Working Wounded Blog: HR -- Friend or Foe?

June 13, 2007 — -- Last week a friend stopped by who'd just been riffed by Microsoft (reduction in force, for the luckily uninitiated).

She spoke angrily about the human resources woman who answered most of her questions concerning her severance and departure from the company incorrectly. Initially my friend was told there was no severance beyond six weeks and her layoff would leave her just short of the date when she'd be fully invested in her pension. Later she talked to a more senior HR staffer who reassured her that she would receive enough additional time to receive her pension.

Misinformation. It happens all the time. But I can think of few times more painful than when you are getting laid off to get bad information. In football the term for this would be piling on. And yet I hear from people all the time who have gone through an experience that would be difficult enough by itself -- getting laid off -- only to have salt poured on their wounds by insensitive or incompetent HR or management staff.

Let me lay a card or two on the table. I like the vast majority of human resources people I've met through the years. I've spoken at HR conferences, I've written for HR publications and I consider many HR people to be my friends. This shouldn't be surprising because I like people with heart.

It pains me when people in HR forget that they need to be the bridge between the company and its people, rather than just serving as an agent for the company.

Let me explain. I once spoke at a HR conference. I began by asking if audience members grew up with an adult's table and a children's table at big family events like Thanksgiving. Most of the audience smiled and said they had.

I then asked a simple question. As an HR person, which table do you sit at where you work, the adult's table or the children's table? (executives or employees). For the rest of the session, every person who spoke began by saying that he or she sat at the adult's table and then they explained why. "I have a great relationship with the CEO and board." "I attend executive staff meetings." "I report directly to the CEO." These were all typical responses.