My "exit interview" I request HR to be there

[target2019]

When I was cut, well into late 50's, there were many more things I wanted to say. But I had spoken clearly about certain business points along the way, so didn't need to do much at the end. I signed the f'n papers and handed them in.

If you feel very strongly about this one HR person, I suggest you sign, get out, and then send a letter to VP of HR, and to anyone else who might make an impact. Then forget about it. I think you're in a legal area where executives won't respond. However, someone might look into the legality of what transpired, and request further action.

 

[Ronstar]

I would ignore the work situation and concentrate on your retirement. Take whatever exit interview they want to give and get on with your life.

 

[MRG]

You realize what HRs primary role is? Eliminate lawsuits.

Part of my decision to leave was based on me being on FMLA (leave for my sick wife). Manager wanted me to broadcast my confidential time off. HR wouldn't back me. It was truly wrong, but there's not a lot I could do short of legal action.

Enjoy your retirement. I know you feel wronged, but it is passes. I was over it by the second week of freedom.

 

[mystang52]

I'm basically echoing everyone else, and I suspect it likewise will be for naught. You may think you have to try, but even if you succeed in telling the full story, reality is that nothing will change.
From a practical perspective, I HIGHLY doubt your company will honor your request to have those people present at the exit interview. So, when you go to that interview and only the HR person is there, nothing will be accomplished anyway. I daresay all of us who worked in the corporate world were treated unfairly at some point. Let it go already, and just enjoy your retirement.

 

[travelover]

Ditto what everyone else said. Get on with your life. When you let people get under your skin, you give them power. Expend that energy planning the next phase of your life.

 

[Carpediem]

I once experienced a situation at work where a peer of my manager was saying inappropriate things and making inappropriate gestures to me (i.e., bullying) and I went to HR to discuss the situation. HR basically told me I needed to toughen up. It was at that point I realized that HR exists for the managers, not the employees. I left for another company soon thereafter.

 

[Music Lover]

Ditto what everyone else said. Get on with your life. When you let people get under your skin, you give them power. Expend that energy planning the next phase of your life.

I quoted you, but it could have been anyone of a dozen similar comments.

Is it really so bad to let your thoughts be known at an exit interview? It doesn't give them any power as the person retiring will never be back. It's not wasted energy to spend 5 minutes making your feelings known and it's not going to affect your life in a negative way.

I think people are reading too much into this. Say something like "Hey, I enjoyed working here, but your policy on XX sucks because of ...... Thanks and have a nice day."

 

[travelover]

.............. It was at that point I realized that HR exists for the managers, not the employees............

I used to think this was true until I became a manager, then I realized that HR exists for HR. If you have a personnel problem as a manager, HR will do nothing to help you get rid of the problem employee, but will make you sorry that you ever contacted them.

 

[Starsky]

I of course have retained all emails and documents. Remedy? Nope I have no specific "remedy" in mind. I just want to have and exit interview and thank the production team that I have been so proud to part of for three decades. And I want the production team to know how I feel about HR and how HR support failed in my situation. That's all. My last day. My last say.

Yes, 10% of you is a petulant child. Listen to your other 90% and leave with some class. You've had your chance to make a difference. There's no need to re-litigate an old issue on your way out the door. That's chicken#$it. Don't fool yourself into thinking you will have any influence, or management will care any more about this issue after you don't work for them anymore. Your moment passed. Given your emotions, I'd imagine everyone who knows you already knows how you feel about HR.

Do yourself a favor and start to breathe easy. Buy the production team lunch and thank them. Go to your exit interview alone and shake their hand and leave. [I've never heard of a group exit interview. It's just a silly idea that will make you look foolish.] Leave your personal windmill tilting out of it. Believe me, after a week of retirement you won't care about this issue even a little bit. Relax!

 

[REWahoo]

Is it really so bad to let your thoughts be known at an exit interview? It doesn't give them any power as the person retiring will never be back. It's not wasted energy to spend 5 minutes making your feelings known and it's not going to affect your life in a negative way.

