Human Resources Managers
Plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate the human resource and workplace relations activities within organisations.
A difficult Thursday in people and culture
You are the human resources manager at a mid-sized company, and three different people need your attention before lunch. It is Thursday morning. Your diary shows a recruitment panel at ten, and an empty slot you were hoping to use for a policy review. Then the first message arrives.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
One of my team, Reza, has been late four times this month and I am sick of it. I want to give him a written warning today. Can you just draft one so I can get it done?
Draft the warning right away, because Callum is the manager and has the records to back it up
Reza is blindsided. It turns out he has been caring for a sick parent and had no idea his lateness was being tracked. The warning is withdrawn, and Callum feels embarrassed, as does your department.
Ask Callum what he has already said to Reza, and suggest a private chat first
Callum admits he has only grumbled. After a proper conversation, he learns about Reza's situation and they agree a changed start time. A formal process is still available later, and now it would be fair.
Tell Callum to follow the full disciplinary policy and send him the forms and the template letters
Procedure is followed, but Callum sees you as a roadblock rather than a help. You have given him a process when he needed a coach for a conversation he was dreading.
I would like to make a confidential complaint about my manager. He keeps making comments about my accent in meetings. I do not want it to go anywhere formal yet. I just need someone to know. Can you promise to keep it to yourself?
Promise total secrecy, so she feels safe enough to tell you everything that has happened
She relaxes and tells you more. But if the behaviour continues you may have a duty to act, and you have promised something you cannot keep. She would feel betrayed.
Listen, explain what you can and cannot keep private, and go through her options
Priyanka decides to start with an informal approach you help her prepare. She felt heard, knows what to expect, and trusts you. Being upfront about what you cannot keep private is what earns that trust.
Take the notes, say you will look into it and quietly raise it with her manager as a general concern
You mean well, but speaking to the manager without her agreement takes the choice away from her. She finds out, and wonders whether telling you was a mistake.
Money is tight. I want you to draw up a list of the ten people in the company we could let go with the least fuss, then bring it to me on Monday. Keep it between us for now.
Prepare the list as asked, ranked by cost, and give it to him privately
Wendell gets what he asked for, but the list reflects cost, not fairness or the law. If people are picked this way without a proper process, the company faces a serious dispute.
Tell Wendell you will not do it, and that redundancy is not something you can be involved in
You are right to worry, but a flat refusal ends the conversation. Wendell finds someone less careful to draw up the list, and the people affected have no one protecting a fair process.
Offer to map the options and the legal steps first, and describe how roles are chosen fairly and consulted on
Wendell is impatient, but he sees that a fair process protects the company as well as the staff. You have kept your role in the decision and made the outcome more defensible.
How it went
By the afternoon you have a plan for each conversation and a long list of calls to make. Human resources work means being fair to people while keeping the organisation healthy, and those two do not always pull in the same direction. How would you feel about holding that balance every day?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The restructure announced twice
A fictional case set in the people and culture team of a fictional manufacturing and distribution company.
The situation
Kestrel Distribution decided to merge two warehouse teams, which meant fewer supervisor roles. Human resources manager Imogen Hartley had prepared a careful consultation process. But a general manager mentioned the plan at a Friday barbecue, and by Monday morning the whole site had heard a garbled version. People were saying whole shifts would be cut. Two supervisors were already updating their resumes, and a union delegate had asked for an urgent meeting before anything was formally announced.
What they did
Imogen brought the announcement forward instead of pretending nothing had happened. She and the general manager spoke to every shift in person that day, said what was decided, what was only proposed and what was still unknown. She agreed to the delegate's meeting, shared the plan openly and gave staff a date for when each question would be answered. She also quietly spoke with the general manager about how information gets shared.
How it turned out
People were still worried, and one supervisor left anyway. But the rumours stopped, the consultation ran properly and the final plan changed in two places because of staff suggestions. Imogen learned that silence does not hold a secret for long and that plain updates earn more trust than polished ones.
What would you do?
- Would you have brought the announcement forward, even though you were not ready?
- What would you say to a worried worker who asks if their job is safe?
- How might an HR manager stay fair to both the business and its people?