My Best Career Mistake: Becoming an HR Representative

  I really love LinkedIn this week as folks brutally honest write about their experiences in the wide, wide world of business. I will describe to you what I feel was the best mistake I ever made.
  One of the many times that I worked for a large retail store, a position became available that I thought would give me a break from the general public and allow for me to learn the actual administration of business. I saw it as a stepping stone into the upper echelons of my chosen career field.
  It was a lead position for the store I was working for at the time. I thought it could really put my people skills to use behind the scenes. I had already been a sales associate for ten years and thought that it would be a great change. These are some of the blunders that I made:

• I thought I would be a real voice for the associates. Little did I realize that the sole purpose of my position was to protect corporate interests concerning federal regulation.
• I was performing duties that had nothing to do with Human Resources. My team had to worry about the cash office, deliveries through a third party company, tax season, etc. It was just a plain mess!
• Very little interaction with people. I had no problem of not dealing with the public anymore but my office was a very lonely place. Even after training, I very rarely saw the employees until they needed me. 
• I detested the paperwork. Every office job has paperwork monsters, including education. But this was far from the paper monsters I wanted to be a part of. 
• I did not have a backbone. I soon realized that there were some very difficult decisions and situations that I had to be a part of. From firing people to sending them for random drug tests to telling them they could not work until they had a new green card. While this job helped me grow a spine, I took many of these situations to heart and you cannot have that as an HR manager for a large corporation. 

  Within a year, I went back to my old job for a different company with all this knowledge of what it was like to be on the other side. I felt very lucky to have seen and experienced both sides of the fence. My personal growth was phenomenal during that time frame and I feel it makes me a better leader for my own small enterprise. 

Asking for Feedback

  I need to point out a component of a business that is often overlooked. Feedback. Most major companies use surveys or feedback forms as a necessary part of the business. It helps them evaluate their employees and gauge their effect on the local community. Yet, many of us forget to include this as part of our service. Is it because we might be afraid of criticism? You shouldn't be, it's business.
  Remember in grade school when teachers had this huge section for comments? Have you ever worked for a large company and received a yearly review? What is great about getting feedback is that it is not yearly, but almost immediate gauge to the quality of your business. After all, you want to be better than your competition, right?
  Think about it. The next time you send out a personalized "Thank You" card, why not include a postcard (self-addressed and stamped, of course) with a few questions about the service (scaled 1 to 5) and a blank space for comments. That gives you feedback and gives the customer some anonymity when filling it out. If there is a problem and you know who the customer is, follow up! Sending an apology or a coupon for a future service may suffice and allow you to keep your client.
  Yeah, it's work, but so is gaining a new customer! Friends talk, and they will talk about your service to a friend. Don't make it a so-so experience, give them a reason to love you!