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Old 01-25-2017, 09:40 AM   #41
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My Megacorp HR's effectiveness and employee acceptance was a mixed bag - primarily driven by the Corp Goal/Policy Change de jour. Major changes in Corp. policy were always addressed by HR and that was when things typically went off the rails.

One memorable event was the policy change that all of us were now subject to for-cause AND random drug screening. I could have cared less, but the "employee information" sessions turned into a fiasco. One young woman had recently been rotated to HR. (HR was a box-check for most of those being artificially moved up to meet Federal guidelines. She was a double winner as she was not only female, but was also another check mark on the MGM check box.)

In the information session she informed us of the policy which was pretty much routine. Then she stated that we could no longer eat anything with poppy seeds in/on it. (Our cafeteria served poppy seed rolls AND poppy seed dressing FWIW.) There was a momentary stunned silence in the room as she explained that doing so would lead to a false positive drug test. The meeting (with perhaps 75 people in the room) quickly devolved into near bedlam and mutiny. Finally, the senior HR person with help from our manager got things back on track.

Two weeks later the young woman sent a terse email indicating that we should disregard her admonition not to eat poppy seed products. From then on (in her very short tenure in HR before being moved up) she was referred to by most of us as "False-Positive Rosa."

Our few "c*reer" HR folks were actually fairly effective and reasonably responsive - in seeing that Corp. policy was adequately administered as it applied to HR. HR was an arm of management, but the c*reer folks never made any bones about that. It was the fast-trackers through the organization who usually screwed things up before being advanced.

HR was only a very small reason for my desire to FIRE. YMMV
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Old 01-25-2017, 10:58 AM   #42
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Neutral at most companies, then extremely negative at another one. Lesson learned and now neutral to slightly negative.


In general as a manager I need them for
- what is the procedure to do x, y or z?
- make sure I stay out of any legal minefield.


The lesson learned
- even if you are on very friendly terms, remember, they are not your friend.
- assume nothing you say is in confidence and that anything you say may be repeated up the chain and assume that as it passes from person to person the information may actually evolve.
- under no circumstances should you ever vent in front of them


On the slightly negative side "flavor of the month" HR programs and methods to do performance reviews.
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Old 01-25-2017, 11:11 AM   #43
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They came up with so many interesting terms for firing people. Downsizing, transitioning, rightsizing, value recapture, span of control adjustment etc.
Don't forget "synergies" to be realized in mergers and acquisitions!
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Old 01-25-2017, 12:01 PM   #44
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My company 'restructured' and 'realigned'. Sounds more like chiropractic work than firing 1000's of people!
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Old 01-26-2017, 06:25 PM   #45
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No offense to HR.

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Old 01-26-2017, 07:42 PM   #46
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"If I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden, and Toby [the HR rep]... I would shoot Toby twice." - Michael Scott

No offense!
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Old 01-27-2017, 01:24 PM   #47
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The whole w*rk world went to hell when the Personnel Dept became The HR Dept.
But if I was older I'd probably think it was when the Employment Office became the Personnel Dept.
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Old 01-27-2017, 02:19 PM   #48
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Let's be perfectly clear - HR is NOT an advocate for the employee. It exists only to protect the interests of the company. PERIOD. Use them to your advantage and fight only if necessary.
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Old 01-28-2017, 08:23 AM   #49
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I worked in HR for the first half of my career. I went in because I cared about fairness and I was interested in the legal/ethical aspects of business. I left because I felt that HR wasn't the place to make positive change happen, it's much more of a CYA (cover your hiney) kind of field, and it tends to attract "schoolmarm" types who are more concerned with rule-following than the impact of those rules.

HR people (even when they have the best intentions) are placed in the difficult role between management and employees. Management calls the shots, HR advocates for the right thing where they can, but it's rare that a company gives HR actual decision making authority. That means you often end up being a mouthpiece for policies you disagree with, which is an uncomfortable position to be in. (this can happen to managers too)

Internal politics can also be ugly. HR folks have very little power, so they can cling to what they've got with ferocity. "Queen bee" phenomenon.

