
our office and things like that.
And we gave so because I tookone session, we did two sessions
(38:58):
a day, and my assistant tookanother and we compared notes at
the end day, and we it was veryit was inappropriate all the all
day, yeah, both episodes thatshe did.
But anyways, well this year wewere supposed to do our training
on like a Monday, but somethinghappened and we at the last
minute we had to change it toanother day, so like a
Wednesday, and we were set upwith another trainer.
(39:21):
Who do we get?
We get that same person that wetold them we didn't want the
them back.
And I asked I didn't attendeither, it wasn't my cycle to
do, but my assistant tookpictures and things to put in
the newsletter and on theinternal website and things, and
she hung out and I said, How wasit?
She goes, It wasn't she wasn'tbad, but she did say something
that we don't need to go tellingher supervisors about the so I
(39:44):
guess she got some feedback uhbecause she told my assistant,
you don't need to go tell mysupervisors about this or that.
And oh that she was late.
She was late to the first one.
So uh so I think she knows we weratted her out on that.
So that was that was fun.
SPEAKER_04 (39:59):
Well you gotta know you gotta know your crowd before
you can like go certain placeswith them, and it seems like she
couldn't read the room.
SPEAKER_00 (40:07):
Well, in our the room was uh she probably read
the room.
It was uh, you know, a moreblue-collar crowd and things
like that, but not not in our,you know, you you you just not
in a professional environmentlike ours.
SPEAKER_04 (40:20):
It's not professional.
It's funny you said that becausewe had this active shooter
training and it was done by ourlocal police department, and the
the officer was like answeringquestions in like a Q ⁇ A after,
and someone asked, and mind you,there's two me and my my boss,
my manager at the time, likerepresenting HR are in the back
(40:42):
of the room, and someone asked,like, you know, our what is it,
our workplace is like doesn'tallow guns, but I have a gun and
I own a gun and it's in my car.
So if there's an active shooter,could I like go after them?
And I'm like, oh my god, likevigilante law.
And the police officer, like, inthat moment condoned vigilante
(41:08):
law.
Because he was like he's like,if he's like, I know I'm
supposed to say no, never, like,because I know HR's in the back
of the room, but I'm justtelling you, as a police officer
with my gun, I would just handlethings, and we're like, the fuck
are you saying, man?
Shut up.
SPEAKER_00 (41:26):
Yeah.
So I Oh gosh.
I and and yeah, active shootertrading.
Ours we do have to do activeshooter trading as a DOD
contractor every year, and it'sluckily it's a video thing and
it's not live action and things,but it's it's pretty cool.
(41:47):
I I it is actually kind of it iskind of cool, but you know,
hopefully never have to use thatinformation.
SPEAKER_04 (41:53):
I know.
I actually took an activeshooter training once, and it
was it was one of those thingsbecause it was like a really
pretty building, and the prettybuildings were all like in like
all the what is it, theconference rooms were all glass.
We were also on the top floor,and like again, it was a police
officer like coming in and likedoing this active shooter
training, and he's and we'relike, We're on the top floor,
(42:16):
and what if they walk off theelevator?
He's like, Well, hide, and we'relike, Well, we can hide because
it's all glass, and then he likepaused for a second and he just
had a moment of like well, Iguess you're all shit out of
luck.
And we were like, What?
SPEAKER_00 (42:30):
I I can tell okay, the training has stuck in
because the the order ofoperations for an active shooter
event is to A run.
If you can't run, B, you hide,and only if you can't run or
hide, that's the only acceptabletime to fight back.
SPEAKER_04 (42:48):
So yeah, so automatically working on the
twelfth floor of a building thatis all glass with all the
conference rooms in glass, wegot automatically elevated to
fight.
SPEAKER_00 (42:59):
Yeah, yeah, you're yeah, that's pretty pretty
rough.
Well, the last story I have uhfor today, and this comes to me
this morning from my wonderful,lovely daughter.
I'm trying to pull up the textright now.
SPEAKER_04 (43:19):
So I laughed so hard when you sent this.
SPEAKER_00 (43:22):
Oh.
Okay.
So I actually I misread her textthe first time, uh but I I
forwarded it to you so you sawit.
But I'm gonna just read thisword for word because it does
pat me and my wife on the back.
But she works in a retailenvironment and is in a
low-level management thing, butshe sometimes does the panel
(43:44):
interviews, sometimes shedoesn't.
Today she wasn't.
But, anyways, text comes in thisafternoon.
We're doing interviews forholiday season today, and I'm
not part of them today, but Isee the people we're
interviewing.
I just gotta say thank y'all forraising me the right way,
because why the why did thisgirl show up and do the
interview with her mom in theroom in all capital letters?
(44:06):
Uh she says, like, fine, Iguess, if she had to drive you,
but your mommy doesn't need tohold your hand through an
interview.
SPEAKER_04 (44:13):
You know what?
That's just a clap.
That's a clap for you, Warren.
SPEAKER_00 (44:19):
Yeah, she I I got a kick out of it.
And I I want to she was at work,obviously, when she sent this,
so I want to ask her, what wouldyou have done if you were on
that panel interview with thisthis person?
And say, I I I is my first thingwould be I I don't know.
I've I would probably bite mytongue, but my mind, the only
(44:39):
thing I'm thinking is why thefuck is your mommy here?
Because at the water park, I hadit happen a few times, and most
of the time they were minors,and I did and if they weren't, I
don't care.
We to get hired at the waterpark, you had to A, smile, and B
have a pulse, and we were gonnafind you a job somewhere in that
water park.
There was one person in all theinterviews I did there that we
(45:03):
did not extend an offer tobecause one of the we make them
go through an interview, eventhough it's gonna be hard to
fail it, but this person did,well, you know, what is your
greatest weakness?
Well, I have trouble beingplaces on time, I oversleep a
lot, and I don't uh you know I'mI might be late to work a lot
and all this other he's he'ssitting there telling us, and
he's the only person I canrecall that we did not extend an
(45:27):
offer to that's really funny.
We did not hand him the littlemanila envelope with all the
hiring information, but yeah,mommies to interviews come on.
SPEAKER_04 (45:38):
I that's rough.
SPEAKER_00 (45:40):
Even if you're under 18.
Like I I I mentioned before bothmy kids worked at the water
park.
I didn't I did not go in theinterview.
They were good once again, theywere gonna be hired, but I made
them go through the same processanybody else was gonna go
through and do.
So they had a uh interview andand we did talk, you know,
(46:01):
afterwards, you know, eventhough we've already given the
offer to him, hey, how are yourinterviews today?
Oh, Shawnee was great and Susiewas great, and then but Billy
uh, you know, whatever, he'll dookay.
You know, we just we would talkand I didn't do any interview
real prep for him.
I let him just you know,survival the fittest here, go,
you know, and yeah, so that wasthat was interesting.
SPEAKER_04 (46:23):
That's so funny.
That's just so funny.
You know, you said like at thewater park you would hire
anyone, I could like smile andand whatever.
I had I had my first encounterof the Gen Z stare, and it threw
me through the it threw mebecause I never like experienced
it.
And then I went to that veryfancy supermarket that you know,
(46:44):
Dorothy Lane.
