HR Isn't All Bad - The Personal Side of Personnel

Human Resources often is saddled with many unenviable tasks, with the two main culprits disciplining and terminating. As employment lawyers, unfortunately, we usually only interact with Human Resources regarding these unenviable tasks. It seems appropriate as the year winds down and the holiday season approaches to remember all the beneficial and seldom-recognized tasks Human Resources provides to employees and the company as a whole. So if you are in Human Resources and feeling overwhelmed by your unenviable tasks, an executive tired from continually dotting your "i's" and crossing your "t's," or an employee worn out from all the protocols and procedures, remember HR . . .

H onors employees for their years of commitment to the company.

U nites employees and management in a common goal.

M aintains valuable documents and files.

A ssists with new hire orientation and company retreats.

N urtures during difficult times.

R ecognizes employees for outstanding work.

E ncourages teamwork and dedication.

S upports employees throughout their tenure.

O rganizes company events and parties.

U mpires employee disputes.

R esponds to inquiries regarding benefits, job openings, and payroll.

C ounsels employees regarding any and all aspects of their job.

E xplains company policies and procedures.

S erves the company with unwavering enthusiasm.

While this list describes only a small fraction of the services HR provides, the list illustrates all the positive benefits HR provides employees, managers, and the company as a whole. Human Resources is the backbone of any company, so take some time this holiday season to say thanks.

The Importance of Human Resources

In our practice, we often encounter companies with little to no Human Resources department, division, or personnel. More often than not, small businesses assign the administrative HR tasks (processing applications, completing I-9s, administering health insurance plans, payroll, etc.) to other office personnel, whether it is an Office Manager, a Staff Accountant, or an Executive Assistant (or some combination/split thereof). While most small businesses view this as a cost-saving measure, these setups can be quite harmful to businesses in the long run.

While HR may not be a traditional revenue-generating arm of your business, HR certainly can save your company money and even may add to the bottom line. To see this, though, you must recognize HR is much more than a payroll and personnel paperwork administrator.

So how can HR save your company money? Any business that has been involved in significant employment discrimination/retaliation litigation should know this answer. In such litigation, the existence of HR personnel, as well as the HR personnel’s performance, is critical. Whether or not a case proceeds to trial (and by extension the risk of a large judgment against the employer) hinges on several key questions:

• Did the company have an HR department?

• Did the company have policies regarding discrimination/retaliation/harassment and complaint procedures?

• Did the company follow those policies and procedures?

• Did the company take steps to remedy any discrimination/retaliation/harassment?

These are issues a highly skilled and trained HR professional handles best. Your payroll clerk, benefits administrator, office manager or accountant may not have the time or skills to assess and address these vital issues adequately and appropriately. As a result, any failures may result in a large judgment assessed against your company. I’m willing to bet your small business does not have a line entry on your balance sheets for “large adverse jury verdict.” A competent HR department (or a competent HR employee) is your first line of defense against such judgments and, by extension, can save you significant money.

You may remember I said earlier that HR can make you money. I know you might be questioning my sanity at this point, but it is true. Statistics regularly show a happy workplace is a more productive workplace. Higher productivity often leads to higher revenue. For example, think about how much it costs you every time an employee quits and you must hire and train a replacement. So how do you get a happy workplace?

We’ll be blogging soon about the human side of HR (which absolutely leads to a happy workplace) but, in the meantime, HR can create a happy workplace if you:

• Act as a sounding board for employees

• Train first-line supervisors and managers about proper employee supervision, providing positive feedback, and resolving employee disputes

• Ensure all company policies and procedures are followed and uniformly applied

• Act as a company’s first-line mediator between feuding co-workers

I think we can agree we each want a happy workplace that is as productive as possible. After today, I hope we also can agree achieving that goal calls for a Human Resources department or, at a minimum, a skilled Human Resources employee.