When John* accidentally forgot to pay for a salad in the canteen, he was called to his company’s human resources department. Without explaining why he was there, he was shown video footage of himself paying for a drink at the cash register – and forgetting the box under his arm.
Although the head of human resources was present, it quickly became clear that his sole job was to transcribe the meeting into shorthand and strengthen the position of the building manager who had made the complaint.
When John realized his mistake, he offered to pay, explaining that he had been distracted by a bereavement and that he was in the middle of the pandemic when most workers were allowed to work from home. Yet despite the risks, his employers had forced him – and colleagues with pre-existing conditions – to do the copywriting work in the office.
But instead of allowing John to pay, he was threatened, intimidated and eventually fired for “stealing.” And when he asked for the minutes of the meeting, he found that they were fake. The section where he had explained why he was distracted had been omitted, as had the part where he had been threatened with police action. Presumably because firing a grieving employee for forgetting to pay for the meal would be grounds for unfair dismissal.
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John’s horror story about HR is unfortunately a common one. Across the world, a lack of trust in HR departments seems to be a universal problem. According to a recent survey, 43% of American workers don’t feel like they can trust their HR department – and more than a third don’t trust HR.
A separate 2022 survey of 1,000 people found that only one in four felt their HR manager was largely trusted to look after employees’ needs. Another 37% said they felt HR was more interested in advocating for the organization – and that they would rather approach almost anyone rather than approach someone in HR.
“Most employees see them as company police,” says David Rice, HR expert at People Managing People.
“They’re there to protect the company and advocate for the business, not for you – unless it benefits the company in some way. They put contracts in front of people and limit liability.”
Often, employee problems and complaints are referred to HR, but the response to them reflects the company’s compliance with the law in the given situation. As a result, the employee’s problem remains unresolved and their working conditions do not improve.
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Rice explains that HR departments often give the false impression that they are there for employees, but employees don’t feel or see that – and therefore there is a lack of trust in the relationship.
“Instead, HR should be honest about what it does,” says Rice. “And in many companies, employees should view them as a resource when they need support that is not just financial. When it comes to payroll or workplace disputes, HR’s primary role is to minimize harm to the company and ensure compliance.”
In an ideal world, the role of HR is to act as a bridge between employees and employers, involved in resolving conflicts between employees, hiring, training and maintaining the right company culture.
“Ideally, HR would help find a happy medium where the two can coexist and everyone wins: Employees feel they are being treated fairly and compensated accordingly, the company sees greater value, and all of its needs are met by employees,” says Rice.
“But that doesn’t actually happen that often because, quite frankly, the culture of most companies doesn’t support it.”
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Instead, HR gets a bad rap because it tends to act as the representative of employers. HR is more likely to take a hard line on behalf of the company rather than listening to both sides and helping to maintain a positive working relationship between employees and managers.
Part of the problem is the lack of specific training among HR professionals. According to a study by AIHR, there is no consistent set of core skills at lower levels of HR teams, unlike other professions such as accounting, where formal standards and practices exist. Some people move into HR later in their careers, bringing with them business knowledge but not necessarily basic HR expertise.
Another problem is that many HR professionals feel pressured to take the company’s side, especially in companies with a toxic work environment.
What makes a good HR department?
Ultimately, what makes a good HR department is a subjective matter, says Rice, but professionals should be responsive to employees’ problems and show empathy.
“You can’t solve people’s problems, but you can be creative and resourceful in how you support people and the business,” he says. “Frankly, HR can’t just be about the bottom line if it’s an employee-facing function. And if it is, it’s always seen in a negative light. That’s why trust is lacking in many organizations to begin with.”
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Although HR needs to take care of the business, it works best when it helps the company support its employees. Happier employees ultimately lead to better business results.
And in order for people to believe they can talk to HR about a problem, HR departments need to build trust.
“That means not being so intrusive in your employee monitoring that you’re seen as Big Brother. It means not just taking care of the business, but being proactive about things like employee wellbeing and company culture,” Rice says.
“It means showing empathy while following processes. It means taking action when needed and maintaining relationships with employees at all different moments in their life cycle, not just when they are in crisis or when there is a problem with employee behavior or performance. You have to invest in employee relationships from the business side.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
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