Fiscal April - 4/07

April is the beginning of the new fiscal year.

It's also the time when jobs shift. I noticed all the new faces at the post office. Rats. I spend a lot of time there, and I had really grown attached to the old crew.

I have a friend at Town Hall who was in the Department of Education. She knew it was her time to go somewhere else, when the orders came through for Parks Infrastructure. A few years ago she was in Taxes. These are not promotions or demotions, just changes.

At larger companies employees switch from one department to another or to a new location. They may be given just two weeks to move to a different city, including finding an apartment/house, packing up the family and switching schools.

In education, April is the start of the new school year. Teachers and administrators change schools every three years. The changes are staggered, so the entire staff isn't completely new.

From a Western perspective this seems odd. Why create generalists when the world loves specialists?? From a Japanese view, these changes are part of the life-time employment, life-time training picture. Companies want their employees to understand every aspect of the business.

I should note that this system is prevalent in larger corporations. These guys get all the press. Small, family-owned businesses still employ 75% of the workforce and have different needs/approaches.

Regardless, I stood by as a grocery store check-out clerk struggled with the scanner. She had on a yellow arm band signifying her training status. I felt an affinity with her immediately because she didn't seem to quite know what she was doing and was clearly uncomfortable in her new role. I was wondering if she had come from Marketing.