I think people are reading too much into this. Say something like "Hey, I enjoyed working here, but your policy on XX sucks because of ...... Thanks and have a nice day."

I agree with you that doing the above isn't really a big issue - but that isn't what the OP plans to do:

. I am going to formally ask not only my immediate supervisor, but the Vice President of Production...and two HR people ..the guy who treated me like dog s**t on his shoe...and his boss..the vice president of HR.

I am not going unprepared for the interview. In fact, I am so profoundly disappointed about how I was treated by HR, I have educated myself. I am going to this seminar. It is expensive, but when I look back..HR treated me so badly I wanted to quit (my husband, thank God, talked me out of it).
It has been over two years since this happened..Yet I am still dismayed and angry.
So I am going to this seminar...Yes it is expensive..but I will be SO prepared for my exit interview with HR and my production team members..who, in my opinion are not being given professional support from our HR organization ]

IMO, the above is both unhealthy and unrealistic as to the expected outcome.

 

[Breedlove]

Something to realize and everyone on here does realize this . HR does NOT work for the employee, their job is to protect the company.

In todays world you could jump on the desk and scream and nobody would care they are prepared for this . Why let their issues control you to the point of making you angry and disappointed with the company.

The HR person down deep probably agrees 100% with you and believes you in your situation but they must protect the company.

Working today is like surviving another day.

God bless your father happy to hear things are better . I have went down the road of Kidney removal ( cancer ) and also kidney disease . Drink lots of water watch protein intake and watch the blood pressure .

 

[ERD50]

I'll join the chorus that says just put it behind you and get on with your life. And if you knew me, you'd know that is a difficult thing for me to say or do - I very strongly want to see wrongs righted. But the others are correct - move on.

If you spend any time here, you'll see that there isn't much this group agrees on, and this thread is overwhelmingly in favor of moving on. Listen carefully.

I suggest you focus on what I put in bold here:

...
Since I have good relations with my new production team..I am pushing for accountability with HR..because they failed our team..the production team..the team that makes the money.

Those people respect you, I assume they know about your situation. Their eyes are open and will be on guard. That's the best you can do. You won't change anything talking to the ones that you feel wronged you, they don't care.

-ERD50

 

[karimod]

I didn't read all the posts but having gone through similar: (I) HR is there to limit company liability, not to make people feel good etc. The only purpose of exit interviews is to make sure people won't come back to sue the company, (ii) understand what you want from this process - if it's 'revenge' then I honestly think you're wasting your time as it will be water off a duck's back to HR. If you want to get an exit package (e.g. $s) then you might have something eg. I was denied certain rights and to ensure I don't have a grievance "let's work something out". However if you go this route you will need to be very "diplomatic" and controlled with your emotions otherwise they'll be more likely to resist and pull out the lawyers. Also consider if it's worth it eg. If you negotiate an extra 3 months pay but you agree to never say anything negative about them.

At the end of the day, it's important that you take care of yourself first, and that include emotionally and mentally. Don't get sucked into a negative spiral that spills into your personal life. It's happened to my friends before and isn't good to see.

Good luck.

 

[rodi]

I can totally relate to the anger and frustration Fiddler feels towards this HR rep/former manager. I had a "catbert" HR rep that I felt the same way towards. The SVP "Chief People Officer"(CPO) had to overrule her arbitrary decisions against me several times. Yet she kept getting promoted. This was a fortune 500 company, btw... so she had a lot of power to mess with people she didn't like... Fortunately, I was well liked by her fellow Veeps who led the engineering teams... and that protected me (and was why the CPO got involved when she screwed me over.)

My glee when she got termed "redundant" after one of the mergers/spinoffs/acquisitions was vocal. All of my immediate coworkers knew that she and I had issues.

I don't think any changes will be made at the corporation if you go forward with your plan... but it might make you feel better. I personally would make a point to send documentation of the wrongs to people higher than your 'catbert' in the corporate food chain... but not necessarily force them to attend your exit interview... Sending a letter or email works just as well.

