With all the technology that accompanies the HCM process these days, it’s easy to get lazy and let the computers do all the heavy lifting. A simple case in point is the inability of the many HR staff members to simply remember the names of the people that they help on a day-to-day basis.
What happened to the mindset in the human resources department that people are a company’s greatest asset?
With that thought in mind, I decided to revisit one of the most powerful tools for making friends that I could remember. I know that it might seem trite but these five steps are sure to give your HR team instant credibility with almost anyone you meet – by just remembering their names:
Repeat the Name
It doesn’t take much to become distracted when meeting a group of people. Your boss may stroll by, a drink or hors d’ouevres may be offered or an old acquaintance may intrude and introductions become muddied or hurried. No one will fault you, however, if you just take the time to simply say, “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” – and the person’s name, no matter what is going on. When exiting the conversation, try to use the name one more time in the goodbye.
Create an Immediate Association in your Mind
While this sounds all well and good, it is not as easy as it seems and takes a little practice to really work. The idea is to associate the name – and the face – with another aspect of their life. For example, if you just met “Ted from Toledo” or “Michael at Microsoft” and associate both the name and the secondary attribute, you will have a better chance of remembering both. In many cases, when you meet either Ted or Mike and don’t immediately remember their name, the secondary association may come to mind and jog your memory.
Make a Comment About the Name
While conversing with your new acquaintance, try to make a comment about the name to once again reinforce it onto your memory. For example, asking Thomas whether he prefers Tom or Tommy will again imprint the name into your conscious. Further, associating that person’s name with someone you already know with the name is another powerful mnemonic device.
Develop Your Own Mnemonic Devices
You may never meet or have to remember the names of the nine members of the Supreme Court, but if you did, a clever mnemonic device could help you do so. For an HR staff that routinely meets the same people over and over from the same department, a mnemonic device might be just the thing to help them remember names and make a lasting impression on their coworkers. For individuals, the mnemonic could be making an alliterative association with what their co-workers do for the company – Ann in accounting, for example – or a simple rhyme such as Gail in sales.
Put the Name To Use
The typical HR interaction between your staff and the company’s employees provide plenty of opportunities to use a person’s name. It may not be the same as actually learning the name of the person in front of you but, the employee will notice. It is a powerful tool that creates a bond between the staff member and the employee and removes one more adversarial barrier.
A Final Thought – Obviously, the size of your company may preclude the use of some of these techniques but there is no reason to not develop a system where the employee’s name is used on a consistent basis throughout any interaction. Customer management relationship systems (CRMs) have been around for years but have been primarily focused on customers outside of the company. Perhaps, it’s time for HCM to take advantage of tools like these and focus on their most important assets – their people.
