Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
January 20th, 2010 by Keith Burton
I had the occasion recently to go into the field for client work. In the process of completing my orientation and the paperwork required for vendors, I was told that facial hair was not permitted at this facility. As a result, I couldn’t complete my badging process until I shaved my goatee. So I shaved it.
In the hours and days that followed, a number of people remarked about this experience as they heard about it. Some were annoyed by it. Some found it humorous. Some thought it lame that I agreed to do it. I listened and remained non-plussed, as I did the day I lathered up and shaved. You see, I know something that others don’t. One, I can grow it back quickly; it’s only hair. More important, this experience was very much like a lab experiment that helped me to understand the culture, rules and processes for this facility as we do our work.
As I was looking in the mirror last week while shaving, the voice of a former client, Jerry Calhoun of Boeing, came into my head. “Just remember one thing,” he said, “when you’re out here. Your work is not in the corporate office, it’s in the field where we build airplanes and on the front lines where people do real work.”
Every company and every location has a distinctive culture. And rules exist for a reason: They tell us that there is a system, how it operates, and what is expected of us.
January 20th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Why was facial hair not allowed at the facility? Was there a specific reason of hygiene? Did they advise on your hair style too? Trousers, shoes, general fashion advice. Seems odd.
January 21st, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Keith, this is a great way to look at having to do something you otherwise would prefer not to do. Having been with Keith at the facility in question, we can all be comforted to know that their security policies are so strict. It was an educational experience being out in the field and gave us the opportunity to understand the true organization as defined by the day-to-day experiences of the men and women who work there.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Karl, it’s spelled out clearly that for workplace and safety reasons, facial hair isn’t accepted. Interesting enough, I found the same thing in two other places, both of them food producers (which makes sense).