Yes, and for so for thelisteners, it's uh it's Dorothy
Lane is a very local grocerystore.
It is bougie AF.
SPEAKER_00 (46:54):
Bougie as you don't get any more bougie.
The cashiers and the bag boysare wearing tux tuxes.
SPEAKER_04 (47:01):
Yeah, they're like there's a there's a seven dollar
peach in packaging kind of deal.
It's no errawan, but it's youknow, it's it's it's a it's a
high quality bougie place.
And there was a a guy, I wasgetting some muscles, and the
guy behind the counter, I couldprobably pin him at like 1920
(47:21):
and he was in his little likebow tie and and black apron, and
I walk up and he just like islooking at me and he's kind of
giving me this half stare, likealmost like Stepford, like a
half smile, and I'm like, hello,and like he didn't respond, and
then he just kept kind ofstaring.
I'm like, Can I can I getsomething?
(47:42):
And he was like, he nodded hishead, and I was like, Okay, and
I like grab like I asked him forthe muscles, he measured it, he
did everything, and like hewalked, like another thing is
that they walk it out to you, sohe like walked from behind the
counter and came out and likehanded it to me the whole time,
did not say one word, and justhad the most empty, freakishly
(48:07):
empty stare.
Like his soul was gone.
SPEAKER_00 (48:09):
Oh man, I I what I wonder if he like he was new and
he's like, I don't know what thehell I'm doing, or these are
real people, they're not on theother tip of monitor.
I don't know.
SPEAKER_04 (48:22):
He's having a whole internal like breakdown of like
an anxiety attack, and I'm overhere judging the poor thing.
SPEAKER_00 (48:30):
Judging is what Gin Gen Xers do.
We're the judgy generation.
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_04 (48:36):
That was that was my gen that was my Gen Z stare, and
it it threw the fuck out of me.
I didn't know how to respond.
SPEAKER_00 (48:43):
Well, I've got the opposite end happened to me.
I I told you I went househunting with my mother and one
of the houses we went into.
First, Gen Z, my realtor, shelooks like she was 12 years old.
Actually, my realtor, thesomeone I know, she was out of
town at a country music festivalthis weekend, so she used
(49:03):
another realtor in her group.
And it was the person sheassigned me, very sweet, but she
looked like she was betweeneight and twelve years old.
And my wife, so we meet at thefirst house when we meet this
girl.
I thought the person answeredthe door, like the the residents
hadn't left, and a little girlwas answering the door, and she
goes, Oh, you must be theworkman.
So I'm like, Oh, what?
(49:24):
And and then we get to the carafter the first house we went
to.
My wife goes, my wife goes, Ohmy gosh, she's like 12 years
old.
I said, Yeah.
And then that we're talking toher at the next house, and she's
talking, Oh yeah, my husband,this.
I'm like, You're you're soyou're probably at least 18.
Now we're gonna we're getting upto 18, and uh she didn't mention
anything about kids or anythinglike that, but okay, here's
(49:46):
where we go the opposite way.
We walk into this one house, andwe just opened the door, and I
took one step in and I put acouple of combinations of words
together that don't go togetherin good company company,
especially people you don'tknow, but it ended up with
smells like old people in here.
It smelled like it like I'd onlybeen in the house for one step,
(50:09):
and I and my wife, my ribs, Iprobably if I looked to have a
bruise, she punched me soflipping hard because and then
the the realtor girl goes, Yeah,it does kind of smell like my
grandparents' house.
I'm like, I'm looking at you,I'm looking like I could be as
old as your your grandparentsjust because you look like
you're eight years old orsomething like that.
(50:31):
But oh, my wife really just gaveme a a rib shot.
Yeah, she got me good.
SPEAKER_03 (50:37):
It smells like old people.
SPEAKER_00 (50:39):
It smells like old.
But anyways, uh that was ourthing.
SPEAKER_04 (50:42):
Oh my gosh.
I hate to break it to you, butthey don't look 12.
We're just getting older bydefinition.
They all look that way.
SPEAKER_00 (50:53):
What this was the first time, because my wife
always yells at me as I callpeople little girls and little
boys when they're in theirtwenties.
But she said she used the termlittle little girl on this
person.
I'm like, okay, if you're usingit, I'm definitely not the only
one feeling this.
But yes, it's because we'rewe're feeling uh we're so much
she looks like I said, I that'swhat I would put her as one of
(51:16):
my my daughter's like middleschool girlfriend type age.
When my girl my daughter was inmiddle school, uh that's the
word of the age I pictured heras.
So it's just good for her whenshe gets to be in her 70s and
smells like old people, she'llbe maybe looking like she's in
her 40s or 50s.
I don't know.
But yeah, I I am still I if Itook a really if I yawned or
(51:37):
something like that, I'm sure Icould still feel my ribs today
from from my wife.
So, anyways, I will land theplane with that one.
So let's see here.
Once again, please go on yourfavorite podcast player, rate
us, review us, tell a friend,and let's see, we will be back
in two weeks.
Uh so uh the thank yous to theunderscore orchestra orchestra
(52:00):
for the double the doubles themesong, and Andrew Culpa is our
voice artist.
So then I get to say, as always,I'm Warren.
SPEAKER_04 (52:09):
I'm CeC.
SPEAKER_00 (52:11):
And we're here helping you survive HR one what
the fuck moment at a time.
Had you actually read the email, you would know
that the podcast you are aboutto listen to could contain
explicit language and offensivecontent.
These HR experts of views arenot representative of their
past, present, or futureemployers.
If you've ever heard, my manageris unfair to me, I need you to
reset my HR portal password, orcan I ride up my employee for
(00:25):
crying too much?
SPEAKER_01 (00:27):
Welcome to our little slave zone.
Welcome to JadedHR.
SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Welcome to Jaded HR, the podcast by two HR
professionals who want to helpyou get through the workday by
saying everything you'rethinking, but say it out loud.
I'm Warren.
I'm CC.
Alright.
So crazy, crazy couple of weeks.
Even, you know, before werecorded the last episode,
things were getting crazy.
(01:10):
We're going to dive adjacent tosome of the craziness.
I d I don't want to, you know, II don't like talking politics
too much on the the podcast.
I don't like religion talking onthe podcast, but we're gonna go
adjacent to both, I think, inhere as we as we move forward.
So yeah, it's gonna be aninteresting episode, I think.
SPEAKER_04 (01:33):
It's just my my quiet rage.
SPEAKER_00 (01:37):
Oh, don't be quiet about it.
That's that's what that's whatthey're here for.
Uh let's see here.
Before you before we getstarted, thank our Patreon
supporters, Hallie, the originalJHR rock star, Bill and Mike.
And if you want to support us,go to the links.
There's show notes, you cansupport us.
But please also, if you don'twant to give us money, leave us
(01:57):
a review, give us a heart onyour podcast player, do
something as it helps othersfind us and grow.
So and we've we had a reallygood growth month last month.
I showed you some stats.
We had it was actually a very,very high month in terms of
episode download.
So that was that was very good.
I I would hope that Octobercontinues the trend.
SPEAKER_03 (02:17):
So yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:19):
Yeah.
So where to start?
I I think we ought to start withSherm because let's go there.
