HR's Role...

Doria · March 2002

Employees come to me occasionally to talk about their unhappiness with their positions, bosses etc. My boss saw a few come into my office and asked what was going on and I told him then he began to yell at me like a crazy person and say "I don't pay you to play psychiatrist, you tell those employees to go the the person who they have "issues" with and not the HR department" because he was so mad I decided not to try to defend myself or the employees and just sat there and listened.

I just want some "advice" from you HR folks out there. Do employees come to you for help, advice to vent or whatever? Is it wrong? Help...

Mike Maslanka · March 2002

Doria,in hr you walk a fine line---yes,you want an employee to come to you with concerns but you do not want them to start coming to you with things that are of a purley operational nature...for instance,if the employee comes and says the boss is yelling and belitting employees all the time and has a concern about that,that's one thing,but if the employee comes and says she does not like the kinds of decisions the boss makes or she thinks things were so much better at her old employer,etc,that is quite another...so go to this home base:is the employee's concern operational(over which you should have no need to listen to the employee) or is it based on inappropriate conduct in the workplace?...hope this helps...Mike Maslanka,214-659-4668

Squishypig · March 2002

At my old job, HR's role was to be there when other avenues had already been explored. The employees went to their direct supervisor with any complaints or disagreements within their department and conflicts with other departments as well. This was preferred. If the situation was not dealt with in a satisfactory manner, then sometimes HR played mediator and both the supervisor and the employee were brought in to get to the bottom of the issue. The only time the employee was to go straight to HR was when it was an issue with harassment or discrimination.

tfevergrn · March 2002

Seems you have some complaining to do, to your bosses boss. How your boss handled this situation, in my opinion, was totally inappropiate and not condusive to good management. No one should have to be subjected to or have to deal with being yelled at, at work.

tfevergrn · March 2002

On another note, if your boss does not have a boss (company owner, etc.), I would consider finding a new place of employment.

Rockie · March 2002

HR has different roles in different companies, but I have always served as a "sounding board" to employees who have problems and yes....you do feel like a counselor/psychologist at times. Unfortunately, a lot of these issues don't have anything to do with work, but just life in general. We have an excellent EAP that I point employees to when I get these type of problems. Most of the time, they just want someone to talk to and if I can help...I surely don't mind.

If there are work related problems, I always ask that the employee work directly with the supervisor on these issues. I only get involved if an employee feels they were mistreated in some way or a law has been violated.

I think your boss needs some lessons in civility and how to treat people with respect. I believe I would be dusting off my resume.

njjel · March 2002

It seems HR walks a fine line in many instances. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't most of the time! I'm beginning to wonder if I selected the right field? Half the time management is upset w/HR and the other half of the time the employees are upset w/HR.

KHelgeson · March 2002

Being in an environment that has a STRONG chain of command, when I set up our HR department I made it clear to the President/CEO that I operate with an open-door policy. A comment made by my company regularly is that "Our employees are our most valuable asset" and this open-door policy helps to demonstrate.
Some great points have already been covered. I try to keep it simple on where to draw the line.

1. If its personal, I'll listen then direct them to other appropriate resources such as EAP, spouse abuse, financial aid, etc. I keep a resource sheet to post and/or hand out to our employees.
2. If its an issue with their supervisor, I direct them to first address it with the supervisor, then if they don't get resolution I'll mediate.
3. If its an HR legal issue, discrimination, harassment, company policy, I'll discuss with them and follow through accordingly.

I'm not sure what role you play but its important that you have company leadership behind you in whatever course you determine. Its extremely important to set up the guidelines with your Executives - unfortunately it happens more than not that our complaints are about our CEO. He and I work closely and openly to resolve these issues, even when it seems to be a need to change personal skills.

Hope this helps.

Gillian · March 2002

As noted in the responses, we are a safety valve. When employees come to HR we have the opportunity to listen and make recommendations to fix a problem. That is a lot better than having the employees go outside the company to fix the problem, because that is what will happen eventually when there is no safety valve. This is part of our role and a valuable one. If you can't explain this to your boss or the company has no interest in your playing this role, find another job.

Doria · March 2002

Thanks a bunch to all who have responded. I appreciate all of the advice I have recieved and will make my decisions accordingly.

Gracie · March 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 03-26-02 AT 08:22AM (CST)[/font][p]We are probably in the same boat...some companies have HR depts simply to fulfil their legal obligations (organizational convenience), others put HR in place for their employees (employee convenience) recognizing that these resources can be harnessed and trained, bringing out the best in them.

In the former, human resources(capital) within the company are mere units/digits put in place to work, and the company provides the barest minimum to satisfy legalities. In the latter, human resources(capital), their mind, emotions and will can be "worked on" to make them the best they can be.

When an employee brings his/her problems to HR, HR can certainly view these as "organization issues/concerns" as well. How would the distressed/emotional employee be able to function his/her best when s/he faces these problems everyday at the workplace ? Are there available resources (such as EAP to help)? HR works with the human capital to bring him/her quickly back to her normal work functions...and hopefully thru it, his/her normal life functions.

As HR personnel, we sometimes cannot, and should not be TOO CLOSE to any employee, getting involved in their life.marriage. etc etc problems. We need to take an objective stand and help the employee objectively....work-life functions.

In places where HR is solely for organizational convenience, it becomes hard to work on these simply because management's sets of beliefs are different. If these are different from yours, you may be better off looking for another place with the same set of beliefs.

These are some of my thoughts.

HR's Role...

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