HR is a tiny bit like policing, in that you've got people who are supposed to build trust and watch out for the little guy, but they are also required to be the one who holds you to the rules and turns you over for punishment or investigation when you mess up. HR people are set up for failure, because these roles (building trust & administering punishment) are always in conflict. Why trust someone, when they might whisper to your boss what you said?

I could go on and on.... but I won't.

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Old 01-28-2017, 12:23 PM   #50
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HR in a nutshell:


At my last place of employment, word came down from on high that a mentoring program should be set up and they solicited volunteers. HR was in charge of administering this formal program and they selected mentors and mentees from the suckers volunteers. In our branch office the mentors were told to show up for a training session run by an HR drone from the central hivemind. She flies in, sits down, starts talking about the importance of mentoring, how it can help mentees in their careers with our employer, etc. She then spends the next half hour of the session illustrating the importance of mentoring by describing how her mentee screwed up and needed mentoring in a serious way because she showed up at the office wearing open-toed shoes (against the dress code; inexplicably, something known as peep-toed shoes are acceptable).
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Old 01-28-2017, 12:44 PM   #51
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HR in a nutshell:


At my last place of employment, word came down from on high that a mentoring program should be set up and they solicited volunteers. HR was in charge of administering this formal program and they selected mentors and mentees from the suckers volunteers. In our branch office the mentors were told to show up for a training session run by an HR drone from the central hivemind. She flies in, sits down, starts talking about the importance of mentoring, how it can help mentees in their careers with our employer, etc. She then spends the next half hour of the session illustrating the importance of mentoring by describing how her mentee screwed up and needed mentoring in a serious way because she showed up at the office wearing open-toed shoes (against the dress code; inexplicably, something known as peep-toed shoes are acceptable).
Brewer don't get me started on woman's shoes! One of the gals we hired was a problem child. I had no idea about woman's shoes. Oh this gals wearing the wrong shoes! Someone else calls HR on her instead of talking to me. HR is going to help me with a sheet of acceptable vs not shoe styles. I can't tell the difference and had enough nonsense, told the HR rep "I really don't feel comfortable looking at young woman's feet and legs". That sent her into a little tailspin. I finally just gave the problem child the official shoe guide.
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Old 01-28-2017, 12:55 PM   #52
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I can't tell the difference and had enough nonsense, told the HR rep "I really don't feel comfortable looking at young woman's feet and legs". That sent her into a little tailspin. I finally just gave the problem child the official shoe guide.
Happily in the branch office we generally did not worry about the more esoteric aspects of the dress code (open toed vs. peep toed, the requirement that women wear panty hose even if they are wearing pants - WTF?, men must wear the "right" collared shirts rather than polos and the like, men may not have hair that comes below the top of their ears, etc.) unless a HQ bigwig was visiting. I always wondered who the perv at the central hivemind was that appointed themselves women's shoe inspector.
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Old 01-28-2017, 03:05 PM   #53
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Originally Posted by ShortInSeattle View Post
I worked in HR for the first half of my career. I went in because I cared about fairness and I was interested in the legal/ethical aspects of business. I left because I felt that HR wasn't the place to make positive change happen, it's much more of a CYA (cover your hiney) kind of field, and it tends to attract "schoolmarm" types who are more concerned with rule-following than the impact of those rules.

HR people (even when they have the best intentions) are placed in the difficult role between management and employees. Management calls the shots, HR advocates for the right thing where they can, but it's rare that a company gives HR actual decision making authority. That means you often end up being a mouthpiece for policies you disagree with, which is an uncomfortable position to be in. (this can happen to managers too)

Internal politics can also be ugly. HR folks have very little power, so they can cling to what they've got with ferocity. "Queen bee" phenomenon.

HR is a tiny bit like policing, in that you've got people who are supposed to build trust and watch out for the little guy, but they are also required to be the one who holds you to the rules and turns you over for punishment or investigation when you mess up. HR people are set up for failure, because these roles (building trust & administering punishment) are always in conflict. Why trust someone, when they might whisper to your boss what you said?