So we're gonna we're gonnatrying to stay apolitical here,
but everybody on LinkedIn istalking about the the Sherm, I
forget what they are callingblueprint.
The Sherm blueprint.
(02:40):
Yeah.
And you told me the price toattend these blueprint things is
ridiculous.
SPEAKER_04 (02:45):
I Oh yeah.
I I I think it's like thirteenhundred thirteen hundred dollars
right now.
I think that was the price Isaw.
SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
I mean, that's really pricing it out of range
for practitioners, but I can seeuh and I'll I'll get into my
opinion on the situation later,but I can see all the HR
consultants.
Hey, it's it's a businessexpense, they can write it off,
and it's not as important.
But if you're you know, I'veworked multiple places where I
(03:13):
work now, supports my Shermmembership and pays for that and
would pay for seminars uh andthings like that for me, but I I
I don't see a lot of companiesuh you know really shelling out
the money for something likethis.
So I think it's gonna be a lotof the non-practitioner
consultants and the other peopleI love and and this type thing.
SPEAKER_03 (03:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:36):
So for those of you who are uninitiated, there is
going to be a debate on the atSherm Blueprint in Louisville,
Kentucky on October 26th to29th.
Okay, three days for twelvehundred dollars.
But one of the big things is andit titled this A Dialogue You
(03:57):
Won't See Anywhere Else.
Two Perspectives, oneconversation on diversity and
inclusion.
And the the speakers are VanJones, CNN host, founder of Rap
Report Company andDreamMachine.org.
And on the other side is RobbieStarbuck, the head of Capital
Markets Heritage Foundation.
(04:18):
And I saw this maybe three weeksago for the first time, and you
know, with all the the I'll I'lljust go ahead and say it, the
Charlie Kirk things going on,and it it the rhetoric around
the very first post I saw aboutthis coming from Sherm, well I I
bet you it's probably been takendown, was just really I don't
(04:45):
know what uh the right word is.
It was inflammatory.
Comments all over the place.
Oh yeah.
I couldn't tell you who eitherof these people were before
this, but apparently people haveuh posted quotes and of what's
this Robbie Starbuck, and he hassaid things like DEI is immoral
(05:06):
and DEI is communist, and thingslike that.
So is that true?
Yeah, maybe, probably.
I don't know.
I don't I don't care really thatmuch.
My my care level on this israther low.
But I here's where I want to tryand play double devil's advocate
and applaud Sherm, in that Ilike the idea of having a debate
(05:29):
of people with opposingviewpoints who can, you know, I
I don't I'm I'm not younganymore.
Uh my views on life, theuniverse, and everything are
pretty well set.
It's going to take a lot to makeme change my my views on
anything.
So this debate, if it's donewell, can be really, really
good.
(05:49):
If it's not done well, we'retalking dumpster fire to the
extreme.
And because I like I likehearing debates of people I
disagree with.
Now, I'm not one of those peoplethat's going to yell down
someone, oh, you can't say thatbecause who knows what reason.
But I I like that.
I some of my best times ever arehaving a couple drinks with
(06:11):
friends.
Is like I said, I'm fiercelyindependent.
Nobody agrees with me on youknow more than two or three
topics.
Oh, we'll agree on this, we'llagree with that, and then we're
not going to agree on too muchmore.
But I love having thoseconversations with people,
especially over a couple ofdrinks and things like that.
As long as the people can, youknow, okay, whatever.
Warren's full of shit, butwhatever, you know, and and not
(06:32):
take it personal.
Those are some actually reallygreat times sometimes.
But uh totally agree.
SPEAKER_04 (06:39):
That's fun.
This person, though, that's myquestion.
SPEAKER_00 (06:44):
Like now, have you heard of Robbie Starbuck before
this?
SPEAKER_04 (06:49):
I had not until I did some digging.
This I'm gonna be honest, thesecond I heard that he was with
the Heritage Foundation, I thinkmy ears perked up.
SPEAKER_00 (06:59):
And I have no idea what the Heritage Foundation
stands for and is about or any.
I'm sure, based on all thecomments, I'm sure it's a
right-wing think tank of somesort.
SPEAKER_04 (07:08):
It is, and they they do really are one of the big
funders of Project 2025.
So they're like personally forme, they're not my favorite
foundation.
So to kind of hear that, I waslike, oh, who is this guy?
And then when I did some moredigging, just hearing some of
(07:31):
the stuff that he has to say.
Like, like you mentioned before,like he says DEI is a poison and
we won't rest until the publicknows how companies have strayed
from American values.
I mean, he has other like thingsagainst the transgender
community, the LGBTQ community,he has accused Dr.
(07:52):
Fauci or has said Dr.
Fauci is a mass murderer.
Like, he's just kind of like whyhim?
I under like I I totally agreethat a a good debate with up
opposing viewpoints isimportant, but having someone
who has said things that are sopolarizing, but also against
(08:16):
such marginalized communities,like you're you're literally
gonna bring the antithesis ofDEI in.
And I feel like I mean at thatpoint, screw it.
Like, why don't you skip overMr.
Starbuck and just have a clansmember in there?
I don't know.
Like, if you want to talk aboutopposing viewpoints, but the
point is that people feel sopassionately about their points
(08:39):
of view that for me, I don'tthink that having a discussion
with this individual is going toreally like change anybody's
mind.
I think people are verysensitive right now to a lot of
these things.
SPEAKER_00 (08:53):
I mean, you know, last two weeks the sensitivity
has just gone it it's on 11right now.
And it actually more than morethan just like I said, Charlie
Kirk, there's been just a lot ofstupid shit happening in the
world.
Again, it's nothing new, but ifthe more these things happen,
the more the sensitivity getsdialed up.
(09:14):
And you know, it you gotta likethey say, read the room.
And I don't know if the room isquite uh there yet.
But I I I hope we're wrong, andI hope this Starbuck guy can
have a good discussion and notget, you know, stuck in ideolog
ideology.
(09:36):
Boy, I can't say that word rightnow, and and just you know
regurgitate party lines orwhatever it is on DEI.
You know, I I'm I'm just I'mmorbidly curious at this point.
I really uh you know uh I reallywant to know, but I I uh there's
(09:58):
uh no way I'd pay any money tosee this.
I I hope that there's enoughpeople that do go and maybe post
about it that we can get a trueand accurate opinion of what uh
what went down with it.
SPEAKER_04 (10:09):
So I know.
And just so like this is uh Ihave so many oh never mind.
I'm not going down there.
All I know is that this I feellike this is just some stupid
like this is such a badly timed,ill conceived publicity stunt.
(10:30):
That's what I feel this is.
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (10:32):
And on top of that, Sherm.
Is gonna be uh Sherm ispoliticizing HR.
Uh and like I said, I don'tagree with well over half of the
stuff Sherm is politicizing oneway.
I think they're turning moreinto a political lobbying animal
(10:54):
than a uh a resource for HRprofessionals uh to to utilize
and bring bring them together.
I think they're causing a lot ofrift in between uh HR
professionals overall.
