Human Resources

Core Functions

These may look different based on the organization:

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Recruitment, Talent Acquisition, & Hiring – job descriptions, job postings, interviews and hiring candidates

Onboarding, Training & Performance Development – new hire orientation, training throughout the employee’s lifecycle, and performance reviews.

Payroll, Compensation & Benefits – ensures employees are paid accurately, on-time from calculating hours to tax compliance. Managing employee benefits from health insurance to 401k.

Health & Safety/Compliance – ensure work environments are safe and meet all compliance based on industry.

Employee Relations – resolve conflicts, handles disciplinary actions, and is the bridge between managers and employees.

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HR Talking Points

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Let’s talk about it. Many employees think Human Resources is a compliant session; a vent session, a bitching session, or gripe session. It’s not and employees leave more frustrated and buy into the myth that HR is against employees. HR is the people piece of an organization, its purpose is not to be a verbal punching bag with individual’s rants, loud tirades and drawn-out whining and complaining sessions. At the core HR is a problem solver.

How to talk with HR? Come in with facts, dates, times, all the were involved, and context what occurred. Human Resources operates off real information, not gossip.

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Let’s walk through a few typical examples:

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Example 1 - Sarah comes in the HR and demands that Paula be terminated because she is tired of being harassed and that’s all Paula does in team meetings, in emails and during her reviews. (Paula is Sarah’s manager)

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• When asked for examples (such as emails), Sarah states that she doesn’t have any.

• When asked the last date or time an example occurred, Sarah deflects and says a few co-workers’ names who support her and they want Paula terminated.

• When asked what Paula does specifically, Sarah said it’s her expectation of work quality is not achievable and she finds in written communication that bullet points are offensive.

HR ask Sarah to send them examples to have a better understanding of the situation. Harassment can be done in many forms and evidence is needed. An individual’s demand to have someone terminated simply is not enough.

Conclusion: Sarah forwarded two emails in which she felt perfectly and clearing reflected Paula’s harassment. There was nothing in the emails that had any form of harassment. The email was direct, clear and concise. Sarah felt strongly that ‘direct’ was harassment and a violation of her ‘worker’s rights’. She also sited inaccurate information from a Google search to back her complaint. HR explains an online blog was a viewpoint, not what the Federal or State law lists as harassment or what courts have ruled as a form of it.

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If you want to understand any subject associated with employment, then you must go to a credible site, meaning directly to the regulation itself. It’s also important to look up cases that the legal finding or rulings, but if all of that is too intimidating – call the Department of Labor and ask the question. Like a conversation with HR, they are going to ask for facts. Understanding the person answering the initial call is just taking the information or able to prior the basic information. Please don’t take your frustration out of them.

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Your state’s department of labor is there to protect your rights, as the law is written. It’s also an employer resource for compliance with those same laws. I think it’s important to reiterate you must bring factual information to the call or meeting, in order for any situation to be resolved.

Example 2 – Brad barges into the HR Manager’s closed-door office, demanding to be heard about an issue that has been going on all day. There was another employee in that office. Brad didn’t care what he was interrupting. HR excuses themselves and directs Brad out of the office and places him into the closest conference room. Directed to collect his thoughts and told once the current meeting has been concluded that the HR Manager will be back.

HR Manager came back twenty minutes later. Brad used that time to trash the audio equipment on the conference room table. One unit was smashed and another hanging off the table by their cables. Brad was still highly emotional.

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HR asked what occurred in a calm tone. If he couldn’t calmly discuss this meeting could be scheduled later. Brad stated that Jenny is manager told his team that screwed up at a client’s property and the property owned demanded a credit, another team had to go out to fix the issues and the client also provided pictures from their security camera that he and his team were goofing off. Jenny was so upset she got into his face; yelled and spit on him. That she was a bitch and didn’t know anything about the work they do. It was insulting to have a ‘dike’ over him. Jenny rode with his team to all their properties today and reviewed the property scope and trained on how to do the tasks.

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(Jenny grew up in the industry and in the current company, even worked on Brad’s team last year. Received the promotion to manager three months ago).

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• When asked for details of what the client said about the work, Brad could not name anything.