On a positive note - Congratulations on reaching retirement!!!! And best wishes on your father's continued better health.

 

[CaptTom]

At any point during my career, I could easily have come up with a list of dozens of things I'd like to tell management about during an exit interview. I guess every MegaCorp does some really stupid things.

When the time came, I didn't ask for an exit interview.

All those petty things that bothered me so much while I was working are insignificant now. I have mostly good memories of the people I worked with and the things I did.

 

[Texas Proud]

Just another point to make (I have made a few like some others)....

You are not going to be looked at well with a blind side attack.... IOW, this is an exit interview and you plan to attack an HR person who does not know it is going to happen... so no defense... so what might happen.... well, nothing... the upper HR might say "look into this" and the lower one will come back and say all was done OK and nothing is here to see... since you are gone and there is no internal complaint to deal with it is dead...


I have been amazed with upper mgmts ability to ignore so many bad things... bad business decisions, bad hiring decisions, bad layoff decisions... that sometimes would frustrate me.... one data point will not move the needle... what will is like what happened with your old mgr.... many people leaving... so, unless you know this has happened to someone else.....


ALSO, if I were upper mgmt I would ask 'why did not not escalate this back then?'.... IOW, if you were wronged, you should have spoken out two years ago and not now..... true, it could have cost you your job, but I think the law would have been on your side (as a point, look at all the Wells Fargo employees that are coming out of the woodwork about the fake accounts that were laid off when they brought up the problem to upper mgmt)....

 

[eytonxav]

I do not believe that exit interview details go anywhere or would have any effect even if the offending manager participated, but you could certainly request that. Nevertheless, what I would do is write a tactful letter/email copying applicable executives that have a vested interest in operations and employee morale in general, and copy the offending manager and his supervisor, and your current supervisor. I would certainly embellish what a great and enjoyable career you had, except for a very unpleasant period of time in dealing with this one individual. It would be a good idea to let your current supervisor know so he is not blind-sided by it. While this too may not go anywhere, it very well might put a more indelible mark on the jerk or at least leave a question as to his character.

 

[Dash man]

My prediction is security walks you out the door and you don't even get to say your goodbyes to your friends.

 

[Fiddler]

Expectations of HR at Megacorp

I have started a new thread, a detailed explanation of my situation is explained in my previous post My "exit interview" I request HR to be there"

This thread is regards to how my expectations of HR "assistance" was so profoundly different to what happened in actuality that I want forum members to relate their experiences with HR.

To summarize I was a part of a top team in production. Our previous manager was so good at management that the CEO of the company gave all of us a 4,000 dollar bonus and we were featured in the companies newsletter.

When the highly skilled manager left, he was replaced by a bumbling incompetent. The same team that was so effective and gained CEO acknowledgement spiraled into frustrating failure.

What is your experience with HR?

My "problem" I suppose was because I cared about my job and the company. The shop floor implored the new manager to be proactive as we saw production targets missed...it was a slow moving train wreck that culminated in disaster, which we predicted months prior. The new manager was too arrogant to listen to the shop floor, whereas the old manager would solicit recommendations from the shop floor and implement them.

I was vocal about the problems and pointed out the same team, under new management, was failing. And the new manager, predictably, did not like my attitude..but with almost three decades at megacorp and retirement on the horizon. I didn't care and called it like I saw it.

Now..regarding my expectations of HR...my previous thread explains my situation. I asked HR for accomodation because I was experiencing a family crisis..and was denied my request.

I remember the meeting..I was so unprepared for what happened. The HR rep raised his voice and chastised me for asking for special treatment. Other posters pointed out, that at the time there were options available for people in my situation provided legally by the government. The stress in my life was so high then and I didn't have the luxury of time to research them...In fact I thought the HR representative would present options to me. Nope he summarily denied my request for accoodation...and I realized too late the incompetent manager was able to extract revenge for my outspokenness by proxy through HR.

Others have told me how unrealistic it was of my expectation that HR would be helpful to me. They point out how naive I was.

