Is Your HR Department the Policy Police

I overheard a potential employee today telling a Director "HR is the Police". As an HR Professional, I was somewhat offended, I got out of my chair to go tell her so but I got to thinking, what makes her feel that way. Did the HR department at her previous employer run around with a notepad of corrective action forms doling out write-ups for every policy violation under the sun?

Given her assumptions of HR I would say yes. That's not the way I run my HR shop and it's not how anyone else should. Yes, HR assists in policy writing but it's up to the managers to enforce the policy, that's part of management. HR is there to lend guidance to the manager and to the employee. HR is not there to be feared; any HR professional that says otherwise is not worth a grain of salt.

So, what you are to do if your HR department has become "The Policy Police"? You made it that way, time to unmake it. Teach your managers how to manage their staff. Develop a leadership training program that teaches your managers how to deal with conflict, how to properly counsel an employee for policy violations, and most importantly shred your corrective action notepad. When a manager comes to you to "tattle" on an employee, ask them if they counseled the employee regarding the behavior. As the HR Professional, odd are good you'll be sitting in on many coaching/counseling sessions but don't despair, it's for a good cause.

If you are on the opposite end of an HR Professional with a big head the best advice I can offer is to run. If management from the top down is supporting your HR department in its efforts to be "The Policy Police" there's little you can do to correct that culture. Major culture changes such as that need to come from the top down. However, if you are part of management in such a culture, start the movement to make the culture change. Take responsibility for your staff and manage them. Rely on HR for guidance, not to do your job for you.

HR is in place to be a resource to managers and employees. A well functioning HR Department treats the rest of the staff as customers and does what it can to help the company grow and prosper. If you're an HR person, put away your badge and ask your employees "what I can do to help you succeed". I promise you'll benefit just as much as the employees and company benefit.