This Tip explains how to annoy your HR manager in eight situations that we hope you will actually avoid setting up!
I drew this Tip from an article by Susan M. Heathfield. Here are eight of the most frustrating situations that HR Managers face, according to HR Managers.
How to Annoy Your HR Manager
Involvement Too Late
A manager wants to fire an employee. However, when the manager comes to HR, he hasn’t counseled or coached the employee. There is no documentation of poor performance, any remedial actions taken, or any performance improvement plan. And the situation has festered for months.
The relationship between the manager and the employee will be in tatters. Having to go back and take care of these actions will frustrate the manager. But it will be necessary before there is any possibility of taking action, which may not warrant firing the employee.
Lack of Timely Response
HR provides benefits information in a meeting and through email, the company newsletter, and slips with payroll notifications. It alerts employees to a need to handle benefits changes by a certain date. To assist, there is a one page document with specific instructions.
Long past the deadline, when HR can no longer do anything about it, employees come to HR saying they didn’t know about the deadline or they got the information but never read it.
Using HR as the Fall Guy
This occurs when a manager has to provide bad news to an employee. This might pertain to the denial of a salary increase or a reorganization that adversely affects the employee. Although entirely involved in both decisions, the manager blames the decisions on HR. Then HR needs to deal with a disgruntled employee.
Expecting Exceptions to Procedures
An employee suggests a close friend or relative is the perfect candidate for a position. However, the employee gets upset when HR says the candidate needs to go through the formal screening procedures.
Or that same employee goes to a higher level contact at the company to attempt to bypass HR rules and procedures entirely.
Passing Off Difficult Responsibilities
Leaving calls to unsuccessful job candidates to the HR Manager, while the manager calls the successful candidate.
Expecting HR to conduct pre-screening interviews for a technical position when HR doesn’t have any idea how to assess their qualifications.
Out of Date Personnel Information
It is particularly touchy when employees haven’t updated their expression of wish form for their pension and death in service benefits or the beneficiaries’ addresses.
There were 10 situations where employees died without updating that form or the addresses.
These employees had one or two ex-spouses and children with each partner. As a result, this made it difficult to locate beneficiaries or help pension trustees unravel arrangements.
Leaving Messes to Clean Up
Managers make mistakes, inaccurately interpret company policy, overrule HR decisions or recommendations, and falsify HR policies. Then they expect HR to solve the problem and cover for them. That way, the managers remain looking blameless and trustworthy.
No Input or Involvement
HR lacks a seat at the table, so isn’t privy to important planning meetings and decisions. After the fact, upper management asks HR if there are any employee issues related to the decisions.
Changes occur that HR doesn’t know anything about. This is because no one, neither a manager nor an employee, has bothered to inform them. Nonetheless, the blame lands on the HR manager.
Conclusion
Don’t make HR managers’ lives miserable.
It is easy to avoid all these issues if managers and employees:
- involve HR in a timely fashion,
- read and respond to information requests before the deadline,
- accept responsibility for their actions,
- comply with established procedures,
- keep personnel information up to date,
- make sure to inform HR of problems, and
- ensure HR has input into significant organizational decisions.
What else makes HR managers’ lives unnecessarily difficult? Please add your comments below.
May your learning be sweet,
Deborah
#HRmanagers #managers #employees #laurelandassociates
