[suprz's ghost]

Is it just me or has Human Resources dept's in companies become nothing more than corporate flunkies that do more for the company's interests than the employees?

I was always lead to believe that H.R. was there for the employee's benefit instead of the company's. It would seem now that most H.R. dept's are there only to ENFORCE the company's rules and will never take up the fight for an employee. I know from first hand experiences from more than one company that H.R. people are usually inexperienced, unknowledgeable, and unfortunately have absolutely no "people skills". It has mostly been my experience that when you call H.R. to get information on your benefits or a company policy, you get a reply of "uh....i dont know, read your handbook" (which you never got in the first place..... ) You always hear from company flunkies the same thing, "our employees have no loyalty for the company" well, I say, "show the workers some loyalty, and appreciation other than the good old reply of "you should be grateful you have a job" Companies should remember "you get what you give" how about giving the workers something to be proud of??

oh well, that's my rant....but one more thing.....CORPORATE AMERICA SUCKS A$$!!!!!!!!

[Cody Dawg]

Hey, dude, same thing with your medical insurance. Call them up and ask them what's covered and they say, "Didn't you get a book that covers your policy?"





HR is only there, by the way, to police sexual harassment of fellow employees and handle that sort of crap. They're the legal buffers that the company uses.

Lame, I know.

[DigitalEl]

Originally Posted by suprz's ghoast

Is it just me or has Human Resources dept's in companies become nothing more than corporate flunkies that do more for the company's interests than the employees?

What would have ever made you think otherwise? They work FOR your company, of course that's who they're serving.

This whole thread is kind of a "d'uh!"

[nonhuman]

Even if HR is all gung-ho about protecting your rights, they still operate under the constraints that managements places on them. HR might be trying as hard as they can to improve things, but if management doesn't go along they're as powerless as you are.

[suprz's ghost]

Originally Posted by DigitalEl

What would have ever made you think otherwise? They work FOR your company, of course that's who they're serving.

This whole thread is kind of a "d'uh!"

speaking of "d'uh!"

you arent getting it. The whole point of the post was that they are SUPPOSED to look out for the interests of the employees as well as the company. but 9 times out of 10 they only have the company's interests in mind. therefore they are useless to the employees that they are supposed to help

[Cody Dawg]

That's why there are personal injury attorneys.

Get one and sue the bastards...like everyone else does.

[davesimondotcom]

I've always disliked the term "Human Resources." It makes me think "Soylent Green."

[Hugi]

Go buy a Dilbert book. Take notice of a character named "Catbert". That's HR.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by suprz's ghost

speaking of "d'uh!"

you arent getting it. The whole point of the post was that they are SUPPOSED to look out for the interests of the employees as well as the company. but 9 times out of 10 they only have the company's interests in mind. therefore they are useless to the employees that they are supposed to help

Umm, no.

H.R. is there for the company's sole benefit. They only help employees to the extent that a) they are required to by law and b) it helps the company. That's it.

Any other expectations are pure and unadulterated delusion.

Do I wish it were different? Absolutely. But what I describe is reality.

tooki

[Zeeb]

Originally Posted by suprz's ghost

speaking of "d'uh!"

you arent getting it. The whole point of the post was that they are SUPPOSED to look out for the interests of the employees as well as the company. but 9 times out of 10 they only have the company's interests in mind. therefore they are useless to the employees that they are supposed to help

What gave you that idea? The purpose of HR is to fill open vacancies with qualified candidates, do statistical reporting to the government and (theoretically) make sure the employer and employees follow employment law, administrate benefits and mediate conflict. HR will always support whatever management policy there is.

Some HR departments do act more as an advocate for the employee, but a misperception is that an HR person is their "lawyer" or "union rep" when they have a disagreement with a boss or coworker. Corporate America does kinda suck, but you always have the option to leave.

[production_coordinator]

I don't know about the rest of you, but our HR is actually rather nice and helpful. I ask questions about dental, medical, vision, etc. and they respond rather quickly.

I don't expect them to defend me... but if I have a problem, I go to them.

I'm guessing it's different at every company.