And well, I'll go to that thisnext, but you know, on on I
think part of the problem andthe reason we need to have this
(11:16):
discussion is because DEI in inwake of the Brianna case, the uh
the George Floyd case, all thosethings that happened back to
back to back, which made G DEIgo from not even on the back
burner, it was still in thepantry somewhere, to first uh
front first and foremost, we hadso many of these HR professional
(11:38):
consultants who put out somereally bad shit and some of it
was bought into by thegovernment.
We've seen the stories of justthis It's like someone who had
zero clue about DEI at all, anduh and in many ways, thou those
are the things that bad DEI madeevery DEI since then worse
(12:04):
because or it go fall under thegr worse scrutiny.
SPEAKER_04 (12:07):
So if Yeah, there's some there were some bad DEI
practitioners who came out inthat first wave.
SPEAKER_00 (12:14):
And they're the same people that are gonna jump on
the next wave, whatever thatmight be, uh after the DEI goes
back to the back burner and somenew hot topic is up, they're
gonna be the expert on whateverand write 30 books and do
keynote speeches and things likethat.
And but they uh i i if DEI wasdone well from the beginning, it
(12:36):
this wouldn't be as much of anissue.
There'll still be issues becausethere's gonna be all those
backwards, there's stillbackwards people, and there's
nothing we're gonna do to fixthe backwards people in the
world uh as human resourceprofessionals, other than not
hire them and get them the hellout of our companies as as soon
as they are they revealthemselves.
But no, they're is yeah, it Ijust think that I we we started
(13:00):
the game from you know alreadylosing because of the way it was
it was done, and uh it we can'tplay catch-up in the yeah and
then people and once again neverheard of this Robbie Starbuck
before, but people like him havemaybe glammed on to some of the
worst bits of that bad DEItraining for whatever reason,
(13:23):
maybe you know, it agree heagrees with some of it, or he
thinks it was done so badly.
I I have no idea what his view,you know.
I feel like I said, I figurehe's pretty far right, but I
have no idea where he's comingfrom in that.
And that's what sort of gives methe morbid curiosity.
And this Van Jone person, I haveno idea anything about him.
(13:43):
I I don't watch any newschannel.
I walk by the my news uhconsumption of news TV is when I
walk through the lobby of mywork and we have all the
wonderful channels playing,whether it's Fox or CNN or
whomever else, they're allplaying, and that's where my my
big ticket news comes from.
But yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (14:04):
It's crazy.
I do want to I do want to make aa a statement that I got so
disappointed in Sherm over theRobbie Starbuck of it all that I
did write them a strongly wordedletter.
SPEAKER_00 (14:16):
And you will never get a response from that.
SPEAKER_04 (14:19):
I did.
I got a response.
Was it a a blank a form letteror was it it was I I have to say
that it was like some kind of aform letter.
In any case, like it was Yeah,it was just it looked like it
was just something that theywere like, oh crap, we're gonna
get so many of these, like justcopy paste all day.
(14:41):
And I think because it came tothe Robbie Starbuck form letter
in the I think they did, and andyeah, so I I I was like, my
membership is coming up shortly,and I don't think I'm gonna be
renewing.
So and they're like, so sorry,please reconsider, like we
(15:02):
understand, we valid differentviewpoints, blah blah blah.
Like it was it was just verylike what a generic.
SPEAKER_00 (15:09):
Yeah.
I and going to another topic,Sherm itself.
I I like I said, I don't believethey're they're advocating for
HR professionals anymore.
I I I do not believe thatanymore.
But what company out there is inthe in the you know the air
(15:31):
apparent spot?
There's I I I like a lot of thestuff I see on hacking HR.
I'm trying to think of the otherHR website that I follow that
has some good information.
It's apolitical, because like Isaid, I I get turned off very
quickly when the polic uhpolitics gets turned on.
And especially for somethinglike Sherm.
I there's no no need for that.
(15:52):
But oh gosh, what is hacking HR?
What's the other one?
Oh, I'll I'll have to remember.
Anyways, but is there anothercompany that can come in and
fill the boots and be there asthe company to, you know, say
that, hey, we are the thecompany that I think it's gonna
(16:14):
be different now.
SPEAKER_04 (16:14):
I think I mean look at what AI's doing.
Like, are these kind of arethese organizations really gonna
be that necessary?
I mean, you can get an answer,like you can open up Chat GPT
and you can get like drafts offorms and drafts of policies,
and and I mean you have to factcheck everything.
You can do whatever you want.
Like, you don't need Sherm'sdatabase anymore of templates.
(16:40):
You don't need their articlesanymore because the funny part
is is you can backend thosearticles in like Chat GPT and
AI.
Like you can ask it to summarizean article that might be like
paywalled.
Yeah, like there's just no more,there's just no more use for it.
And I think you're right,they're no longer a resource for
(17:01):
professionals, they are I I seethem turning into like a
lobbying organization.
And and and that's that's thecrazy part for me about the
whole Robbie Starbuck and theHeritage Foundation and the
connection with Project 2025,because that is literally like
like that basically is,especially when we talk about
(17:24):
you know, DEI and and and stuffin the workplace, like just
taking back like pay equalitypolicies and weakening gender
discrimination protections andeliminating like all these kind
of things that would assist inchildcare, family leave, and all
that kind of stuff.
And it's like that is so antlike, and I get it, I'm not like
(17:47):
naive.
Like I know HR serves both theemployees and the company,
right?
There's that loop.
And they should.
But I mean, that that those kindof things and those kind of
policies that they're liketrying to put out there are just
like so anti-HR.
It's like it's just ridiculous.
(18:08):
It's I don't know.
I think such a shit decision,Sharon.
SPEAKER_00 (18:13):
Yeah.
Oh, it is.
SPEAKER_04 (18:14):
They just want the publicity.
SPEAKER_00 (18:16):
Yes.
And and I think that's anotherthing.
They do like the publicity.
They do like, you know, there'sno such thing as bad publicity.
I think they sort of fall intothat that little old mantra of
some sort.
So but the next thing and wewere talking about online, I've
been getting inundated or notinundated.
(18:38):
I've gotten a a few thingslately on the board of directors
for SHERM.
And oh yeah, it's it's veryironic.
Uh, you know, I tell you, I'vebeen in HR for, you know, gosh,
more than twenty-five years now.
I've been a member of SHERM forprobably close to 15 to 20, it's
(18:59):
fifteen of those years probably.
And and most of the time I didpay for it myself when I was
with one employer who didn'tsupport it, but uh most of the
time it's been employer paid.
But I've never voted.
I don't even know who the boardof directors are.
I don't know who is is you knowis running and what their
(19:20):
backgrounds are and why theywould be a good person for the
board of director.
And I think I fall right inlockstep with uh however many
other hundreds of thousands ofSherm members there are.
I don't think that people knowthis stuff.
And maybe, maybe now that it istime to vote for that, maybe we
should actually take a look atthese people's background and
(19:42):
not just what Sherm sends us.
You know, do do your cyberstalking, find out who these
people are, and and then nextelection cycle, start getting
people involved who might be abetter thing.
I was telling you offline,someone I would love to see on
the board of directors, maybeKate Bischoff.
She would be incredible, she'svery opinionated, she's very
(20:05):
smart, she has a HR background.
I think she would be and she'svery anti-Sherm.
I think she might be the the thefirebrand boat rocker they they
might need.
