Hello,

Glad to see you fairly relieved.

Being "a management HR" or being "a peoples HR" is to surrender to "partisan role" which personally or professionally I will NOT play!

As HRs our loyalty hierarchy should be:

1) The Profession

2) The Organization and

3) The Boss/s.

Another thing, HR, I strongly believe, is Value based function. It is the function of the Conscience-keepers to the organization. It is committed to serve and uphold the Organization's interests.

I am aware that it is the management that "employs" me as HR, it is the Management that decides my "pay & perks", and offers me "enrichment and growth" opportunities by providing me the platform to manifest my skills to help both realise their respective aspirations.

Therefore, if an organization employees me as HR and expects me fulfill its partisan interests (if necessary at the cost of the people) beyond a point that my morality decides, it may be time for me to QUIT!!!

So, when I join and organization as HR, after my initial assessment, if I realise that I have to "educate and enlighten" the management in being respectful and magnanimous of peoples' aspirations I evolve an appropriate plan of action and start to work. Likewise in respect of the People that organization employees.

I know that I will NOT succeed everytime and I will certainly be able to upgrade the sensitivities and sensibilites of both parties so as to learn to live with disagreement/s and to proactively look for "win-win" solutions without adversely affecting the organizational goals!

Regards

samvedan

September 16, 2007

From India, Pune
Hi Indu,

You have touched a very important topic which all HR professionals feels and face their entire career till they are in HR.

Authority comes with so many responsibilities. A role of HR person is very very responsible one in context of industrial relations. What a production guy says or a finance guy etc etc not weigh that much as would have weighed if HR person has said. We are the link between the management and all level of employments. You are company spokeperson, each word you say is very important as it conveys message to employees, your behaviour is continiously watched and observed by the employees. It is expected that HR team will set an example of best organizational behaviour and at many occasions we feel suffocation as we are not free to express ourselves and sometimes we also want to do , say so many things but our role prevent us doing that. We find ourselves everytime alert and just concentrating on our role.

We are human beings, we are even employees like other employes but the word HR makes our role different very different from others and while doing justice to our role this isolation is natural to occur, beceause authority comes with so many responsibilitis.

Mistake done by production guy can be corrected , mistake done by accounts guy can be corrected but the mistake done by HR will affect human being / human relations or entire organizational culture so we are cautious and very cautious everytime and your role becomes very very significant.

Bibhutosh Bhadauria

From Australia, Balwyn
Hi Indrani,

It seems on first read that your company is trying to squeeze the most work out of you. And possibly it’s because of the workload that you can’t really mingle.

However, HR, I must add, unfortunately doesn’t enjoy a lot of respect in most organisations. It’s probably the way things have been handled in the past. Situations are changing, although at a slow pace, and the scope of the HR function is widening and it’s importance is being realised.

Employee well-being is important and if you want to change your work hours, have a discussion with your manager, tell him/her you need to leave at a particular time and would work your hardest during the work day and deliver all that you are meant to on that day. May be you should try to ask you management to get in an extra pair of hands.

If you feel like you need friends at work, then may be you should take the initiative and approach some others at your work place, and initiate the chat. At the same time, you need to remember that while interaction with your colleagues and ability to empathise is important, you are there to work and excel at what you’re doing and not to make friends.

From India, Mumbai
Hi,
I find this topic quite amusing and strange. We feel the loneliness as an HR because we focus our work and learning only on the HR process. Since we do recruitment as well, it's better we know about processes i other departments of the organisation.
This is where we have to mingle with the other employees on info about their process. When you talk with them on these matters, which employee doesn't like to boast about his work. At the same time you also learn something and appear more people friendly.
I am an HR in an ad company. I do the same and the info helps me in designing competency mapping, KRAs, employee satisfaction survey processes etc. working this way, you won't feel lonely as long as you make it clear to the employees that there are certain things you can't reveal as a professional.

From India, Bangalore
Dear All,
While the topic and the replies have been really intriguing, I think one very important word is missing from this discussion which is integrity. The people in your organisation will have confidence to discuss or mingle with u only and only when they know that you are a honest, decent and friendly person. The popular image of HR person is: secretive, boring, liar and Two faced person. We need to break this myth first by our behavior and then and then only will we get some friends.
Remember, some things are more important than being a successful professional and Keeping your head held up high at end of the day is one of them


Dear all,
i have just completed my MBA and joined a medium sized companyas HR Executive..i am facing the same problem..i am the only person in HR dept except the HR Manager who is the wife of my companys owner..no body dares to say anything to her bcoz shez the owner but i feel as everybody dislikes me and my deptt... they dnt interact with me except for the complaints... They come to me with their problems and when i convey the same to my HR manger she says dnt bother abt it....
She has strictly odered me to be strict with everyone and i canot be friendly to anyone... i really feel lonely here and badly wants a company...as i m fresher it is proving to be very difficult for me to work alone for whole day without saying a word to anybody informally...

From India, Chandigarh
Respected Senior(Shalav)
Thank you very much for your advice.The simile of a crocodile that you have put forward, I believe is true for every HR professional .I will remember this throughout my life.Thanks once again .
Best regards
Indrani Chakraborty

From India, Pune
Respected Seniors,
I wish to discuss a situation that one of my co-worker is caught in.
One of my HR team member is going around with an employee in our organisation....and they are contemplating marriage quite soon.
Can a HR person marry an employee from another deptt in the same orgn..?
Does it have an impact on the image of the HR team ..?.
Should both of them continue working together in the same orgn..?
Looking forward to suggestions....

From India, Delhi
Hi,
Probably u r new to the Organization. Once u get settled with the Organization and the employees, which takes 2 or 3 months usually, u will get a clarity on how to manage people and situations. Of course its challenging, but every profession has it challenges. All the best.
suba[/list][/quote]


Anonymous
1

Hi All,

This topic of discussion is a really interesting and one and actually a practical situation we as HR professionals face.

I have also experienced the same. There were time when we came to know that employees said that HR deptt is immature deptt and there are no initiatives being done,thought HR had been highly efficient on processes.

What I did was I made some extra efforts to reach out to employees, personally participated in their achievements and initiated activities on employee engagements and popularised them too. This i perceive has created a better picture about HR deptt. I think since then people have also been good to me.

Therefore to sum up it is all about buliding up relations with them. Yes, no doubtedly it would take some extra efforts from your end as people do not open up to HRs easily. But I am sure you can certainly make friends but keeping in mind that you have to build your brand value yourself but also keeping in mind that HR has a very special role to play and workwise you cannot share all information with your colleagues.

Regards,

Karuna Ahuja

From India, Delhi
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