• When asked where the meeting took place before leaving the yard, all Brad stated, at truck and he had no idea what time.

• Brad was unable to provide any details on the events of the day. Only complain about Jenny and defend his behavior and actions

  • Behavior & Actions:

    • Refused to listen to directives

    • Refused to participate in training or scope of work conversations

    • Refused to speak with Jenny and out-right mocked her in front of his teammates

    • Blames Jenny for an unproductive day and it would be her fault if clients complained.

Conclusion: HR did speak with Brad’s team and Jenny to find out what exactly occurred that day. From Brad’s team, no one supported his statements of what happened. Given the activity of the morning Jenny did raise her voice to be heard. This was not taken wrong by the team. The team stated Brad’s behavior and how obnoxious he’s become started with his jealousy over Jenny’s promotion. His actions and demands all had to do with trying to make Jenny look bad and get her fired. The team had no issue with her and appreciated that she was working on getting them more items to make their jobs easier. As a new manager, Jenny, wanted to protect Brad and his behavior.

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In Brad’s initial statements to HR, he used derogatory language, provided false statements and destroyed company property. Brad was terminated.

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Example 3 – Adamma emailed HR to request a meeting. A date and time were agreed too and Adamma arrived on time. She was from Nigeria; her family came to the US when she was two years old. As a Tel-com engineer, she was recently moved to another director’s group to focus on a specific project. David was her new manager.

Adamma stated that she was looking for help and guidance because she loved her work and co-workers; appreciate the company with all it’s perks and benefits. She calmly outlined a timeline, provided documentation to support the that David was targeting her and using racial slurs out in the open and with her other co-workers about her. When it first started, Adamma spoke privately with David about his comments. David stated they were complimentary. She stated they were offensive.

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• The timeline presented was detailed

• The corresponding documentation was emails, company logged meeting notes, individual notes on her calendar, and co-workers supporting her going to HR

• David’s email to Adamma were filled with blatant demeaning terms about her intelligence and physical traits when highlighting her contributions on the project.

Given the statement and documentation HR opened an investigation to validate all the pieces.

Conclusion: David was terminated from the organization, it was determined that additional harassment training was needed to further support the existing processes and training in place, and stakeholders reviewed the company meeting notes and made recommendations to the structure of the notes to avoid personal comments and record work related. During the investigation in became clear that David’s behavior with any one with immigrant roots was targeted, but especially females.

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These are just three typical examples; each situation is unique. The point is that HR cannot act or help without a foundation of facts. Just because an employee feels that their opinion of a situation should be enough, I would say flip the table and put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Would you like to be terminated for no reason just because your co-worker didn’t like you? You would be calling an employment attorney in that case.

Finally, the ‘gang up’ concept of when you coerce other employees to all say the exact lines to get someone terminated doesn’t work. Each participant is going to have to come up with dates/times the ‘incident’ happened and that information needs to be supported. You just admitted to creating a toxic and/or hostile workplace – bullies never win.

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HR is Not Law Enforcement

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Let’s talk about it. Human Resources is a department and performs functions in an organization. It is not a law enforcement agency. HR supports and enforces policies and procedures in the workplace. Primarily handle disputes, protect the company’s legal and financial interests and hold neutrality within the organization.

Let’s address the elephant in the room; employment attorneys will always state that HR is not your friend. To always be careful about what you say to HR, they will use it against you.

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As with all departments of a company, their primary fiduciary responsibility is to the company or why would that department be in the company? I’ve stated this before; there are two distinct types of Human Resources.

Administrative and Strategic; the difference is one is embedded in every part of the company with a primary goal of building growth paths for employees. The other, Administrative, is the one that is more strict and where poor jokes are made from.

Let me stress, most HR professionals are there to help bridge the gap and help employees. Rules, policies, and processes are important and need to be followed for the well-being of all at the organization. The fake HR is where the problems happen and why employment attorneys love the ease of these lawsuits and companies who make it easy to be sued.

Back to the subject, many employees believe that HR will file charges on behalf of their claims or help they file charges. Employees believe that HR cant demand to seize or request an employee provide their personal cell phone or computer during an investigation. HR, based on state or federal law, can only review company property with cause. We can’t take and go through an employee’s personal phone; law enforcement could be based on the circumstances.

