The Mystery of Human Resources

By Linda Breeden, SPHR

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

You know how you know you're getting older?

People ask you questions, and you know the answers.

This can be a startling revelation because you reply without even stopping to think how you know the answer when, not so long ago, you were the one asking the question.

After 25 years in the HR profession, I have discovered that just when you think you've "got it", "it" changes. This has been the case in Human Resources for the past 50 years. During this time, legislation has included FLSA, Equal Pay Act, Title 7, ADEA, OSHA, ERISA, COBRA, IRCA, HIPPA, FCRA, FMLA, ADA, and a host of permutations related to these laws.

Did you know what each acronym stood for, how it originated and the consequences of each? The focus of this article is not to further study what these acronyms mean. Rather, it is to unravel the mysteries of Human Resources.

To better understand this mysterious profession, it's important to recognize first what human resources is not and then to understand what human resources is. This article is not for the faint-hearted, so please read on. if you have the courage.

Human Resources Is Not:

Judge, Jury and Executioner. Announcing a new policy, law or rule and assuming everyone understands it and will comply with it is a risky form of communication chauvinism: thinking everyone sees it like you do.

There are times HR either must insist, use gentle pressure relentlessly applied, or just say no. Managers sometimes think HR's role is to be the police or the maid; both are energy drainers and only subtracts from the bottom line.

Second guessing a manager's decisions constantly can undermine the manager's effectiveness. There can't be appeals for work assignments unless it's for safety or other discriminatory reasons. If every time a manager talks to an employee and HR is asked to be a witness, soon it's going to be less about the work assignment and more about undermining the manager and perpetrating the discontent of the workforce.

Observe first, and then talk to the manager directly. Look for alternatives by collaborating with managers. Develop the expertise of asking questions as well as of listening. Achieving understanding, not agreement, is the goal.

HR's role is to support the manager's ability to work with their employees, not to replace it. By building relationships with managers you become their trusted advisor, not a voice from on high. It creates a support system that will expand HR's role and minimize surprises.

Employee Representative. The line between sympathy and empathy is a slippery slope. Save the sympathy for family and friends; empathy to the workforce acknowledges what they are feeling. Otherwise, the perception is that management doesn't care.

Empathy shouldn't replace logic. Rather it requires you to keep your brain in gear by using analytical thinking skills and that your heart is beating calmly so that the message is communicated in a humane and fair manner. If both your head and heart are engaged in the process you may still not feel good about the message, but you be able to move past it. If you don't, others won't either.

Liking and being liked, makes life nice but is not a determining success factor in the HR profession. HR continues to evolve as the professional standards realize a greater level of complexity driven by legislation, expansion of knowledge workers, and a global market.

Being a people-person, in reality, means understanding the diversity of people (i.e. generational, culture, gender, etc.) and inculcating this knowledge to drive business results. It's ok to feel bad about implementing layoffs, terminating even the worst bad actors or cutting pay and benefits for economic reasons. This doesn't mean you are being disloyal, just that you are a regular person recognizing that the employees have to go home and tell their families. Acknowledge this and accept that these stresses come with the job. Find a way to prepare yourself by taking care of your physical and mental health to enable you to better cope.

It's equally important to maintain a balance between employees and management. HR is told that at the end of the day, they work for the company. This doesn't mean, however, that HR operates blindly. HR is expected to provide fair and objective advice to employees and management about the direction and policies of the business. This is the meaning behind HR working for the business.

Lacking in Intelligence. The most intelligent people are those who don't know everything, but who do know how to find out. One of the most significant frustrations in HR is how to get management to "move" on decisions, take actions, etc.

How do you force this? Well, you can't. You can only present the case to management. They will agree, disagree or ignore it. If a decision is neglected, you can only document and move on, waiting for an opportunity to bring it back to their attention when it might be better received.

An example might be sharing results from exit interviews. Suppose the turnover rate of your electrical engineers and marketers begins to trend up and the exit interviews show dissatisfaction with training and development opportunities. Presenting the facts, the resulting consequences for the business (a drain on intellectual capitol), and the solution (to implement a customized training and development program), would be the time that the message might be viewed as a good business strategy requiring immediate action.

HR doesn't have much room for error, but is far from perfect. You will make mistakes. Admit it. Own it. Never hide from it. If it's something where you just don't know the answer, be honest. Say, "I don't know. Let me check and get back to you." Then get back in a timely manner. These simple actions enable the building of trust relationships, a key success factor for HR.

