An HR should collaborate with both management and employees on an equal level. On one hand, this entails debating issues based on numbers and supporting commercial objectives, while on the other, it entails developing and caring for personnel. Meanwhile, HR handles a lot of administrative work, such as tracking absences and salaries, while also performing strategic activities, such as identifying solutions to the current scarcity of IT expertise. HR professionals must be intimately versed with all of these standards in order to do their duties effectively. Only by establishing boundaries will they be able to concentrate on the important matters. This article discusses the problems of good human resource management, as well as how to work effectively at the interface between the two worlds mentioned above.

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What Employees Expect from HR

Employees want a condoling ear, particularly when it comes to personal workplace difficulties. An example of this would be, ‘I don’t feel like my boss is taking me seriously’. In this scenario, the HR could inquire whether the employee wishes for any action to be done or simply to be heard. If HR managers discuss any issues with management, they must always notify the employee in advance.

Often, HR is the only location where employees feel free to express their concerns or difficulties. It is also a location where they can discuss sensitive issues. As a result, HR managers amass a wealth of expertise, which they must be cautious not to exploit.

HR is in charge of people. That is the expectation of the public, and HR managers must live up to it. For example, if a department head abruptly resigns, an HR team member gathers a few colleagues from the department to discuss the resignation. This can happen over a shared lunch, at work, or even after work as well.

What Management Expects from HR

HR is expected to keep things running smoothly. This entails recruiting enough people, hiring the right people, establishing a climate in which employees may feel good and succeed, and much more. HR professionals should have a solid awareness of the company’s business, including its problems, and should align HR goals with business goals.

Management wants to hear about problems as soon as they occur. ‘I have a hunch that folks in department x aren’t as satisfied as they should be,’ on the other hand, will not be warmly welcomed. Instead, HR managers should have hard data and justifications to back up their claims.

What Management Underestimates

The higher you climb up the ladder, the more important numbers become. Senior management believes that good numbers reflect good work. Executives, on the other hand, frequently fail to recognise that empathy is also work. While it cannot be quantified, it is important, including in business. If, for example, a high-performing employee decides to retire but is persuaded to stay by HR, the company saves an annual salary in opportunity costs. This is how much it costs to fill a vacancy, on an average.

Another aspect that is sometimes forgotten is that when an HR manager meets with an employee over lunch to address HR-related concerns, this can be difficult – and vital – job. Employees must feel taken seriously and respected on a personal level if they are to feel good, come to work gladly, and contribute.

Where can HR Draw a Line

Boundaries are highly personal, and everyone must establish their own. However, the following guidelines should be followed by everyone working in human resources: You can chat about anything in the HR department. Everything discussed in HR is kept in HR. If an employee has an issue, it is not your responsibility as an HR employee to solve it. Instead, you should seek management’s assistance in resolving the issue. You are not required to address every (private) complaint made by your co-workers. If an employee returns to HR time and time again to express their overall displeasure, you have every right to tell them to do something about it.

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