But I don't know if she has anyinterest or anything like that.
But I just know from her oldpodcast and following her on
LinkedIn and stuff, she's gotsome very strong opinions on
(20:26):
Sherm and what they are and arenot doing.
So yeah, that's that's that'swhere we are with this the state
of Sherm uh right now.
SPEAKER_03 (20:34):
But state of Sherm.
SPEAKER_00 (20:36):
I'm I'm really I I do want to see at the end of the
month how this all plays out andhow it went.
And maybe Sherm will put somevideo clips on there, some
unbiased video clips that are,you know, not editing it to make
one person look great and theother look bad.
Is that okay?
Once again, not affiliated withany party.
If I watch CNN, they put themost awful looking picture of
(20:58):
Trump who looks like he's beenconstipated for two months and
just ate Taco Bell or somethinglike that.
And but uh they'll put the mostbeautiful picture of AOC on
there, and you look at the nextmonitor, they have this really
strong, tough macho Trumppicture and AOC looking like she
just strepped out of a trailerpark fire.
(21:19):
And and it it it it's those typeof things, just the imagery.
Like I said, there's no volumeon there.
There's it's just the imagery,they're gonna find these worst
stock photos.
You know, the left is gonna findthe worst stock photos of people
on the right, and vice versa.
And it it's just when I seethose type pictures, it just it
before I've seen a word, itturns me off.
SPEAKER_04 (21:38):
And I'm like, oh gosh, yeah, what it just I
wonder if they're going to do ifthey're gonna make people lock
their phones in those like bagsso no one can record it.
SPEAKER_00 (21:48):
Oh, have they done something like that before?
Sherm?
SPEAKER_04 (21:51):
Oh, so I went to go, I saw John Stewart a few a
couple months ago.
Uh huh.
And he like did a liveperformance here, but like they
had these bags, and you had whenyou walked in, you had to put
your bag and your Apple Watch inthis little thing and it locked,
and it couldn't be unlockeduntil you exited, and they had
(22:12):
to have like this magnetic thingto unlock it.
But it was to prevent peoplefrom videotape, like
videotaping.
I know Dave Chappelle does thatand his shows up here in Yellow
Spring, but like it's there, youknow, it's becoming more and
more of a practice, and I'mthinking, I'm thinking if
they're gonna lock it downbecause this is getting so much
publicity, and they probablydon't want people like doing
(22:34):
what doing what you kind of justsaid of just one way or another
just making it the worst thing.
So and they can also, you know,do a do a stream of it for you
know forty-five dollars.
SPEAKER_00 (22:48):
I would not pay forty-five dollars.
I want to see.
SPEAKER_04 (22:59):
You put up three?
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (23:00):
I'll put up three if they they want to stream it for
three dollars.
But no, I I first I hadn't heardof that locked bag thing.
I think that's an incredibleidea.
I didn't think they should do itat movie theaters and other
venues where the public is.
SPEAKER_04 (23:15):
And can I tell you, it was a little freeing.
Like we were in that venue andwe had nothing to do except talk
to each other.
Like we were with a group offriends, and it was just like we
didn't have our phones to lookat, and then you didn't have to
worry about someone like tryingto sneak a picture, and then
their screen is like in the way.
(23:36):
I loved it.
I think all concerts, well, notall concerts, but I think a lot
of things should should startgoing.
SPEAKER_00 (23:42):
I like that.
No, I'm assuming you have toturn your phone off first
because I I could see it'slocked, and now it's you've got
a loud, annoying ringtone, andthere's nothing you can do
that's going off.
But that that's that's prettycool.
I hadn't heard of that.
That's I like that.
SPEAKER_04 (23:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (23:58):
Okay, well, let's continue to tiptoe across lines
that we don't normally do, andwe did politics.
We're gonna we're politicadjacent.
Let's do religious adjacent now.
SPEAKER_04 (24:09):
Ooh, this is I feel like this is Thanksgiving
dinner.
We're doing the politics andreligion.
SPEAKER_00 (24:15):
Oh gosh.
So I'm gonna try uh I I I don'twant to fend I honestly I don't
want to offend anybody, but I'msure something I'm gonna say is
going to offend people.
But uh a person I know has acompany that is they portray as
a faith-based company.
Their their business cards,their their signage and things
(24:39):
all will have various Bibleverses on it, and the owner of
this company really toutshimself as a uh I want to say
holder in that art thou artbecause that's that's has some
negative commentations, but as aas a true believer who you know
(25:00):
I I don't know what the rightword is, but he he wants you
know he is in God's favor, Iguess.
He wants everybody to think thathe that's how he is.
Well, this this company won areally massive award from
another faith-based Oh oh thiscompany won a another very
(25:22):
massive award from another faithbase faith-based company, and
then you know what happened?
Day one, they're out at theclient site performing their
services, and the owner, Mr.
you know, God's BFF or whateveryou want to say, is there
(25:43):
cussing out his employees andlike laying into them, and the
CEO of the company they'reworking for walks up, records
it, doesn't say anything to him,goes in the building and finds
out who is this company, they'regone.
And because when they signedtheir contract for the the the
the company the the company theyengaged signed their contract,
(26:07):
the company also had them sign amorality clause associated with
it.
So and they lost on day thefirst day of performing this
contract, they lost it becausethe owner is, you know,
hypocritical, we'll say.
SPEAKER_03 (26:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:23):
Yeah.
And and was berating his peopleand things like that.
But I I back the story up.
I I run across the this personevery few years, and we don't
we're not close.
I you know, it's not my cup oftea or anything like that.
But about five-ish years ago, wehad a conversation, and he
actually asked me some HRquestion, is what brought this
(26:44):
all up.
And I said, Well, while we'retalking about it, I said, your
signage is at the time, hissignage, his business cards, is
everything in the world likethat, had something to the
extent of the industry he workedin, works in, is notorious for
mm maybe not hiring legal peopleand or people who don't speak
(27:05):
English.
So, anyways, their signage andtheir business cards said
something to the effect of youcan always call us and and
understand us because we onlyhire Americans that speak
English.
Something to that effect.
That's probably way more verbosethan it actually said.
But I said, look, uh when he'sanswering Yeah, exactly.
(27:27):
When he's uh asking me the HRquestion, I said, Look, you're
gonna want to change that littleslogan to something else because
uh that's outright saying thatyou're discriminating against
anybody who's not uh anAmerican.
It did say something we onlyhire Americans who speak
English, but I don't rememberwhat the the rest of it is.
But I said uh they're gonna nothire someone and they're just
(27:51):
gonna point to your businesscard, point to your sign, point
to your website, and say, hey,tell me they didn't discriminate
against me.
And actually they did they didchange that.
But you know, sometimes you likeseeing people fail.
I d I I halfway want to likeseeing this person fail, but I I
you know just because they're ahypocrite, you know, they've
never done anything bad to me,uh other than be just be
(28:13):
annoying.
But uh so I don't they're notsomeone that yeah, I want to see
this person fail.
You're just not my cup ofchildren.
SPEAKER_04 (28:20):
Just kind of like a chuckle, like a little serves
you right type thing.
SPEAKER_00 (28:27):
So, anyways.
Well, while I'm into do you haveanything?
