Human Resources and Workplace Relations Advisers
Provide staffing and personnel administration services to support organisations' human resources policies and programs, assist in setting terms and conditions of employment, and resolve workplace disputes.
A Thursday in people and culture
You are a human resources adviser at a manufacturing company, supporting managers and workers across several teams. It is Thursday. A hiring decision is due, a manager is asking for information and a new employee has a problem on her second week. You have to decide who gets your time first, and what you say.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I've got two finalists for the supervisor job. I'd rather go with Matt. We get on well, and I trust my gut. The other candidate, Leila, scored a bit higher in the interview, but I just don't think she'd fit in.
Go along with it, since he is the manager, knows his team best and will be the one working with the new supervisor every day
Matt is appointed, and Leila hears through the grapevine that she was passed over for 'fit'. A decision with no clear reasons can look unfair, and may be, whoever the manager is.
Ask what 'fit' means in terms of the role, go back to the selection criteria, and help him record his reasons
Brett realises his reasons do not stand up against the criteria. After a longer talk, he reconsiders. The decision is better and can be explained to both candidates.
Tell him bluntly that he is being biased and must choose Leila
You may be partly right, but Brett feels accused and digs in. Questions and criteria work better than labels, and the decision still belongs to the manager.
I haven't been paid properly, and my induction folder was never given to me. I hate to make a fuss in my second week, but I'm worried about next month's rent. I don't know who else to ask.
Check the records with payroll right now, tell her what you find and give her a time for the fix
Payroll finds a form that was never entered and corrects it quickly. Alicia gets a clear answer and a proper induction. She remembers that this company took care of her when she asked.
Tell her to wait for the next pay cycle, since the system usually sorts itself out and everyone has a few teething problems
The next cycle comes with the same error. Alicia feels ignored, and a small mistake grows into a lack of trust in the company. A new person needs to know somebody is listening.
Apologise, send the induction folder, and say you will look into the pay later
Alicia has the folder, but her real worry is still unresolved. Fixing the easy part first leaves the hardest part waiting.
Someone told me that Mahmoud, one of my operators, is looking for a new job on his lunch breaks. I want to move him off the good machine before he leaves. Is that okay? Can I check his emails?
Help her check his emails quietly so she can plan ahead
Reading his email without a proper reason breaches his privacy and the company's rules. If he finds out, trust in both you and HR is badly damaged.
Say it is up to her how she manages her team and that HR cannot get involved
You avoid trouble, but Daria acts on the rumour alone and moves Mahmoud off the machine. He feels punished for nothing. HR's job includes helping managers do this fairly.
Tell her to leave it, because rumours are not evidence, and suggest speaking to Mahmoud about his goals
Daria talks to him in a regular catch up. He is unsettled about his future, and they find a development path. Acting on a rumour would have lost him sooner.
How it went
By the end of the day, a hiring decision is fairer, a new starter is paid properly and a rumour has not become a reason to act. Human resources is about balancing people, rules and trust, often with information you cannot share. Do you think you could stay calm in the middle of all that?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The request that stayed in the room
A fictional case set in the people and culture team of a fictional medium sized manufacturing company.
The situation
Nomvula worked in human resources at Eastgate Manufacturing. A long serving machine operator, Sione, quietly asked to change his shifts so he could look after a family member. He asked her not to tell his supervisor why. A few days later, the supervisor, Carl, stopped her in the corridor. He was annoyed about the roster change and asked her to tell him what was going on, because he said it was unfair to the rest of the team to change things without a reason.
What they did
Nomvula told Carl she could explain the process but not Sione's private reasons. She explained that the company had a way to consider shift requests fairly, and that the decision depended on whether the work could still be covered. She asked Carl what the problem was for the roster, and together they worked out how the other shifts could be covered. She returned to Sione and told him honestly that his supervisor would need to know enough to plan, and asked how he would like that to be said.
How it turned out
Sione chose to share a short explanation with Carl himself. Carl adjusted the roster and the team barely noticed. Sione stayed with the company, and Carl later asked Nomvula how to handle a similar request more gently.
What would you do?
- Why couldn't Nomvula simply tell Carl what Sione had said?
- How can an HR adviser be fair to both the worker and the manager?
- How would you feel holding private information about people you work with?