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Snickers the Wonder Dog Forgot What Morning Walks Are For, and Other HR Communication Stories
Feb 24Snickers the Wonder Dog forgot how to go to the bathroom on her morning walk.
She’s seven. And as you can tell by her name, she’s wonderful. But with this new behavior — Gee, you mean you think I shouldn’t just walk down the middle of the sidewalk like nothing is happening in the world? — she’s quickly becoming Snickers the Dog.
The thing is, she’s the best trained and most reliable dog in the world. Right up until we got a record annual snowfall in Philly. There’s snow piled everywhere. And Snickers doesn’t like it. Normally, when there’s grass in full view, she’ll get her business out of the way and I’ll be back in the house by 6:15am or so. Not since six feet of snow dumped on our neighborhood this winter. And Snickers won’t have any of it.
So, it’s back to teaching an old dog new tricks. Like going to the bathroom on her morning walk.
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Here’s what I know about HR communication: Sometimes you have to remind people about things you think they already know. When things change — a little or a lot — employees can forgot what they know. There’s nothing wrong with reminding that the snow will melt and that there’s grass under there.
Here’s a video of Snickers the Wonder Dog playing in the snow. This part is more fun than the morning walk.
About the Author
Frank Roche
Frank started IFRACTAL over 7 years ago with Sarah Chambers. Together, they've created HR communications and HR software for some of the world's leading companies. Frank is also studying Flamenco guitar and origami.
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What a sweet video! Labs seems to be very fussy about where they go
Ours has to be reminded that sooner or later he will have to go even if the grass isn’t high enough to tickle his behind!
Love your HR analogy too!
Hi Fran,
You’re right about Labs…she’s wonderful…and fussy. I have to laugh thinking about a dog with hunting roots acting more like a Persian show cat than a water dog. Someone suggested that she’s training me to shovel a place for her.
Thanks about the HR link. It seems like the case…we do employee communication, and it’s always funny to see how much repetition is required.
Thanks a lot for stopping by. Glad to hear from a fellow Lab owner.
Completely agree. And it’s also true for corporate communications. For example, even though financial basics should be part of employees knowledge when listening in on the annual results meeting, it doesn’t hurt if the CFO takes time to just quickly explain what “cash flow” or “COGS” really means. It doesn’t hurt, and likely helps many.