I could go on and on.... but I won't.

SIS


I think we must have worked together at least twice. [emoji57]
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Old 01-28-2017, 03:10 PM   #54
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They are right down the hall from me in a medium sized university. I've had a fair amount of contact with them over the 29 years I've been at the place. It has been fine. We're pretty low key here and I just stop in for questions. Only trouble is that it is a high-turn over department so people come and go a lot more quickly than other areas.
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Old 01-28-2017, 10:21 PM   #55
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Should the issue be with management, general cruelty, work conditions, pay or biases......good luck (or should I say you are out of luck)
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I agree, HR is the tool of the executive, even when they tell the employees that HR is there for the good of the employees.
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DH was married to an HR lady before me. He said, "HR is not your friend".
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Let's be perfectly clear - HR is NOT an advocate for the employee. It exists only to protect the interests of the company. PERIOD. Use them to your advantage and fight only if necessary.

I personally haven't had an issue with HR, but being in a low management position. I get annual 'training' sessions on how to deal with FMLA and 'coaching' of employees. Hiring of employees. Treat everyone the same, don't staple notes to their files, always use post it....etc.

The above quotes are exactly what DW experienced with her previous employer. I guess I had drunk the Kool-Aid at my own employer (who is/was actually pretty fair to employees) and suggested DW to go to HR when she had a problem with a manager 'cause they are there to help you' it was an eye opener at the least and it did go to show me not every company is the same in the HR aspect.
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Old 01-29-2017, 09:36 AM   #56
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I had good experiences with HR, until I was thrown under the bus in the interest of politics/expediency. It was personally devastating because I thought I had a very good working relationship with the HR manager. Silly me. He was probably just following orders from above (as the previous posts suggest).

When all is said and done, I managed just fine. Living well really is the best revenge.
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Old 01-29-2017, 10:02 AM   #57
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I'll share a different HR experience. My DM was hospitalized in her late 80s. DF gets a letter from Medicare that says DM is covered by my Megacorp health insurance and they are Not paying. Dad makes calls and gets nowhere then begs me for help.

I called the gal who's now the HR VP but wasn't back then. She's intrigued by the story and promises she'll personally handle the issue. A few days later she calls with the explanation and resolution. She learned several years back the IRS had transposed DM and my SSN! So mom was working with healthcare benefits.

This gals had already sent the corrected information to IRS, Medicare, DF and an additional copy for me. She got a very special thanks when I retired.

Now despite all the help this person gave my family she'd of terminated me for cause in the blink of an eye.
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Old 01-29-2017, 05:07 PM   #58
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My last two experiences with HR were discovering the meaning of not too bright but still getting accolades from senior mnagement.

First, in a job application I presented my college transcript. The examiner insisted: but do you have a High school diploma?

Fortunately had my NY State issued GED certificate with me, which he grudgingly accepted.

Second. We were hiring techs and repairmen for a new Light Rail system. 30 positions available. HR decided that 950 best qualified applicants had to interviewed. We spent three days of 16 hrs each interviewing mostly unqualified applicants.

HR received high accolades and plaques for a spenldid job of filling the new positions.
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Old 01-30-2017, 12:32 AM   #59
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Let's be perfectly clear - HR is NOT an advocate for the employee. It exists only to protect the interests of the company. PERIOD. Use them to your advantage and fight only if necessary.
Yeah. I had two experiences with HR over 16 years working in corporate sales. Both times I used HR to straighten out excesses of sales managers who had never taken the time to read the ee handbook. Both times it was to leverage the exit package as I headed to the door.
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Old 01-30-2017, 05:44 AM   #60
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Headcount Reduction? Not a big fan. Back in the days when I was still young and naive, I thought they had all these rules and policies to ensure proper standards and fair treatment. I learned the hard way that those only apply when it's in favour of the employer, never when it would benefit us.
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