Close Encounters of the Form Filling Kind
If you work in Human Resources or anything which requires extensive stakeholder engagements like I do, then the best way to get to know your constituents would be to get them to fill up a form.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I kid you not.
The latest task I have at work requires me to gather registration forms from about 700-800 staff due to a new Malaysian legal requirement. The forms need to be submitted along with a copy of their degree (e.g. their Bachelors or their Masters) and proof of payment.
Simple and straightforward, right?
Well, apparently not.
Believe me when I say this exercise has given me way more insight on the people I serve than anything else I've done in the past four-plus years.
First of all, I found that Brits and the Americans were the ones most likely to ask dumb questions. It's often said that Western children ask more questions than their Eastern counterparts but I think as they get older, they just insist on asking obscure questions to prove their superiority.
The same group also made up the majority who refused to register on the basis that they are already registered with their regulators back home. Quite frankly, I was really tempted to reply I didn't really give a flying $*!# about their regulators back home. You work here and are therefore subjected to the laws here. End of.
The Gen X people were the ones most likely to question me/provide feedback on the statutes contained within the new law. Firstly, I am no Minister. Secondly, I am not a Member of Parliament. Thirdly, I am no lawyer. And fourthly (and most pertinently), I'm just the bastard who's supposed to collect the forms. I'm not sure what gave the impression that I was even remotely interested in their opinions on the law.
Malaysians, on the other hand, were the least likely to make a fuss. They'll fill in the forms as asked BUT they were the biggest culprits when it came to incomplete documents, i.e. without proof of payment, without degree because tertinggal kat kampung, etc. etc.
However, it's the people in this next category who are my favourites. Let's just class them as Clowns. Clowns are of various nationalities, backgrounds and ethnicities. The only thing they have in common is their apparent inability to grasp simple instructions. I'll list down a few cases that stood out.
Recall that I said only three items needed to be submitted (form, degree, proof of payment).
As tempted as I was to reject all these forms, safe to say I wouldn't have been left with many if I did. I guess my wife does have a point when she says the smarter someone is, the less likely it is for him/her to have common sense.
What I don't deny, though, is that these guys really bring some colour to my work life. And the great thing is I'm expecting another 100 or so forms tomorrow, so I'm hoping to see more funny things.
Maybe someone will attach the results of his/her HIV test? That would really top everything off.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I kid you not.
The latest task I have at work requires me to gather registration forms from about 700-800 staff due to a new Malaysian legal requirement. The forms need to be submitted along with a copy of their degree (e.g. their Bachelors or their Masters) and proof of payment.
Simple and straightforward, right?
Well, apparently not.
Believe me when I say this exercise has given me way more insight on the people I serve than anything else I've done in the past four-plus years.
First of all, I found that Brits and the Americans were the ones most likely to ask dumb questions. It's often said that Western children ask more questions than their Eastern counterparts but I think as they get older, they just insist on asking obscure questions to prove their superiority.
The same group also made up the majority who refused to register on the basis that they are already registered with their regulators back home. Quite frankly, I was really tempted to reply I didn't really give a flying $*!# about their regulators back home. You work here and are therefore subjected to the laws here. End of.
The Gen X people were the ones most likely to question me/provide feedback on the statutes contained within the new law. Firstly, I am no Minister. Secondly, I am not a Member of Parliament. Thirdly, I am no lawyer. And fourthly (and most pertinently), I'm just the bastard who's supposed to collect the forms. I'm not sure what gave the impression that I was even remotely interested in their opinions on the law.
Malaysians, on the other hand, were the least likely to make a fuss. They'll fill in the forms as asked BUT they were the biggest culprits when it came to incomplete documents, i.e. without proof of payment, without degree because tertinggal kat kampung, etc. etc.
However, it's the people in this next category who are my favourites. Let's just class them as Clowns. Clowns are of various nationalities, backgrounds and ethnicities. The only thing they have in common is their apparent inability to grasp simple instructions. I'll list down a few cases that stood out.
Recall that I said only three items needed to be submitted (form, degree, proof of payment).
- Many clowns decided to staple their business cards to the form (not sure why).
- Some attached copies of their ICs and passports (I didn't ask for any of this)
- A lot provided me with detailed sem-by-sem transcripts of their university studies (umm...)
- Some provided me with certificates from all trainings they attended over the past 10 years (ummm...)
- Some affixed proof of their citizenship change (why is this even relevant to anything?)
- One particularly semangat expat attached a 50-page research paper he did for a journal to his registration form. (@%$@&)
- One guy attached his bank balance in his proof of payment (he has RM1600 in his account, in case you're interested)
As tempted as I was to reject all these forms, safe to say I wouldn't have been left with many if I did. I guess my wife does have a point when she says the smarter someone is, the less likely it is for him/her to have common sense.
What I don't deny, though, is that these guys really bring some colour to my work life. And the great thing is I'm expecting another 100 or so forms tomorrow, so I'm hoping to see more funny things.
Maybe someone will attach the results of his/her HIV test? That would really top everything off.
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