Some HR folks still haven’t gotten the memo!

I find it so gratifying to follow LinkedIn articles about the latest and greatest advancements in the HR profession. I read blogs and posts on HR association websites and am pleasantly amazed at the seminars, webinars, and conferences being put on regarding HR and how it is evolving. Being a part of the HR community for the past 30 years has given me a unique perspective to see how the profession has advanced from the days of “personnel” to true “human capital management”. At times, I’m actually proud.

But I continue to be reminded that there is still a long way to go. There are folks out there calling themselves HR managers, when in fact they are remnants to the old way of doing things. There are still too many HR professionals (using the word “professional” very loosely in their case) that do not understand what it means to support the organization, service the employees, and provide the tools and resources that creates a meaningful employment experience.

A day doesn’t go by that I don’t get a call from someone asking me if their company can legally do this or that. Legally? Those are the easy questions to answer. Once we determine that nothing illegal transpired, I must give this person my usual answer, “Unfortunately, there is no law against lousy management”, I typically substitute the word “lousy” with something more colorful.

I recently came across an organization that refuses to give its employees their pay stubs, unless the employee drives over to the corporate administration building to sign for it and pick it up in person. This company is based in Illinois, so the law requires an employer to furnish employees with a wage statement; it just does not prescribe the manner in which it is provided. In these days of technology and access, I find it difficult to believe their payroll provider doesn’t have an online portal or some form of electronic pay stub. Be that as it may, the HR person won’t even take the time to email or fax the pay stub to the employee, rather deferring to their “policy” to sign for it in person. Reminds me of the archaic pay windows that used to be in the factories in the middle of the last century.

There are far too many companies, and HR people at these companies, that did not get the memo. Times have changed! We support and respect employees now; we treat them with human compassion and decency; we help them. Let’s stop focusing so much on what makes an HR person’s job easier and focus on making the job of our employees easier. That, in turn, will help the entire organization.

Stepping off the soapbox…

By John P. Savas