What does YOUR company/agency's HR dept do?

winneythepooh7 · #1 06-01-2004, 12:29 PM

(Sarcasm) but I think many HR depts and people that work in them do NOT know what they are doing. Any comments as to why this is so?

xp2k · #2 06-01-2004, 01:03 PM

The truth about Human Resources:

Human Resources departments dont hire people, MANAGERS HIRE PEOPLE.

The only thing HR can do is find a way to disqualify you from being hired, i.e. poor resume, lack of skills...even a background check.

Becuase in most places, people in HR are actually lower in rank then the people they will hire, they usually get their rocks off by exerting what little power they have during the hiring process.

IMHO, they're the gatekeepers

Of course, HR does have uses...such as handling employee benefits and relations...they're not all bad...and if you're nice to them...they might remember you in case something comes up you are qualified for.

So in a nuttshell, I guess HR tries to match people to what they could be good at.

A good friend of mine just got a job at Proctor & Gamble in Cincinatti as an HR manager...she's in a sorority so I hope she isnt on this board

Lil' Hannah · #3 06-01-2004, 01:13 PM

I work in HR you jerkies.

Lady Pi Phi · #4 06-01-2004, 01:34 PM

My company's HR department screwed me over. I don't like them.

Eclipse · #5 06-01-2004, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lil' Hannah
I work in HR you jerkies.

Me too, Hannah and I am used to people blaming everything on the evil HR people (think Catbert from Dilbert) LOL

So, winneythepooh and Lady Pi Phi, what happened in your situations?

As I frequently tell people at my company (especially associates who want me to get their manager fired or reprimanded) my job as a HR professional is to advise . I cannot make a manager or anyone else do anything. If they are doing something illegal, trying to hire an unqualified person, being a jerk, etc. I will advise them of a better way to handle it, notify the people that need to know and the potential consequences and let the chips fall where they may. Many times we in HR have advised for/against a hire, for/against firings or other action, etc. only to have the department head do the exact opposite. Usually what happens then is that we are expected to come in and clean up the mess.

Lady Pi Phi · #6 06-01-2004, 03:17 PM

Nothing really major actually.
I'm just bitter.

HR forced me to move my seat because another manger wanted to be closer to his people (because he was too lazy and didn't want to walk far). He supervises 2 people, my manger supervises 5 and I and her got screwed because he went whining to HR.

It's nothing huge, I just don't like where I sit now.

WCUgirl · #7 06-01-2004, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Eclipse
As I frequently tell people at my company (especially associates who want me to get their manager fired or repremanded) my job as a HR professional is to advise . I cannot make a manager or anyone else do anything. If they are doing something illegal, trying to hire an unqualified person, being a jerk, etc. I will advise them of a better way to handle it, notify the people that need to know and the potential consequences and let the chips fall where they may. Many times we in HR have advised for/against a hire, for/against firings or other action, etc. only to have the department head do the exact opposite. Usually what happens then is that we are expected to come in and clean up the mess.

So true. My law firm specializes in labor & employment law. Most of the contacts at our clients' companies are either the president/ceo of the company, or the...you guessed it...HR manager. 9 times out of 10 the HR person is calling us, all stressed out b/c the manager has gone off and done something on a whim, and left the HR person to "clean up" after him and to ensure that if it wasn't legal, it becomes so.

Eclipse · #8 06-01-2004, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lady Pi Phi
Nothing really major actually.
I'm just bitter.

HR forced me to move my seat because another manger wanted to be closer to his people (because he was too lazy and didn't want to walk far). He supervises 2 people, my manger supervises 5 and I and her got screwed because he went whining to HR.

It's nothing huge, I just don't like where I sit now.

Well then your HR person was a punk, or the other manager had something on them. Either way, tell them to turn in their SHRM card! LOL

winnieb · #9 06-01-2004, 11:17 PM

The big function of the HR dept at my company is payroll. HR does the hourly payroll and benefit administration.
My company hires all its hourly people thru a temp agency--so we don't even take applications anymore.
My boss (controller) takes care of all the payroll and benefit admistration for the salaried employees.
Beyond basic payroll and benefits, I am not sure what all the HR dept does.

winneythepooh7 · #10 06-02-2004, 12:33 PM

I'm just curious sometimes what goes on. The hiring process is SO slow and also, I feel that many qualified individuals resumes are passed over for people that don't know their A$$ from their elbow a lot of the time. It is sad especially because I work in an agency where we are dealing with people who are mentally ill and they need people working with them that are stable and who can understand their needs. It seems like the complete opposite for workers are hired a lot of the time.

GeekyPenguin · #11 06-03-2004, 09:12 AM

winneythepooh, perhaps HR has nothing to do with the resumes that are getting tossed out. When I served as a receptionist at a company one summer, the HR director had me "pre-sort" resumes for her. I tossed everything that had a spelling error, punctuation error, or wasn't formatting nicely. After those were gone, I went through the next group and tossed out everything that didn't meet the minimum standards for the job. Normally a batch of 50 would be reduced to at most 10. If you're one of those people, I'd look over your resume and figure out what's wrong with it.

winneythepooh7 · #12 06-03-2004, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
winneythepooh, perhaps HR has nothing to do with the resumes that are getting tossed out. When I served as a receptionist at a company one summer, the HR director had me "pre-sort" resumes for her. I tossed everything that had a spelling error, punctuation error, or wasn't formatting nicely. After those were gone, I went through the next group and tossed out everything that didn't meet the minimum standards for the job. Normally a batch of 50 would be reduced to at most 10. If you're one of those people, I'd look over your resume and figure out what's wrong with it.

It's like the complete opposite people who can't spell and have like zero qualifications are the one's getting hired over the people with at last half a clue.