Defending HR People
November 28, 2010
I have read a number of articles and blog posts recently that deride the HR industry. I have read terms such as ‘management lackeys’, ‘low intelligence’ and worse. I am beginning to grow sick of this belittling. One startling statistic was from a recent UK survey which showed that 37% of employees within the UK think that HR workers have no credibility whatsoever!
This is a tough pill to swallow. I think that the biggest reason for this is that the common view of HR is that we are here to implement instructions from management, onto the general workforce. I must admit that this is true a lot of the time, but this overlooks the fact that we are also here to defend employees against many, many negative occurrences in the workplace.
In short, this job can sometimes make us feel that we are between a rock and a hard place, but my wish is to increase the awareness of our roles - maybe then our perceived credibility could be where it should be.
Employee survey
November 26, 2010
I recently completed an internal employee satisfaction survey and there were some surprising results. Although I can divulge little direct information from this within this blog, I can give an indication of the results.
The most pleasant surprise was that the vast majority of our employees were at least reasonably happy in their role. Of course, there were concerns throughout (mostly relating to salary, holidays, and the usual complaints) but there was nothing that stood out as an immediate and major worry.
I also asked if there were any suggestions about how we could improve working conditions in the office, and let me pass on my special thanks to those employees who suggested a Games Room, Free Alcohol and one cheeky person who wanted 4 hour lunches.
Mostly helpful information, but things like this always brings out the jokers!
Looking to Leave
November 24, 2010
A recent study has shown that 20% of Human Resources workers are looking to change their jobs. The primary reasons given for this is poor salary and management, as well as long hours.
Head of CS at Croner, Viv Copeland, has strongly voiced concerns that such a high number of people in this sector were seemingly unsettled in their roles. “It is crucial that employers keep up to date with the facts on market pay, otherwise they risk losing key professionals who feel underpaid and undervalued,” Copeland added.
The results of this study are worsened by the lack of pay rises in the sector in the past year or two, however this is something that is being felt across the board in the public sector so I, for one, am not too concerned by this news - or I am unusual in that I enjoy my job?!?
Firstcare - end of the sickie?
November 21, 2010
I recently came across a company by the name of Firstcare. They state that they do Absence Management Services, which involves various means in tracking employee health and illnesses resulting in a reported 40% reduction in employee absence in year one.
While this appears to be great news for employers, it may not be the same for employees. While I cannot accuse any employees of deliberately ‘pulling sickies’ I am sure that it happens. What I do know is that one of the biggest worries for employees is the big brother act. Anything that could put further pressure on employees, particularly when out of office aspects are tracked, could be bad news.
I reiterate that it obviously works extremely well for large companies where the 40% reduction in absence could make a huge difference to productivity, but I do worry about the impact on the mindset of the employee.
Slocombe Syndrome
November 18, 2010
I have heard a fantastic array of reasons for not turning up at work. My colleagues seem to have a boundlessly imaginative knack of inventing stories for not coming to work - of course, I would never accuse them of making it up, but some just seem to be beyond the realms of believability.
Recent research has uncovered something called Slocombe Syndrome. Named after the beloved character from Are You Being Served? who constantly talked about her cat, the Syndrome involves inventing illnesses or problem with real or fictional pets as a reason for not turning up to work.
This seems to be taking that old high school stalwart “My dog ate my homework” and taking it into the professional world!