Where have all the professionals gone?

This post is a bit of rant, but it has really been bothering me lately....

Recently a friend of mine sent an electronic mail inquiry to his HR Director regarding a new position that was soon to be available in his company. This was a new job, with a new job description within the department that my friend worked in. It was very public knowledge that this position was created and many in his department were already discussing who would be applying.

The reply was short and to the point and while it really didn't answer the questions presented in the email there was something else that really irked me when I read it.

The reply was signed simply with the first initial of the HR Directors first name.

That's it? There's all there was, no more.

The note was signed as you might sign a note to your best friend, golf buddy, spouse, etc. In my opinion, not the way a professionally trained human resources director representing a very large multi-division, publicly traded company signs a corporate email. This company is not small by any stretch and my friend is not the best friend, buddy, golf partner, etc. of the individual replying. He deserved better than that type of casual reply from a senior executive in his company.

This leads me to my question - Where have all the professionals gone?

I am a firm believer that casual Fridays have not only led to the downfall of professional looking people but to the downfall of professionally acting ones every day of the week. This is not really a rant on how people dress or what people wear in the workplace. In a former life I trained retail store employees on how to comply with a twelve (yes 12) page dress code. I am done with dress codes.

But this casual attitude in the workplace has contributed to professionals being too lax, too informal, and for too much unaccountability for individual actions, words, and performance.

We learn as business owners that we cannot befriend our employees or get too involved. We must stay at a professional distance so that we can maintain objectivity while evaluating performance. How can you possibly do that when you create and maintain a work environment that focuses on everyone feeling warm and fuzzy and being every one's buddy? When you are signing emails with just the first letter of your name?

There is nothing professional about signing an official company email in that manner. Even if company is huge, and by huge I mean billions in profit, crazy successful, making more money than the owner can possibly give away each year, I would doubt that any official type of correspondence would ever get signed with one initial.

We can't all work for Microsoft and wear jeans to work every day. Although there are some business owners that can do that, if you are just starting out, or working in any type of corporate environment you need to work, dress, act, and be professional. There are companies that have created casual environments but they have maintained standards and professionalism all along the way.

Going back to my question, where have all the professionals gone? I know they are out there, I know there are people that still like to dress and act in a certain way. I have seen them, they still walk among us. THANK GOODNESS!