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An individual would have to pursue it on their own behalf. Over my career, I comply with subpoenas for information being requested. I’ve had all sorts of employee file information to harassment investigations requested.

I always provide a verbal review of findings and ask if the employees want a copy of those findings. I do redact private information about another individual if it came out in an investigation.

Example – In a sexual harassment investigation for one female employee, I could find any evidence or validate her claims. My investigation did produce two other confirmed violations against one former female employee and another current female employee. The information on the other females would be redacted from the written copy to the employee who brought the initial claim.

At the end of all investigations, like in this example, where there was nothing, I could find at work or on work property to validate the claim. I provide directions to counseling and speaking with law enforcement on the subject. To be clear, just because no evidence could be found at work, doesn’t mean that the individual who bravely came into HR, was wrong. It’s just that HR isn’t law enforcement and there is a limit to their abilities.

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HR is Not a Therapist

Let’s talk about it. Human Resources is not a therapist, even though collectively we are great listeners. We also fully understand confidentiality. And we are well versed in laws, regulations and best practices. We also know down to our DNA that behaviors and personality will not always get along.

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Over the years, I have quipped that I’m going to charge top tier therapist hourly rates for my neediest of managers. Personally, I’ve always made sure that we had the best EAP or Employee Assistance Plan on the market. If you are going to provide help to your group, make sure it’s got top notch counseling and other services employees can use.

Given HR’s role, there must be boundaries in place:

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• We cannot give legal advice.

• We are unbendable when it comes to violating discrimination laws.

• We must disclose to the necessary decision-makers the findings from a confidential investigation.

• We cannot retaliate against an employee who is in a dispute, claim or is out on medical leave.

• We don’t manage, Manager’s employees or minor everyday issues that come up from schedules to directives.

• We redirect employees to appropriate sources to discuss personal medical issues, bills, and health care records.

While I think all of us, HR professionals, are humbled when employees perceive us in that helpful, caring role of therapist. It places us in a very uncomfortable situation.

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HR is Not a Personal Representative

Let’s talk about it. Employees assume that Human Resource is an advocate for them, like a union representative. HR is a mediator and strategic partner, which is something completely different. We provide guidance and help with working through issues that occur in the workplace.

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In every organization, there is a method for resolving conflicts. If it’s a co-worker, have a constructive conversation. If it’s your manager or you are bringing an unresolved issue to them, with the steps, etc. Most employees will bypass that and go straight to HR. There are very few people who enjoy conflict, most want to avoid it. Most make it worse with that avoidance.

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Based on the organization, HR will redirect you back to your manager. Others will listen, offer advice and tell you know they will speak to your manager who will follow up with them.

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Decentralized HR is an organizational structure where managers are responsible for managing their direct reports and following employment laws and internal processes; like payroll and performance reviews. HR is their support to help them understand the path and help the employee.

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Are all managers good at handling basic HR functions? No. There is inconsistency with understanding of policies. Is there an increase in compliance risk? Yes. Managers who go rogue, there is a higher chance of violating labor laws. What are the positives of managers performing HR tasks? Faster hiring, handling employee issues, better alignment with building a team and empowerment that support their leadership skills.

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Based on your employer and handbook policies, it’s always best to attempt the written policy steps to find resolution. After that HR will let you know what they can and cannot assist with. While they aren’t your personal representative, that doesn’t mean they are against employees. Employees are human and that’s in our titles.

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Fun FACT: HR taught make-up skills. Human Resources in 1940s with the influx of women entering the workforce, make-up was a ‘patriotic duty’ or required for the ‘business image’, so HR taught grooming classes.

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HR & Topics

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Let’s talk about it. HR professionals gravitate to the field because they have a real desire to help people and shape organizations through building a strong supportive culture. Reality is complex problem solving and conversations no one wants to have, let alone ones repeated over their career. Mid-career I personally stopped saying to myself, no one could top that one only to be proven wrong.

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Cannot stress enough that we are all very different, from our home environments, how we were raised and taught, the words we use and how we handle situations. Add drugs or alcohol or violent tempers; unlocked a whole new level of humans. I have a mark on my arm. It taught me a lesson very early in my career, about seating placement in an office when terminating an employee. Extra planning will save you a scar or two, and preparation will be well spent on time.