I'm just feeling like I can go.
Or do you have anything?
I don't want to.
SPEAKER_04 (28:35):
I know, I'm like thinking like I got nothing this
week.
I got nothing.
SPEAKER_00 (28:40):
Okay, I don't I am blank headed.
No, it it's been that type ofweek for me too.
I did uh but I didn't want tojust leave you out of anything.
But no, no, no, no.
We launched for the ride.
SPEAKER_04 (28:53):
I'm being a passenger princess today.
SPEAKER_00 (28:57):
My my company launched their annual reviews a
couple of weeks ago.
And we're going to work so good.
SPEAKER_04 (29:06):
In October?
SPEAKER_00 (29:08):
Yeah, they're effective January, the one.
So yeah, that's next year that'sgonna be my big change.
This year, my big change to ourannual review is uh we're only
we're only giving our employeesfour weeks to complete their
self-evaluation.
I want that to be two weeks.
You can you can do it in twodays.
SPEAKER_04 (29:27):
You can do it.
SPEAKER_00 (29:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (29:29):
You can do it.
Because here's the thing if ittakes someone two weeks to do
it, it's gonna take them fourweeks to do it.
So just do it at two.
SPEAKER_00 (29:39):
Well, they're not gonna get a choice because
through the you can set upworkflows in our HRS system for
the review on day twenty nine,their review will be advanced to
their manager without theirinput.
So we're 'cause uh athistorically at that four week
mark hunting thirty, fortypeople down.
(30:00):
I need you to do your review,new do your review, do your
review.
And I I just I just said to thepresident and the COO, I said,
I'm not chasing these peopledown.
This is their performancereview.
If they don't want toparticipate in it, I said, you
know, we're giving them theopportunity, but I don't want to
force them.
If they don't want to do it, andI my opinion is that if you
(30:20):
don't participate, you shouldnot be able to get anything
above satisfactory.
Satisfactory is becomes yourcap.
That's my opinion.
We're not enforcing that, but uhif you don't submit on time, and
there's no way to back it out.
I I did I kinda sorta it was ahappy accident that I realized
that okay, so John Doe, he had ayou know four weeks of bad luck
(30:44):
and couldn't get it done overfour weeks.
I can't back it.
I I would I could cancel it andrelaunch it.
I could always do that, butthere's no easy way to back it
up.
So yeah, I'm I'm looking forwardto it.
But I was thinking there's onecriteria that is not on our
performance review that I wouldlove to see on on Performance
(31:06):
Review, and it is personalhygiene.
I I run across somebody on theregular who smells like the
wonderful mixture of a oldlady's ashtray and vanilla body
spray.
And one or the other by itselfis already stomach turning.
(31:27):
And but the combination, it hasa synergistic effect, and it's
coward take me away.
Can make me want to hurlsometimes.
And I just I know so manysmokers who hide their scent,
their their smoking smell very,very well.
I was actually worked withsomebody for years before I
found out they smoked, and Iactually asked them, I said,
(31:48):
when did you start smoking?
When I was like 16.
I was like, I had no earthlyclue.
And I'm sensitive to cigarettesmoke.
I if you're five cars in frontof me and smoking, I can smell
it on the highway or somethinglike that.
Just like nowadays I smellmarijuana all the time.
You drive anywhere, you alwayssmell marijuana and things like
(32:08):
that.
SPEAKER_04 (32:09):
Oh, is that is that legal there too?
Because same here.
SPEAKER_00 (32:12):
In Virginia, it is.
North Carolina, not so much, butit doesn't matter.
Uh it's been decriminalized.
So you if you do something elsestupid, they'll tack it on, but
they're not just going to arrestyou for recreational use.
But anyway.
So it anyways, but I just thepersonal hygiene.
If I do i i I can see personalhygiene being part of your your
(32:35):
review if you're like a verycustomer focused person and and
things like that.
Like a masseuse.
If a masseuse came in to mestinking like anything, just uh
having a noxious smell orlooking like they haven't bathed
or something like that.
Someone who's like that, who'sactually touching me and that
close to me, that would be ahuge problem.
(32:56):
But you know, in the officesetting, hygiene, I I don't
know.
unknown (33:01):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_04 (33:03):
Have you ever had to have a discussion with an
employee about their hygiene?
SPEAKER_00 (33:08):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
It goes up there with the thepoop and the porn and everything
else of uh of HR rites ofpassage.
That is that is one of them.
We have to make I'll make acynical meme one day of the HR
rights of passage.
You aren't a HR a true HRprofessional until you've dealt
(33:32):
with poop.
Porn.
Hi, Gene.
I don't know what else to throwin there, but I can come up with
some more for that.
So you do you can't callyourself a uh uh shr
professional until you've dealtwith all the above.
SPEAKER_04 (33:47):
My friend had to deal with the uh the the COVID
the COVID-19 Wednesday orgies.
SPEAKER_00 (33:56):
Okay.
I've never heard of a Wednesdayorgy on COVID.
SPEAKER_04 (34:02):
No one else did until they realized that a bunch
of their employees while workingfrom home were actually meeting
up on Wednesdays workingremotely from the same house and
then during their non-meetingtimes just having sex.
And it was like a group of aboutlike eight.
SPEAKER_00 (34:20):
Oh boy.
SPEAKER_04 (34:21):
And yeah, so she had to deal with that.
SPEAKER_00 (34:24):
How do you form that affinity group at work?
Yeah.
I I tried desperately, we're mycompany is is over thirty
percent veteran.
I tried desperately to form aveterans affinity group.
And nobody they didn't care.
I we had the same per we hadthree meetings.
(34:46):
We had the same one person showup to all three meetings, and
then after everybody's like,yeah, they we yeah, we this
nobody's interested.
But like, how do you how do youform that affinity group, the
the swingier the swingers clubor the Wednesday Orgy affinity
group?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (35:05):
And then the and then the really crazy thing, uh
that wasn't crazy enough, if Ibelieve correctly, like one of
the individuals also well, oneof the individuals was doing
this behind their wife's back.
And of course gotta go to theoffice today.
Yeah, gotta go in to gotta go inthe office today.
And he was so and even though hewas cheating on her, he was
(35:30):
convinced that she was cheatingon him.
So he was actively tracking hiswife and like all these really
personal details, like hermenstrual cycle, like
everything.
And it was all on his worklaptop.
So when they ended up likefiring everyone, like going
through their laptops, they werelike, What the fuck is this?
(35:52):
Like, I can't.
I I wouldn't So which one ofthose so which one of those like
checks the mark?
Like what what checks the beststory I get?
SPEAKER_00 (36:01):
Well, you you need to I guess there has to be
something about sexualharassment and sexual issues at
work, I guess.
Okay, I've told this story anumber of times.
I I had a situation, I wasn'tvery close to the VP of HR where
at one place I worked.
I honestly, even though Ireported directly to her, I
would see her four or five timesa year.
(36:22):
I would talk to her on the phonemaybe once a month.
Didn't you know in my what mysecond performance review, I
said, I'm sort of going on thethe assumption here that no news
is good news and everything'sgoing hunky-dory, and she said,
Yeah, sorry, and she apologizedand said she'd be more active
and things, but uh uh she didshe had a lot on her plate and
(36:43):
uh wasn't really able to dothat.