[Cody Dawg]

production_coordinator

I don't know about the rest of you, but our HR is actually rather nice and helpful. I ask questions about dental, medical, vision, etc. and they respond rather quickly.

Do you work for yourself?

[macroy]

HR does work for the organization. However, I've seen good and bad. Like anything else, it does matter on how YOU make the relationship. The last company I worked for... I found that the folks that did the recruiting were good for nothing.. but the benefits folks were really good. Then there's the training folks... That company had some of the best internal traning I've ever experienced. In fact, I think they were voted #1 in terms of professional development.

But knowing someone you can get along with is always good.... This goes the same for accounting, legal, and pretty much any other department. Or.. get in nice with the CEO.

[suprz's ghost]

well, payback is a BITCH!!! we just got a email stating that our HR dept has been OUTSOURCED! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA............... i wonder how they like it on OUR side of the fence????

[Cody Dawg]

Where to? India? Or better yet, Beirut?

[production_coordinator]

Originally Posted by Cody Dawg

Do you work for yourself?

Ummm, no. I guess I have always known that they have been there for the company... but at the same time, they are there for me as well. I've been with organizations with poor HR offices and organizations with good.

[Cody Dawg]

(Psssst...it was a JOKE...)

[Eriamjh]

HR is like "customer service" at any retail store.

Call them to complain and they show you the door.

[ort888]

Our HR department is one person. She likes to make jokes about firing people and once asked a gay employee if he had trouble holding turds in. She is very professional.

She also once told an employee that he was going to hell for inviting a gay person to his wedding and proceeded to put anti-gay pamphlets on his desk for the next week or so until he complained.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by ort888

Our HR department is one person. She likes to make jokes about firing people and once asked a gay employee if he had trouble holding turds in. She is very professional.

She also once told an employee that he was going to hell for inviting a gay person to his wedding and proceeded to put anti-gay pamphlets on his desk for the next week or so until he complained.

Who'd he complain to??

[ort888]

Not sure, either to her directly or to the boss. He probably just threatened to tell on her if she continued. It happened right before I started.

[nonhuman]

Originally Posted by ort888

Our HR department is one person. She likes to make jokes about firing people and once asked a gay employee if he had trouble holding turds in. She is very professional.

She also once told an employee that he was going to hell for inviting a gay person to his wedding and proceeded to put anti-gay pamphlets on his desk for the next week or so until he complained.

What country/state do you live in?

[ort888]

Missouri. Oh boy!

And no, this isn't normal behavior for Missouri. This company is just nuts.

[E's Lil Theorem]

I work in my company's HR department, but not in the field nor in employee relations - typically, what people think HR is. I work for corporate HR in our compensation department. We're the lucky ones tasked with coming up with pay programs that employees love (lots of cash) and management loves (spend less). We also administer those programs, which can be 10-kinds of fun all in it's own.

Despite the constant battle to try to pay employees more (employee salaries are companies' number one expense) while increasing profits, I like my job. It's good times

EDIT: clarified what department I work in

[tooki]

Originally Posted by macroy

HR does work for the organization. However, I've seen good and bad. Like anything else, it does matter on how YOU make the relationship. The last company I worked for... I found that the folks that did the recruiting were good for nothing.. but the benefits folks were really good. Then there's the training folks... That company had some of the best internal traning I've ever experienced. In fact, I think they were voted #1 in terms of professional development.

But knowing someone you can get along with is always good.... This goes the same for accounting, legal, and pretty much any other department. Or.. get in nice with the CEO.

Well, as I said: they do good things for employees if they think it will benefit the company.

tooki

[ghporter]

"HR" used to be called "personnel," but apparently that wasn't "friendly" enough for some people. It stands for "human resources," and managers use all sorts of resources to get the job done. The HR department only has to deal with those employee issues that the company designates-often through hiring incentives like medical insurance and so on. They keep track of vacation and sick hours to help the management manage employees, and the payroll folks keep track of the same hours for financial purposes. Overall, since it's a management function, it's FOR management. Of course that's not to say that some trolls don't like being trolls...

[E's Lil Theorem]

Originally Posted by ghporter

.... Of course that's not to say that some trolls don't like being trolls...

Heeeeeyyyyy!!!!!