HR as a balancing act
ELBONOMICS: People management is all about doing it with care and tact.
Most of the time, we human resource (HR) managers are often asked the question — is HR for the workers or management? It’s not exactly a difficult question. My answer to that — HR should work in support of the organization’s best interests. Do you agree? — Blue Mountain.
I agree, 101%. However, many HR so-called professionals don’t share that opinion. They act like horses with partial blinders, favoring only management. That reason alone sends the wrong signal to the workers, which are HR’s customers as well. Even management would agree to that.
That’s why HR is required to pursue programs on engagement, empowerment, and others to reduce attrition rates and to motivate workers to do their best. A good example of the balancing act HR must pull off is as follows:
Bobby is a department manager who supervises the work of Ernie. Last week, Ernie went to Henry, the HR manager, to complain about his boss’ toxic style. What’s the best approach for HR? First, HR must clarify with Ernie on how he feels about the way Bobby operates.
The examples must be based on actual facts that can be verified independently.
Simple allegations will not cut it. However, Henry should be sincere in showing he’s interested in helping Ernie, whose job may be adversely affected if his negative views of Bobby become public. Let Ernie feel that his complaint is being treated seriously. However, if Henry finds Ernie’s complaint unmeritorious, he should explain it well without any hint of favoring Bobby.
Conversely, if there’s merit to Ernie’s complaint, Henry should coax him to discuss the issue with Bobby. This is much better than HR resolving the case between the two to avoid escalating the situation by causing Bobby to feel aggrieved about Ernie going behind his back.
If Henry is too timid to assert himself, then the best way is for HR to indirectly resolve the issue by coming up with a coaching program for all line supervisors and managers on avoiding conflict with their workers, without mentioning Bobby.
THE DAVE ULRICH FRAMEWORK
There’s no better way to perform HR’s job than to follow the fourfold framework of David Olson Ulrich, a global HR guru and university management professor. The framework prescribes that HR professionals should ensure that everyone works towards the best interests of the organization.
The HR manager can wear the hats of a strategic partner, an employee champion, an administrative expert and a change agent, not necessarily in that order.
One, HR as strategic partner. This means selecting the best workers and managing their career growth with an eye towards retaining them long term. It also means establishing policies and programs that are not limited to training, one-on-one coaching, and intra- or inter-department transfers, among other interventions.
Two, HR as employee champion. This involves teaching line leaders, supervisors, and managers how to proactively identify and learn the specific sentiments and concerns of their workers. This can be done by coaching all line leaders on how to conduct casual but effective engagement dialogues.
Three, HR as administrative expert. This requires focusing on process improvement in all HR tasks to ensure efficiency in meeting the specific needs of employees. A good example of this is the prompt issuance of an employment certificate and other documents, and limiting the number of signatories to the bare minimum in leave applications. Four, HR as a change agent. HR should also serve as a catalyst for organizational change and transformation using the corporate mission, vision, and value statements as a compass. Programs to make this happen include the conduct of an annual employee morale survey, monthly town hall meetings, team problem-solving activities, etc.
NOT A RUBBER STAMP
An HR department head should be an objective professional who must serve the organization’s best interests, rather than meet the specific whims and caprices of department heads. For instance, when another department head asks HR to organize an exclusive training program on problem-solving for its employees, the best approach of HR is to ask the following questions tactfully:
What made you think it is important for your employees to be in that training program? How many employees in your department have a poor performance rating that could be attributed to their failure to solve problems? Have you explored other options to companysponsored training? How about considering free courses offered by Coursera or other entities for training outside of office hours?
If the diplomatic approach does not succeed, the HR professional should be assertive enough to push back if a department head steps out of line. Indeed, HR must reconcile the interests of both labor and management and not act as anyone’s rubber stamp.