But I told the story so I was Anew there and I had a uh a
sexual harassment issue I waslooking into, and I I was giving
her my I did my report and I wasgiving her my feedback and I'm
making it the report PG 13.
And she just looks at me and shesays, Those aren't the words
(37:05):
that were said.
And I said, No, they weren't.
I said, she goes, I need to knowthe words that were said.
And I took that piece of paperand I'm covering my face as I'm
saying things like I got yourmama swinging from my balls.
Oh no.
And things like that.
I I can't that I remember thatphrase very specifically, but uh
I I couldn't look her in the eyeand say these things.
(37:27):
I just I couldn't do it.
Well, we had last we do firstaid AED CPR training at my work.
Your certification's good fortwo years, but we do it every
year because people are indifferent reviews or cycles for
that certification.
Uh 2024, we got a trainer whowas extremely inappropriate.
(37:50):
I don't know if I discussed thison the from the American Red
Cross.
We got this trainer that wasextremely inappropriate.
And she's uh when you're gettingdown to work on the mannequin
and give the chest compressionsand things like that, she says
she one of the phrases that juststicks out to me that she said
is okay, ladies, you need to getdown on your knees.
(38:12):
And she said something like, andyou know how to do I know all
you know how to get on yourknees.
And then she said, and a coupleof you men too.
And I'm like, I'm just sittingthere.
Oh no.
Oh shit.
I'm like, do I still equallybad?
I'm I'm like looking around,looking to see what the
reactions are.
Some people are laughing, andnobody nobody appeared to be
offended by it.
So I I took it Honestly, I thinkit's hilarious.
(38:34):
It was, but it's not per it'snot good for it's like we're
condoning that.
Well, we we wrote a stronglyworded email to the the
coordinator of training for theRed Cross in our area and said
we under no circumstance stanceswant this person to come back to
our office and things like that.
And we gave so because I tookone session, we did two sessions
(38:58):
a day, and my assistant tookanother and we compared notes at
the end day, and we it was veryit was inappropriate all the all
day, yeah, both episodes thatshe did.
But anyways, well this year wewere supposed to do our training
on like a Monday, but somethinghappened and we at the last
minute we had to change it toanother day, so like a
Wednesday, and we were set upwith another trainer.
(39:21):
Who do we get?
We get that same person that wetold them we didn't want the
them back.
And I asked I didn't attendeither, it wasn't my cycle to
do, but my assistant tookpictures and things to put in
the newsletter and on theinternal website and things, and
she hung out and I said, How wasit?
She goes, It wasn't she wasn'tbad, but she did say something
that we don't need to go tellingher supervisors about the so I
(39:44):
guess she got some feedback uhbecause she told my assistant,
you don't need to go tell mysupervisors about this or that.
And oh that she was late.
She was late to the first one.
So uh so I think she knows we weratted her out on that.
So that was that was fun.
SPEAKER_04 (39:59):
Well you gotta know you gotta know your crowd before
you can like go certain placeswith them, and it seems like she
couldn't read the room.
SPEAKER_00 (40:07):
Well, in our the room was uh she probably read
the room.
It was uh, you know, a moreblue-collar crowd and things
like that, but not not in our,you know, you you you just not
in a professional environmentlike ours.
SPEAKER_04 (40:20):
It's not professional.
It's funny you said that becausewe had this active shooter
training and it was done by ourlocal police department, and the
the officer was like answeringquestions in like a Q ⁇ A after,
and someone asked, and mind you,there's two me and my my boss,
my manager at the time, likerepresenting HR are in the back
(40:42):
of the room, and someone asked,like, you know, our what is it,
our workplace is like doesn'tallow guns, but I have a gun and
I own a gun and it's in my car.
So if there's an active shooter,could I like go after them?
And I'm like, oh my god, likevigilante law.
And the police officer, like, inthat moment condoned vigilante
(41:08):
law.
Because he was like he's like,if he's like, I know I'm
supposed to say no, never, like,because I know HR's in the back
of the room, but I'm justtelling you, as a police officer
with my gun, I would just handlethings, and we're like, the fuck
are you saying, man?
Shut up.
SPEAKER_00 (41:26):
Yeah.
So I Oh gosh.
I and and yeah, active shootertrading.
Ours we do have to do activeshooter trading as a DOD
contractor every year, and it'sluckily it's a video thing and
it's not live action and things,but it's it's pretty cool.
(41:47):
I I it is actually kind of it iskind of cool, but you know,
hopefully never have to use thatinformation.
SPEAKER_04 (41:53):
I know.
I actually took an activeshooter training once, and it
was it was one of those thingsbecause it was like a really
pretty building, and the prettybuildings were all like in like
all the what is it, theconference rooms were all glass.
We were also on the top floor,and like again, it was a police
officer like coming in and likedoing this active shooter
training, and he's and we'relike, We're on the top floor,
(42:16):
and what if they walk off theelevator?
He's like, Well, hide, and we'relike, Well, we can hide because
it's all glass, and then he likepaused for a second and he just
had a moment of like well, Iguess you're all shit out of
luck.
And we were like, What?
SPEAKER_00 (42:30):
I I can tell okay, the training has stuck in
because the the order ofoperations for an active shooter
event is to A run.
If you can't run, B, you hide,and only if you can't run or
hide, that's the only acceptabletime to fight back.
SPEAKER_04 (42:48):
So yeah, so automatically working on the
twelfth floor of a building thatis all glass with all the
conference rooms in glass, wegot automatically elevated to
fight.
SPEAKER_00 (42:59):
Yeah, yeah, you're yeah, that's pretty pretty
rough.
Well, the last story I have uhfor today, and this comes to me
this morning from my wonderful,lovely daughter.
I'm trying to pull up the textright now.
SPEAKER_04 (43:19):
So I laughed so hard when you sent this.
SPEAKER_00 (43:22):
Oh.
Okay.
So I actually I misread her textthe first time, uh but I I
forwarded it to you so you sawit.
But I'm gonna just read thisword for word because it does
pat me and my wife on the back.
But she works in a retailenvironment and is in a
low-level management thing, butshe sometimes does the panel
(43:44):
interviews, sometimes shedoesn't.
Today she wasn't.
But, anyways, text comes in thisafternoon.
We're doing interviews forholiday season today, and I'm
not part of them today, but Isee the people we're
interviewing.
I just gotta say thank y'all forraising me the right way,
because why the why did thisgirl show up and do the
interview with her mom in theroom in all capital letters?
(44:06):
Uh she says, like, fine, Iguess, if she had to drive you,
but your mommy doesn't need tohold your hand through an
interview.
SPEAKER_04 (44:13):
You know what?
That's just a clap.
That's a clap for you, Warren.
SPEAKER_00 (44:19):
Yeah, she I I got a kick out of it.
And I I want to she was at work,obviously, when she sent this,
so I want to ask her, what wouldyou have done if you were on
that panel interview with thisthis person?
And say, I I I is my first thingwould be I I don't know.
I've I would probably bite mytongue, but my mind, the only
(44:39):
thing I'm thinking is why thefuck is your mommy here?
