Small Business Owners Put the “Human” Back in Human Resources
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These companies, which referred to themselves as “HR partners”, seemed to concentrate, primarily, on securing low priced insurance programs, such as worker’s compensation, were most often physically located in another state generically servicing hundreds of companies, and, to the extent they investigated employee complaints, they did so without ever meeting a single employee.
To make matters worse, live and interactive trainings were eliminated or replaced with computer programs with animated examples and on-line “tests” that could easily be completed by an executive’s assistant on the executive’s behalf and, without much consideration, universal policies were downloaded from the internet.
Now, two decades later, it is apparent that the decision to eliminate or reduce on-site Human Resource departments has had serious consequences.
The significant increase of sexual harassment lawsuits is just one example: Working women, like Tess, who continue to have no sources of support, and no job protection, if they are courageous enough to complain, must still resort to public and costly lawsuits.
One answer?
Put “human” back in Human Resources:
Send a clear message from the top that discrimination will not be tolerated; and show your employees that you are serious by hiring top-level professional(s) who will be based in your offices and serve as a resource for employees.
I have been fortunate to work with companies who feel strongly about hiring top notch professional HR teams.
The result?
Employees who feel they have someone on their side and who believe their company cares about creating a safe workplace are employees who are more productive and less likely to sue to stop bad behavior.
Related articles:
Sexual Harassment in Today’s Workplace