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Ask any professional, we all have stories. I’ve shocked many with situations I’ve encountered and some still have me shaking my head. We are all different. I walked out of employee termination, leaving my boss, the employee’s boss, two-armed security guards and the employee at the table. The employee was in his early sixties, always polite and on the quiet side. There were ongoing performance issues, and his manager downplayed a lot of serious behavioral issues. I’m not easily offended.

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I’m a realist; we have racists, criminals who do horrible crimes, extremely mean humans and everything in-between. Salty language does not bother me, derogatory words do. Watching an individual build to a level of rage spewing demeaning, dehumanizing words – that was my discovered breaking point.

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In HR when you bring personal emotions into a situation, it’s best to step away rather than fumble in a termination. My boss was the best mentor. She was a rock during our download after the employee was removed from site. She complimented me for leaving when my composure started to crack. I was sure I was wrong in that situation. She was angry, it was directed at the manager who misled the situation and how dangerous this employee was to others he worked with. I learn a lot about myself and how to handle a similar situation differently next time.

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Termination is never easy. They are necessary in most cases. My philosophy is simple, treating all parties with dignity and understanding you just affected their lives and the lives of their loved ones. So, provide them with resources. Answer their questions.

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My integrity tends to shock many; especially individuals who are encouraged to hate me or believe I’m out to ruin their life. You could be that horrible employee, and I would still do all the same steps. My line, because we all have a line, insulting me to my face unprovoked. That shows me, their commitment to hanging themselves. So, I will let them do it. In this state they generate their own documentation to support termination or quit.

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I’ve experienced a hostile toxic workplace; it was a complete fabricated narrative with absolutely no basis of truth. Every bit of gossip was made up. Every bit of what I said; either taken out of context or taken from ease dropping outside my door. Provided by my direct report because they didn’t like something I ask or corrected them on. Those actions shows the character of the individuals and the company.

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Not every employee is in the right role, and when they choose to fight against any additional training or retraining and refuse to change. It becomes an ego-fight instead of an understanding in skills, process, or changes required to remain in that role. We all need improvement. Everyday is an opportunity to learn and grow.

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When others’ inaccurate or correct opinions come into play, it just makes the whole situation worse. That conniving individual doesn’t care about the person they are manipulating and feeding falsehoods, they want them to act. An issue arises when the individual who is the target operates with integrity, making the toxic person look like a fool every single time. Which continues the cycle, unfortunately. It also has a negative outcome for the employees being manipulated, because they follow a path that has an end.

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At the worst toxic environment; it was hard to watch two female employees who were grossly underpaid from male counterparts stay in that situation listening to their ‘friend’ who was advising them down another path. Watch a male loose 50% of his income as the sole support for his family with a special needs child, following the advice of a ‘friend’. Watch as this ‘friend’ gave away confidential employee and business documents to another conspiring individual that had a massive impact on the company.

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This basic truth doesn’t change; some are on the wrong bus, some are in the wrong seat on the bus, and some need to move away from those buses. Relocate to an uninhabited island somewhere remote.

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A termination is a chance to find the better fit at another role or organization; it’s not an end point. It’s a door opening to a new beginning.

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Outside of terminations, there are conversions that repeat. Some lead to termination, quitting, and immediate improvement.

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Topics

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• Personal Hygiene: hair, body, and mouth odors, including cologne overdosing, and cleaning clothes.

• Theft & Fraud: company property, timesheet fraud

• Inappropriate Actions: physical contact, suggestive comments, showing/displaying explicit images, videos, or messages, derogatory language, mocking, aggressive behaviors, undermining work and gossip and rumors, leaving hate symbols, and defecation outside of a bathroom.

• Intentional & Unintentional: property damage, injuries, safety issues

• Substance Abuse: selling or using drugs and alcohol at work or in a company vehicle

• Retaliation: targeting an employee who reported misconduct, safety violations, or participating in an HR investigation

HR professionals and employees who are just there to do their job, don’t wake up in the morning and think ‘I wonder what chaos is going to impact my workday today.’

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