This confounds me.

Yes HR represents MegaCorp ahead of individual worker situations. I get that. But doesn't accommodating a worker who has family issues, so that the worker can resume being the optimum productive employee benefit the company and help the bottom line?

I asked to be shifted to 12 hour shifts...The team I eventually joined was short staffed for a year and were very happy when I finally joined them. There was no reason that my transfer could not have happened two months earlier during the height of my father's health crisis.

Did HR effectively assist me? Nope. More importantly..did they assist MegaCorp? Nope. Except of course for the aggrieved manager who got his revenge.

For three decades I worked as a productive employee..I was never disciplined, I had a stellar record, and the good bosses liked and respected me, as I liked and respected them.

HR , in my opinion, not only failed me. The bigger picture is that they failed the company. I nearly quit, I was so despondent (and the company has spent many $$$ training me for my position).

None of this seemed to matter to the HR person. He WANTED me to quit. But I hung on.

I am glad I did. Instead of quitting in bitter disappointment I am once again at optimum productivity and retire next month.

But I am still dismayed. How could I have been so naive? I really thought HR would be there as a resource to help (both me and the corporation). Alas, that is not my experience. What is your experience with HR?

 

[travelover]

My dad used to say that the more you stir a turd, the more it stinks. I'd work on letting it go. You have a legitimate gripe, but it is over.

 

[ERD50]

I was vocal about the problems and pointed out the same team, under new management, was failing. And the new manager, predictably, did not like my attitude..but with almost three decades at megacorp and retirement on the horizon. I didn't care and called it like I saw it.

You can't have it both ways. When you say "you didn't care", I take that to mean you didn't care about any negative consequences to yourself.

What you did may have every well been extremely admirable (I only put the "may " in there, as we are hearing just one side of the story after all), but you have to realize that calling out your management certainly can have consequences. Life's not fair.

So you may have taken some consequences. That stinks, but I thought "you didn't care".

Probably not what you wanted to hear, sorry. And yes, unfortunately, you were naive.

But now you are starting a new life. I suggest you look forward, it can be wonderful, if you let it.

-ERD50

 

[Gotadimple]

In many organizations HR is a mediocre department, their activities are supported by senior management and the board of directors. To that end, they are responsible to those individuals.

Their core mission is the acquisition of talent and supporting management in activities to retain talent. No more, no less. They support employees but do not represent them, they are not responsible for advocating for the employee - that is the role of management.

Sorry you had to discover this. They will support you as you move through the retirement process (as a support to management for benefits offered to employees).

Rita

 

[MichaelB]

I have started a new thread, a detailed explanation of my situation is explained in my previous post My "exit interview" I request HR to be there"

This thread is regards to how my expectations of HR "assistance" was so profoundly different to what happened in actuality that I want forum members to relate their experiences with HR.

To summarize I was a part of a top team in production.
./.
But I am still dismayed. How could I have been so naive? I really thought HR would be there as a resource to help (both me and the corporation). Alas, that is not my experience.

Just to clarify - is this thread also about your experience with HR, or are you asking other members to share their experiences?

 

[Fiddler]

MichaelB

I want others to share their experience. I am curious.

 

[Fiddler]

You can't have it both ways. When you say "you didn't care", I take that to mean you didn't care about any negative consequences to yourself.

What you did may have every well been extremely admirable (I only put the "may " in there, as we are hearing just one side of the story after all), but you have to realize that calling out your management certainly can have consequences. Life's not fair.

So you may have taken some consequences. That stinks, but I thought "you didn't care".

Probably not what you wanted to hear, sorry. And yes, unfortunately, you were naive.

But now you are starting a new life. I suggest you look forward, it can be wonderful, if you let it.

-ERD50

ERD50
The question may be .."would I do it again"...The answer...Yes...and about the consequences I endured...Still Yes....that does not justify the consequences...in my research the HR rep disregarded one of the tenets of HR...the right to accommodation. But this thread I am asking for others experience.