If you work for any decent-sized company, you will probably find that it has a human resources department. They might use the abbreviation “HR.” If you go back a few decades, you will find that HR departments didn’t exist.
The concept was relatively foreign. Someone probably fulfilled the duties that a modern HR department handles, but this older version hadn’t evolved into the structure you’ll see today. It’s like the meaning and history of the title “Esquire” when talking about a lawyer. The groundwork existed, even if the terminology and duties didn’t precisely match.
You can go to HR about many topics, and they can usually help you. This department serves several purposes. However, if you talk to someone who works in HR, they can likely share horror stories about situations they had to handle that challenged them or made them frantic.
Let’s talk about some of the situations that HR personnel dread the most.
CEO or Company Owner Fraud Allegations
If you work in HR, you often serve a Jack-of-all-trades type of function. An employee might come to you with many different issues, and you must help them. It means your job seldom seems boring. You may never know what challenges each day will bring.
Certain fires that you must try to put out will test your patience and resourcefulness, though. For instance, maybe you’re hearing allegations that indicate the company’s owner or CEO committed fraud.
If someone starts their own company, then they’re in charge to an absolute degree. They usually handle the hiring, marketing, product development, distribution, and many other tasks. Eventually, though, if a company finds success, then the owner or CEO must start sharing that controlling interest.
If they bring on angel investors or get a cash infusion from somewhere else, they will probably have shareholders or similar parties who they must satisfy. They must act responsibly.
If someone tells HR that there is a troubling rumor about the CEO or company owner, the HR department must try to address that. They can’t do anything that directly addresses the CEO or company owner’s impropriety, but they must at least tell the various departments not to rush to judgement.
In such a situation, the HR department will probably tell the rest of the company that the truth will come out, and they should go about their business and not talk to the media. The situation should eventually resolve itself.
Payroll Issues
HR often has payroll duties. If someone does not receive a paycheck, they will usually go to HR to talk about it.
If that happens, then maybe it’s just an oversight or a software error. These systems usually run smoothly, but sometimes, mishaps occur.
In some cases, though, maybe there’s a payroll issue that impacts the entire company. You might have hundreds or thousands of people who didn’t get their paychecks on the expected day.
As you might expect, that kind of glitch or oversight becomes like pulling a fire alarm in the HR department. Suddenly, they must scrutinize payroll to see what went wrong while taking dozens of calls from irate employees.
Usually, they can figure out what happened. For a few hours, though, their jobs can become very challenging.
Sexual Harassment Complaints
If you are working at a company, and someone does something of a sexual nature that you find inappropriate, then you will usually go tell the HR department about that. The department will often call in everyone involved and get their statements before deciding what to do next.
The HR department must take every sexual harassment complaint very seriously. If they don’t figure out what happened and take the appropriate action, then the company might have a lawsuit heading its way.
Such a lawsuit can embarrass the company. If it’s publicly traded, this kind of thing can tank the stock price.
That’s why the HR department will go into red alert status if it gets that kind of report. They must immediately attempt to figure out whether this complaint has any validity.
Discrimination Complaints
Much like sexual harassment complaints, discrimination charges can negatively impact a company. The HR department, if it receives such a complaint, must investigate without delay.
It’s typically another situation where the whole department must stop what it’s doing to try and collect as much information as possible. The head of the department will no doubt want a report as soon as possible.
Once the department gathers all the facts, then it can loop in any other decisionmakers who it feels should know about what went on. If the complaint has validity, then the department and any other executives can figure out the next logical steps.
Hacker Interference or Data Leaks
The HR department must try to deal with data leaks or hacker interference that takes place. The department can’t usually take any direct action. However, they must try to assure any panicking workers that the company will get the situation under control.
If a data leak takes place, that probably means someone fell victim to a phishing scam or something similar took place. In the aftermath, the department might need to conduct some additional training.
Usually, the HR department will conduct training when someone joins the company. If those actions failed, though, then they must set up some refreshers. An updated code of conduct with stricter protocols might solve the issue so that nothing like this happens again.
The HR department must handle all of these issues, and many more as well. That’s why the employees who work there must demonstrate an uncommon aptitude.
They need to be able to talk to people and reassure them when they feel scared, angry, or confused. Not everyone has this ability.
It’s important to remember, though, that individuals working in the HR department have the same fears and worries that anyone else does. When they put on a brave face during a crisis, they may not feel so stoic on the inside.
Guest writer
