HR pros, are you and HR cork or HR screw top?
I was watching No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. I am in love with him. My husband likely knows this. He had a great episode featuring Paris’s greatest new culinary awesomeness and he was with Eric Repirt, Michelin chef and regular judge (with Anthony) on Bravo’s Top Chef. Anthony Bordain and Eric Repirt are legendary chefs educated the old-school way, but strive to highlight new twists in the culinary world.
The French, famous wine aficionados, take their drink seriously. A conversation about wine went something like this (all paraphrased by the way).
Anthony asks Eric, “so what do you think about cork in the wine bottles vs. the new screw tops?”
Eric: Silent (through his look you could tell he was not a fan of the new screw top).
Anthony: Ok, but tell me, is there any flavor difference between the two?
Eric: Stammer, stammer, retort, stammer…
Anthony: Fine, but you haven’t answered the question….Is there any flavor difference?
Eric: Stammer, stammer, retort, stammer…
Anthony: Do you really think there is a flavor difference or are you driven by the emotional attachment of the cork?
Eric: silence, awkward but knowing smile on face.
Anthony: I rest my case…
Frankly, I was a little shocked that Anthony seemed to suggest the new screw top was just as good as the cork functionally.
So as an HR pro, are you cork or screw top?
- Cork = the established way of doing things. Corks, like how they look and feel. They like that classic tactical feel that’s not been question for years. And bending them, like a cork, is difficult. Since they are effective as a FUNCTION they rarely question changing. I’m getting the job done.
- Screw top = new innovative, more effective and efficient HR. The screw top works more efficiently. It isn’t stuck in the bottle but on top. It is not enmeshed in it’s function yet completes the task. It is quickly accessible to the drinker, easy to flex, takes less time to break open, and allows the drinker to open without additional tools (aka the wine opener). Plus being a literal screw top is often needed in the new HR.
As a wine drinker, frankly I am emotionally attached to the cork. I do like the ritual of opening the bottle, smelling the cork, etc. I think the screw top is less sexy than a cork and frankly, by default, couldn’t imagine a screw top preserving flavor as well as the cork. I mean doesn’t the cork add some kind of corky natural enhancing taste!?
It apparently doesn’t. HR doesn’t’ need to be sexy all the time. It needs to function, but quickly. Especially if your company’s growth demands it.
As a big fan of analogies – I like this. I think there is a time and place for types of wine/HR; you just have to appreciate the subtle advantages or disadvantages each can bring and be flexible enough to use them.