Category: General HR

Once upon at time, we ran into an issue with a leave request and I had to step in before we ended up in an FMLA nightmare. The HR Coordinator could have fixed it herself, but she didn’t.

When I asked why she didn’t act, she sighed and said “I can’t make them do what I say. It’s like HR is just persuasion without any real power. That is hard for me to get used to.”

HR is just persuasion without power? Really??

When she said it, I immediately thought back to a quote from HR professional John Sumser: “Influence is what you use when you don’t have control over the outcome.” And that is what influenced my advice to the HR Coordinator — and inspired this post.

1) Persuasion is power. Being able to successfully influence someone, who would clearly rather take another course of action, to do what you want them to do is pretty powerful — and awesome! It is a critical skill in HR and should never be taken for granted or undervalued. And the power of persuasion should never be misused.

2) Since persuasion is power, then documentation is dominion and accountability reigns supreme. Not only is HR responsible to counsel and advise; we are also responsible to make sure issues are appropriately and professionally documented and that all parties are held accountable for their part in every issue.

Knowing there is a clear paper trail leading straight back to them and that their butt is on the line if/when things go awry is absolute motivation for an unwilling decision-maker to comply with HR’s “suggestions.”

3) HR has real power. It is always our responsibility to balance the needs of the business against the rights of the employee. Certainly, anyone in a decision-making, supervisory or management position should do this — but HR owns it.

Within that, HR has a duty to act to prevent any action which causes the employer/employee relationship to be off-balance. When the employer – employee relationship is out of balance, the organization will ultimately unravel. HR is the organization’s equilibrium — and if that’s not real power … well, try walking without your equilibrium.

Let me know how that works out for you.

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BIOGRAPHY

Buzz Rooney is a practicing HR Professional with over 10 years experience in the production, manufacturing and retail industries. She currently works for a large retail franchise handling employee relations, health benefits, COBRA, wellness, leave of absence and compliance.

Buzz has Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies with a focus on Organizational Communication and Leadership as well as a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management. She is also a part-time HR consultant offering resume writing, basic management coaching, process improvement and compliance assistance services.

When not working or writing or researching, Buzz is a single mom with 2 young children living in North Carolina. She enjoys mindlessly watching television, spending time with friends and family, reading, eating and sleeping.

Read more of her writings, connect and contact her through her blog’s website: The Buzz on HR (www.thebuzzonhr.com)

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