Human Resources Is:

Business Focused Strategist. In order to be accepted in this role, HR must contribute to the improvement and the results of the business plan and objectives. Tactical contributions include demonstrated knowledge about work processes, customers, on-target hiring, reward and recognition, performance evaluation systems, and development and succession planning.

Consensus building skills are equally important. However, there are times when, ethically and legally, HR must challenge. Change comes from challenging. Going along to get along breeds status quo which cannot be sustained. The natural order of things is to deteriorate. Being agreeable won't affect positive business or behavioral change.

Commitment is given and commitment is expected. Hold yourself to the highest standards before expecting the same from those around you. Never, ever tell an employee something that you do not know will happen as HR has a perceived "power seat". When HR promises something that fails to happen, absent an understandable rationale, it hurts the creditability of HR. Therefore, do what you committed to do, long after the mood you were in when you said it has passed.

Change happens every day in the workplace. This mandates that HR champion change by becoming a change stabilizer. Stabilization requires the ability to execute by linking the change to the strategic needs of the business. This includes being able to articulate the reasons for the change, what will happen due to the change and the ultimate goal to be achieved through change. Strong communication skills are necessary due to the various audiences that make up a workplace. This will minimize change resistance and allow the organization to move more quickly and effectively through the change cycle.

Keeping employees focused by stretching their talents during the change process is the challenge to the HR strategist. In order to effectively execute a strategy, live your vision, and believe in your own strategy, both when it's convenient and when it's not convenient. Don't allow strategy to be a moving target. The goal is not to achieve a balance, but to execute on goals simultaneously.

Fact Based. What approach does HR take when conducting an investigation? Do we represent the company or the employee?"

HR's role is both and neither. A good investigator neither believes nor disbelieves anyone and suspends any bias they may have. The focus is on collecting facts. Once those facts are gathered, putting them together in a logical order so that they can be used to determine an appropriate course of action, will minimize risk.

I learned this lesson early in my career from an EEOC investigator in Atlanta, Georgia.

I had an employee who filed a discrimination complaint every year regarding her performance appraisal rating and merit increase. Each year the result was a no cause finding. Each year the investigator handled the case as if it were the first time. She always conducted a thorough fact-based investigation. She was tough, impartial and always fair. Her steadfast approach to conducting investigations taught me a critical HR skill: that of fact-based decision making.

You must have the ability and willingness to keep confidential those things that should not be shared and demand the same from others. A breech of confidentiality is the unforgivable sin in HR.

Self-awareness is an important attribute to have. You must acknowledge yourself first. Being honest about your own behavior gives tremendous credibility and fosters an environment conducive to influence and change. We live in a social world and have to deal with people. Resolve now to gather knowledge about why and how people do what they do. How you react to others behaviors determines what will be repeated. Believe in people by recognizing their suggestions, ideas and feedback. Give credit where credit is due and treating them as people who work to live, not live to work.

Communication Hub. HR's role has been referred to as a "communication hub". There are many ways to communicate effectively. Determine what works best for your culture, but communicate you must. Examples include:

Meetings: my personal favorite - never underestimate the value of "face time"
Telephone and Video conferences: opened the world up - now we have "social networking"
Snail mail/handwritten: never ever discount the power of the hand written word
Newsletters/media: power of the press - public recognition by coworkers, family, friends - pride is a powerful motivator.

Employee Advocate. Over the course of my HR career, numerous employees have approached me saying, "I need to tell you something but I don't want you to tell anyone else or do anything."
The HR role does not allow this assurance to be given unconditionally. Rather you have the obligation to say to that person, "I will give you that assurance unless what you tell me violates any law, any company rule or otherwise obligates me to report it."

I never had an employee not tell me what they came in to tell me. They are seeking guidance and/or help. That's why they are talking to HR - as a last recourse, that's the bottom line. Always remember this, and never be reluctant to let them know your obligations up front. This will further your reputation for honesty and integrity.

"Well I told HR. ." are famous last words.

Additionally, you will be exposed to confidential business information pertaining not only to personal employee information, but to advance notices of changes in business conditions that may result in downsizing, cuts in pay and benefits, mergers, acquisitions, or business shutdowns.

Mystery Solved

Human Resources is not just the name of a profession or a department; it's people. HR, the department and profession, should be about the costs of employing people. HR plays a key role in organizational health by preparing the business and the employees for changes. This includes creating a work environment conducive to motivating people who will be satisfied and engaged contributors.

The HR role doesn't have to be a mystery.

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