What are your thoughts on HR?

7 Comments

1. AnonymousApril 19,2024 at 6:34PM UTC

   HR is there mainly for the employer. Most of what is done is to protect the company. This may take the form of policies, documented performance improvement plans (PIPs), or being in the room if something escalates. The benefits that the company provides are to obtain or retain employees. Given this, some employees take an adversarial approach to HR thinking that they should be on the employee side then being surprised when HR takes the side of the employer (who pays HR).

   My suggestion is that it is the job of management to hold employees accountable NOT HR. HR may give guidance to an employee about how they may handle a situation but "hold them accountable". If a PIP gets instated then the manager, employee, and HR work out a plan going forward with the understanding that the employee did not meet the managers expectations.

2. AnonymousApril 19,2024 at 7:04PM UTC

   Stop lending an ear. Your HR not a sound board. Does your company have a place for employees to voice concerns and complaints? You should direct them to towards that avenue and stay as objective as possible.

3. AnonymousApril 19,2024 at 7:07PM UTC

   Stop lending an ear... your HR not the complaints department. Be as objective as possible when dealing with employee gripes. Is there not another avenue where employees can express concerns and complaints anonymously so as to not show faces? If so then direct employees there when they need someone to "lend and ear".

4. AnonymousApril 19,2024 at 7:13PM UTC

   Buckle up, you're about to get a boatload of experiences all over the place and why or why not you should let them vent or not.

5. AnonymousApril 19,2024 at 7:49PM UTC

   I agree with most of the suggestions here.

   A little more detail may be needed. Essentially some small tweaks to course correct should work. Something as simple as a documented conversation could be enough.

   From what I see, there are some avenues that can all be addressed (simultaneously or incrementally).

   The employee. If there is disruption in the company based on an employee, the manager should be involved- find out what's going on and cull it. That said, I've worked at companies where the manager wasn't aware, but senior leaders were, so a meeting was held between the employee, manager, and the senior leader / HR to discuss the resolution of the matter.

   The company. Are there ways for employees to voice concerns (complaints, suggestions, annual feedback survey, etc.) - where they can be read/responded? Are there ways for company policies to be spoken and shared (online, in a meeting, as part of a retreat, etc.). EAP- Does your company have a way to work with Employee Assistance Programs (that can include counseling). If your company already has guidelines in place for PIPs, this scenario may be one.

   Culture/ activities- Does your company have ways to add good things into the mix. Sometimes people complain because of stress and no break in the routine. I've worked at places where there were Wednesday walks, or Friday summer hours, etc. little perks to have employees blow off steam.

   HR role / you- While there is some element of HR/ senior leaders taking some ego hits when employees complain about them, it shouldn't be disruptive to company culture or work--and go unaddressed. HR can hear a few questions/concerns, but you can certainly establish more boundaries---have office hours, stop lending an ear in general or when situations like this arise.

   I aim to be as human as possible in my interactions, but trust your gut. If you're done with being the source of [personal] help, it's important to recognize your limits too. You can say something like "I'm sorry, I can't help you for that." or "HR can help you with the following areas..." or "Here's what we can do..." ---perhaps you could direct the employee to other ways to get assistance (e.g. via manager, EAP, etc.).

   Good luck.

6. AnonymousApril 19,2024 at 8:43PM UTC

   I think you would benefit from defining what HR means in your company. Some companies, HR is just there for the employer, for compliance reasons. This is "old school" HR. Hiring, firing, sexual harassment trainings, filing paperwork, etc.

   New school HR, or People Operations, is different. You are trying to bridge the gap between employees and leadership/operations. In this you are: looking for mutually beneficial solutions, creating a great company culture, developing and upskilling your people, people first mentality, manager training, open door for employees, and partnering with leadership to be an advocate for smart business decisions that will have a positive impact on employees...all while doing all the traditional "old school" HR things.

   My question to you would be, why are you holding an employee accountable? Isn't that the job of their manager? If we don't correctly define the bounds of HR, everything ends up getting put on us. This would not be your job. Coaching the manager to have this conversation themselves would be. They should all know how to set expectations on their team, hold people accountable, set goals, develop their people, conduct 1:1's, reviews, and write-ups. PIPS and termination would be with your help, but also not all on you.

   I am going to go against the other comments here and say that you can be a place where employees can come to you for support or for you to lend an ear. BUT, this should not just be a bitch session. You should also be coaching them on how to have hard conversations themselves or be able to get through problems themselves. Goal being self-reliance. If you cannot do this piece, better to not have employees come to you in the first place. Your job isn't to solve people's problems for them--but facilitate.

7. AnonymousApril 19,2024 at 9:21PM UTC

   How are they disrupting the team environment?