Don't see need for headhunter in finding new police chief in New Smyrna Beach

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- I don’t understand why cities, hospitals and business in general have to hire head hunter groups to find new leaders. Why can’t these places promote from within. Yes, I know that’s old school. It is what I grew up watching. If the old boss died usually he had already primed someone to replace him. If the death was sudden and unexpected then the next in line at the top took his place or at least was given the opportunity to do so.

I see that New Smyrna Beach has hired such a group to assess what the police department wants in a new chief and to find him to the tune of a $32,000 pay check. In this economy, is it wise to spend money on this kind of thing?

I see that New Smyrna Beach has hired such a group to assess what the police department wants in a new chief and to find him to the tune of a $32,000 pay check. In this economy, is it wise to spend money on this kind of thing?

Promoting from within can perpetuate the “good ole boy” networks that have been rampant in this town, true, but there are also qualified people out there in their own workforce, not part of that old network, who could take the job and be great at it.

Years ago we had a system whereby young people could begin at a business as an apprentice and get on the job training with the expectation that as they got more and more knowledge they could rise up the ladder maybe even one day to the top position. It gave everyone incentive to do the best job they could.

Today, they have to go to college or some kind of technical school to even qualify for a job then fight with hundreds of others for that job. They are not paid well nor even given the hope of rising to the top ever.

Those close to the top are overlooked as someone new from outside the company is hired.

While the person who has worked there for years, knows the insides and outs of the facility and all the other workers is not only shunted aside for the leadership position but he is also now expected to be an unofficial advisor to this new person because of what he knows. This is so unfair.

I realize many jobs are too technical for on the job training and call for special schooling but if you had someone in your company who started at the bottom and showed promise wouldn’t it be to your benefit to help that person get the schooling with a contract that when graduated this person works solely for your company for x number of years?

We are technologically working all humans out of jobs in the future. I saw on a recent television news program how there are robots currently working in many facilities and people who are developing even more sophisticated robots for the future of everything including cars that drive themselves.

Those prototype cars are already here and in many large hospitals robots already carry medications to nurses from the pharmacies and do many jobs that would be done by untrained personnel such as housekeeping. They are also doing the rather mind numbing assembly line tasks. They are quiet, unobtrusive and not paid an hourly wage with benefits. Once their original cost is paid off their services are free except for maintenance.

The commentator asked these developers what jobs did they see for people in the future and they couldn’t think of any.

What will people do for a living then? Progress is a good thing, but if we develop ourselves out of a way to make a living and support our families what then?

Seems to me we should go back to people being able to aspire to higher places in their employment and not unnecessarily spend money on head hunters. And we need to asses what our so called “progress” is leading to.

Seems to me we should go back to people being able to aspire to higher places in their employment and not unnecessarily spend money on head hunters. And we need to asses what our so called “progress” is leading to.