Because at the water park, I hadit happen a few times, and most
of the time they were minors,and I did and if they weren't, I
don't care.
We to get hired at the waterpark, you had to A, smile, and B
have a pulse, and we were gonnafind you a job somewhere in that
water park.
There was one person in all theinterviews I did there that we
(45:03):
did not extend an offer tobecause one of the we make them
go through an interview, eventhough it's gonna be hard to
fail it, but this person did,well, you know, what is your
greatest weakness?
Well, I have trouble beingplaces on time, I oversleep a
lot, and I don't uh you know I'mI might be late to work a lot
and all this other he's he'ssitting there telling us, and
he's the only person I canrecall that we did not extend an
(45:27):
offer to that's really funny.
We did not hand him the littlemanila envelope with all the
hiring information, but yeah,mommies to interviews come on.
SPEAKER_04 (45:38):
I that's rough.
SPEAKER_00 (45:40):
Even if you're under 18.
Like I I I mentioned before bothmy kids worked at the water
park.
I didn't I did not go in theinterview.
They were good once again, theywere gonna be hired, but I made
them go through the same processanybody else was gonna go
through and do.
So they had a uh interview andand we did talk, you know,
(46:01):
afterwards, you know, eventhough we've already given the
offer to him, hey, how are yourinterviews today?
Oh, Shawnee was great and Susiewas great, and then but Billy
uh, you know, whatever, he'll dookay.
You know, we just we would talkand I didn't do any interview
real prep for him.
I let him just you know,survival the fittest here, go,
you know, and yeah, so that wasthat was interesting.
SPEAKER_04 (46:23):
That's so funny.
That's just so funny.
You know, you said like at thewater park you would hire
anyone, I could like smile andand whatever.
I had I had my first encounterof the Gen Z stare, and it threw
me through the it threw mebecause I never like experienced
it.
And then I went to that veryfancy supermarket that you know,
(46:44):
Dorothy Lane.
Yes, and for so for thelisteners, it's uh it's Dorothy
Lane is a very local grocerystore.
It is bougie AF.
SPEAKER_00 (46:54):
Bougie as you don't get any more bougie.
The cashiers and the bag boysare wearing tux tuxes.
SPEAKER_04 (47:01):
Yeah, they're like there's a there's a seven dollar
peach in packaging kind of deal.
It's no errawan, but it's youknow, it's it's it's a it's a
high quality bougie place.
And there was a a guy, I wasgetting some muscles, and the
guy behind the counter, I couldprobably pin him at like 1920
(47:21):
and he was in his little likebow tie and and black apron, and
I walk up and he just like islooking at me and he's kind of
giving me this half stare, likealmost like Stepford, like a
half smile, and I'm like, hello,and like he didn't respond, and
then he just kept kind ofstaring.
I'm like, Can I can I getsomething?
(47:42):
And he was like, he nodded hishead, and I was like, Okay, and
I like grab like I asked him forthe muscles, he measured it, he
did everything, and like hewalked, like another thing is
that they walk it out to you, sohe like walked from behind the
counter and came out and likehanded it to me the whole time,
did not say one word, and justhad the most empty, freakishly
(48:07):
empty stare.
Like his soul was gone.
SPEAKER_00 (48:09):
Oh man, I I what I wonder if he like he was new and
he's like, I don't know what thehell I'm doing, or these are
real people, they're not on theother tip of monitor.
I don't know.
SPEAKER_04 (48:22):
He's having a whole internal like breakdown of like
an anxiety attack, and I'm overhere judging the poor thing.
SPEAKER_00 (48:30):
Judging is what Gin Gen Xers do.
We're the judgy generation.
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_04 (48:36):
That was that was my gen that was my Gen Z stare, and
it it threw the fuck out of me.
I didn't know how to respond.
SPEAKER_00 (48:43):
Well, I've got the opposite end happened to me.
I I told you I went househunting with my mother and one
of the houses we went into.
First, Gen Z, my realtor, shelooks like she was 12 years old.
Actually, my realtor, thesomeone I know, she was out of
town at a country music festivalthis weekend, so she used
(49:03):
another realtor in her group.
And it was the person sheassigned me, very sweet, but she
looked like she was betweeneight and twelve years old.
And my wife, so we meet at thefirst house when we meet this
girl.
I thought the person answeredthe door, like the the residents
hadn't left, and a little girlwas answering the door, and she
goes, Oh, you must be theworkman.
So I'm like, Oh, what?
(49:24):
And and then we get to the carafter the first house we went
to.
My wife goes, my wife goes, Ohmy gosh, she's like 12 years
old.
I said, Yeah.
And then that we're talking toher at the next house, and she's
talking, Oh yeah, my husband,this.
I'm like, You're you're soyou're probably at least 18.
Now we're gonna we're getting upto 18, and uh she didn't mention
anything about kids or anythinglike that, but okay, here's
(49:46):
where we go the opposite way.
We walk into this one house, andwe just opened the door, and I
took one step in and I put acouple of combinations of words
together that don't go togetherin good company company,
especially people you don'tknow, but it ended up with
smells like old people in here.
It smelled like it like I'd onlybeen in the house for one step,
(50:09):
and I and my wife, my ribs, Iprobably if I looked to have a
bruise, she punched me soflipping hard because and then
the the realtor girl goes, Yeah,it does kind of smell like my
grandparents' house.
I'm like, I'm looking at you,I'm looking like I could be as
old as your your grandparentsjust because you look like
you're eight years old orsomething like that.
(50:31):
But oh, my wife really just gaveme a a rib shot.
Yeah, she got me good.
SPEAKER_03 (50:37):
It smells like old people.
SPEAKER_00 (50:39):
It smells like old.
But anyways, uh that was ourthing.
SPEAKER_04 (50:42):
Oh my gosh.
I hate to break it to you, butthey don't look 12.
We're just getting older bydefinition.
They all look that way.
SPEAKER_00 (50:53):
What this was the first time, because my wife
always yells at me as I callpeople little girls and little
boys when they're in theirtwenties.
But she said she used the termlittle little girl on this
person.
I'm like, okay, if you're usingit, I'm definitely not the only
one feeling this.
But yes, it's because we'rewe're feeling uh we're so much
she looks like I said, I that'swhat I would put her as one of
(51:16):
my my daughter's like middleschool girlfriend type age.
When my girl my daughter was inmiddle school, uh that's the
word of the age I pictured heras.
So it's just good for her whenshe gets to be in her 70s and
smells like old people, she'llbe maybe looking like she's in
her 40s or 50s.
I don't know.
But yeah, I I am still I if Itook a really if I yawned or
(51:37):
something like that, I'm sure Icould still feel my ribs today
from from my wife.
So, anyways, I will land theplane with that one.
So let's see here.
Once again, please go on yourfavorite podcast player, rate
us, review us, tell a friend,and let's see, we will be back
in two weeks.
Uh so uh the thank yous to theunderscore orchestra orchestra
(52:00):
for the double the doubles themesong, and Andrew Culpa is our
voice artist.
So then I get to say, as always,I'm Warren.
SPEAKER_04 (52:09):
I'm CeC.
SPEAKER_00 (52:11):
And we're here helping you survive HR one what
the fuck moment at a time.
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