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Speak Up

Human resources people hate it when someone starts with: "Well you're going to like this one!"

It means that our day and sometimes even our week will not go as planned. This is how the supervisor on the night shift greeted me; I remember it well as it was one of the first issues I faced as a young rookie in HR.

The supervisor wasted no time in sharing his dilemma: "About an hour ago one of my new guys ran into my office upset with what one of our senior guys had done to him. This senior guy likes to taunt the new guys a little bit and usually it's harmless fun but this time he might have taken it a bit too far. The senior guy was driving along on his forklift, and as he drove by the new guy he dropped his pants and mooned the new fella! Yep, that's right, went driving around the warehouse with his pants pulled down. I think I should deal with this right? He can't be going around naked. What do I do?"

Naturally the supervisor waited for me to provide him with timely guidance, but I remained silent. I remember my mind had wandered off to a happier place -- was it too late to become an accountant?

Without a dedicated HR professional, the business owner of a small to midsize business dons the HR hat and frequently must deal with issues like these directly. Do I fire him? Do nothing? Suspend him? Charge him with harassment? Conduct an investigation? Call my lawyer? Call my shrink?

Balancing options and dealing with people matters appropriately takes time, and time is the one commodity business owners don't have, and they end up ignoring issues or reacting too quickly.

Time is what a dedicated HR person will give you. They will take the time necessary to weigh the options out so issues are dealt with correctly the first time and won't come back to bite you later.

Another more important role HR plays is in the set up of processes and procedures to prevent issues them from occurring again (strategic HR programs).

With the right programs, your employees can grow in size and development with your company.

My experience has been that when employee matters consume the majority of the day and prevent focus on business growth you are ready for an HR function. This might not mean an HR person but someone dedicated to HR.

Typically HR duties will be passed on from the business owner to someone else, such as an office manager, chief financial officer or another team member.

Sadly, whoever it is will most likely wear their HR hat reluctantly because it is one too many hats they are already wearing. These poor souls who have not the background nor even, dare I say, the interest, are now faced with the myriad of "people issues"

They must navigate their way through the litany HR "mumbo jumbo." They pray that their HR hat doesn't fall off and something happens "on their watch" like a human rights violation, harassment case or a major workplace accident to land them on the front page news.

HR consultants do help bridge the gap when HR matters become too complex or the volume of the issues too deep but without a full-time presence, they can only work temporarily.

More and more small businesses are recognizing the need and the true value that a dedicated, full-time HR practitioner can bring. And now with HR programs being delivered at college level institutions there is an increased availability of junior HR practitioners looking to cut their teeth within organizations poised for growth.

In the following weeks we will hear from companies who have grown from not having an HR practitioner to hiring one.

They have some advice ... 'til then hold on to your HR hat!

n Monique Brennan BA, MSc. is a Certified Human Resources Practitioner (CHRP) and with a team of consultants, works with businesses on workplace improvement and individuals on improving their career and performance through The Coaching Consortium Inc. She welcomes all comments and can be reached at 388-0011 or Mqcoach@nb.sympatico.ca.