Chief people officer, Metrolink.
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Many employees who get summoned by the human resources department feel one main emotion: fear.
Unfortunately, HR is often associated with bad news in workplaces. It’s no surprise that many people are afraid of HR—they think they’re about to be in trouble or out of a job. In essence, a lot of employees view the HR department as the principal’s office. However, to best serve our employees and our companies, we, as HR leaders, must work with our teams to change this perception.
Why HR Has Come To Be Viewed As The Principal’s Office
Why has HR gained a reputation as the principal’s office?
In my view, it comes down to a lack of trust. Employees often don’t trust HR. Research published in 2020 by digital coaching platform CoachHub reveals the extent of the distrust—15% “of the respondents admitted they wouldn’t reach out to HR because they are fearful of being seen as unqualified, ineffective leaders” and 36% said that they are “somewhat comfortable speaking to HR, but wouldn’t share as openly or honestly.”
From my observations, many employees fear that speaking to HR can open a can of worms; specifically, they think that if they call HR to voice a concern, it’s a given that HR will immediately contact the other party and tell them everything. While unfortunately, this can certainly occur in some workplaces, many HR departments have policies in place that stipulate how such situations are handled—and leaders must communicate that to employees.
Then there’s the reality that employees have had their own individual experiences with HR in their careers and might be carrying negative interactions in their invisible backpacks. An employee who experienced retaliation from the HR department at their previous employer as a result of speaking up against an abusive boss will likely be wary of any HR department they encounter in the future.
What’s At Stake If HR Leaders Don’t Try To Change The Negative Perception Of HR
If we, as HR leaders, don’t work with our teams to try to turn the negative perception of HR around, we risk our staff moving on to other opportunities. In my view, employees who don’t trust the HR department will at some point no longer trust their direct managers and other company leaders, leading to poor retention rates.
Even high-performing employees and those with long tenures, from my observations, are likely to resign if their distrust of HR and other management reaches a certain level. And when employees leave, problems ensue for companies. Filling an open role is not as easy as posting a position, interviewing a few candidates, selecting one and calling it a day. Gallup has noted how costly it can be to replace an employee. Time is also an issue. According to an SHRM article, data from human resource consulting firm The Josh Bersin Company revealed that the “time it takes to fill open positions is increasing, with employers taking 44 days on average to make a hire.” Additionally, after an offer is made, it can take some time to get the new staff member onboarded and acquainted with the company’s systems and culture. In the meantime, the remaining employees usually have to juggle the tasks of the person who resigned, which could give rise to frustration and resentment.
Moreover, even after a hire has been made, there’s no guarantee that things will work out. A new hire could end up not being the right person for a role, putting a company back at square one.
Improving The Perception Of HR
We can take several steps to turn the negative perception of HR around. The most important step, I believe, is to engage staff, as doing so helps people feel connected to their workplaces. We can take simple steps to facilitate employee engagement; we don’t have to constantly organize happy hours and ice cream socials, although those events are great for employee engagement.
For instance, staff members at my organization work from different locations, so it’s tough to organize in-person events. One step I’ve taken is to send out fun emails regularly to the entire organization. I make it a point to have conversations about non-work topics to form one-on-one relationships with staff members, such as gathering their recommendations for the best pizza in Los Angeles (I’m a New Yorker, so it’s a tough sell), sharing discounts I find from various companies, announcing events and so forth. I also try to infuse levity in more serious emails. For instance, I recently sent out an email about when staff members were going to get their merit pay and signed my name “ILY$$A.” It makes me happy when I get an email from a staff member thanking me for making them smile. When employees see that the HR department isn’t comprised of people in suits making decisions behind closed doors—that instead, HR is of, for and about people just like them—they’ll feel more comfortable coming to HR when they need to discuss work-related matters, or even personal matters that may affect their work.
Of course, it’s critical that HR leaders and their team members know how to have effective, honest conversations with employees who come to them. When you use the right tone and words—and set the right expectations—all parties will be more likely to trust and understand what’s being discussed. For example, if an employee calls an HR staff member and says they need to talk about an issue, here’s an example of an ideal way that conversation should play out (of course, real-life conversations are rarely as uncomplicated):
Employee: “I need to speak to you about a certain matter.”
HR staff member: “Thank you. I’ll keep the conversation as confidential as possible. But I want you to know that if this matter negatively impacts other people, I won’t be able to keep it completely confidential. Would you like to proceed?”
Employee: “Yes. The issue is that…”
HR staff member: “Thank you for sharing that with me. Again, some of what you said, I can’t keep completely confidential because of our company’s policies. But I do want you to know that we have a zero-retaliation policy. So if anything comes back to you pertaining to this, please let me know immediately, and I will handle it for you.”
Employee: “I understand, thank you.”
The idiom, “Are we all on the same page?” is a good one, but the more important question, to me, is “Are we all in the same book?” Two people can be on page 10 but reading two different books. However, by approaching difficult conversations with honesty and tact and by engaging our employees, we can build trust with our staff members—and make it more likely that everyone is not only on the same page but reading the same book.
To sum it up, be human and resourceful. Be gracious and empathetic, even in the most difficult of conversations. In the end, it’s all about people.
Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
