HR companies/people?

[thecharmed01]

Last year the company I work for decided to make a position in the workshop redundant 'due to the current economic climate'.
HR lady came to a meeting in the smoko room and discussed options. We all agreed on each tech losing 4 hours a week which added up to 40 hours, the equivalent of one tech going.
Here's the irony of it all....two weeks later the HR lady was made redundant.
I saw her in tears in her car, poor girl, she was actually very nice and easy to get along with.
Its like hiring a hitman to take out a marked man, then taking out the hitman to clean up the mess.

That's a bloody good solution though, mad props to you guys for putting a workable solution in place to prevent a job loss!!

[SlowHand]

Career advisor: what do you want to do when you finish school?
Student: I want to be a career advisor
CA: What makes you think you can do that?
S: Well, Im very good letting people down and taking people's dreams and crushing them
CA:............ no i don't think you have the maths

[BarBender]

Somehow I find that very hard to believe.

+1

I told her she should actually do something about that, because I think its shite that they can get away with getting peoples hopes up for interview possibilities when they dont even have the right to submit applications!!!
Bloody rude if you ask me and nasty!

A prominent recruiter/HR consultancy in the late 80's (owned by a woolclasser and scientist) delivered years of shady service to a generation of middle managers in this country. The consultancy's demise later came when those managers became CEOs, MDs, executive staff and board members. Many of these people have never forgotten how they were treated and will not have a bar of the consultancy now - even after it was taken over by a global and had two subsequent brand changes.

HR consultancy/recruitment is for some a good way to make a quick buck.
You dont need to be an HR professional to do it.
Yep - your friend should definitely do something about it.

[Oakie]

Go on then Oakie, you demonstrate the "value you add" to your business and KBers can decide whether they think you "should be kept on in your current role".

I hope no one has been waiting all day for this to be a revelation because there's nothing startling about it. I could refer to the value I personally bring to my own employer but because you say

I'm saying you're all shit

my answers won't be about me specifically and will be generic to HR employees in general (but not the ones in recruitment agencies / HR companies because I have my doubts about them too)

The value I add by performing the HR role for my employer:
1) By doing the 'people related' stuff ... to use your own words

hiring (recruitment), firing ("streamlining", "restructuring", "diversifying") and sorting out management fuck ups and staffing shit fights (conflict resolution)..

allows the managers to focus on their core roles. They get to concentrate on what they are paid to do.

I guess as the GM or business owner you have the choice of taking each of your:
Production Manager
Operations Manager
Sales Manager
Finance Manager
Maintenance Manager
and whatever else Manager
and making sure that they have the skills and knowledge to handle what I do , but then why not get them all clued up on accounting and get rid of the Finance Manager or get them each a toolbelt and get rid of the Maintenance Manager? The answer is that these are specific disciplines best performed by people with appropriate training and with the personal aptitude for the job. It's about providing a quality product

2) Quality. By bringing expertise to the role we finish up with better outcomes from instances of

hiring (recruitment), firing ("streamlining", "restructuring", "diversifying") and sorting out management fuck ups and staffing shit fights (conflict resolution)..

than we would if it were left to managers who don't have the skills for it. You can talk about efficiencies and stuff if you want to but if you get any of

hiring (recruitment), firing ("streamlining", "restructuring", "diversifying") and sorting out management fuck ups and staffing shit fights (conflict resolution)..

wrong it can cost you big. The most recent from the Employment Court ... a $100,000 finding against a Hotel owner for doing a restructuring in what the court found was an unfair manner. Trust that shit to your Maintenance Manager or Sales Manager to handle if you want but just keep your cheque book handy.

Summary of those 2 points. When a 'person issue' comes up for a manager outside of the HR discipline then it is an interruption to their work. When a 'person issue' comes up for an HR person it is the reason for our work. Who do you think is going to deal with it best?

Face it an H.R person is just another "consultant" -

Yes, we often are. Nothing to face up to there. That's part of the service we offer to the organisation. As I did the pays today I was probably 'consulted' by our Managers about half a dozen times. Do I expect them to know the answer to "can we pay someone when the doctor has quarantined them due to swine flu?" or "what do I do if Shayne is off work sick but has no sick leave but I want to pay him?". No I don't expect them too. I do however expect them to be confident that I know the answer .

Oh OK then. What did I do to add value to my organisation today? I turned up for work!

[Headbanger]

I hope no one has been waiting all day for this to be a revelation because there's nothing startling about it.

Far far far to many words, Do you have a condensed version?

[Oakie]

Far far far to many words, Do you have a condensed version?

Other managers don't have the skills to do what I do in the same way that I don't have the skills to do what they do.

[oldrider]

Other managers don't have the skills to do what I do in the same way that I don't have the skills to do what they do.

C'mon Oakie, they obviously know all that, they are just baiting you!

Of course if I am wrong and they don't know it, whatever you say wont make any difference anyway!

[Oakie]

C'mon Oakie, they obviously know all that, they are just baiting you!

Of course if I am wrong and they don't know it, whatever you say wont make any difference anyway!

Yeah, I know it won't make any difference to those who genuinely think we're leeches but it might just sway some of the larger number who aren't quite sure how they feel about us.

[Headbanger]

Yeah, I know it won't make any difference to those who genuinely think we're leeches but it might just sway some of the larger number who aren't quite sure how they feel about us.

I have no opinion on the state of leechiness, Though apart from another (parallel?) layer of management I have no idea what you do from reading your post.

[Quasievil]

ahhh...for the record...to the people repping me and saying didn't get the job etc??? thats not the case...but thanks anyway

So you did get the job?

[Oakie]

I have no idea what you do from reading your post.

You asked:

Payroll, standard payroll processing for 75 or so employees

Recruiting, (advertising, reviewing applications, interviews, liaising with managers over short-listed applicants, reference checking, preparing contracts, organising induction and initial training)

Maintaining employee records (including issuing new contracts for people who change work patterns, pay rates etc)

‘Pastoral Care’ keeping in touch with those employees who have had problems or gone through changes to make sure they are OK. Also random chats with staff as you come across them just to keep in touch.

Employee support, (too many things to list but whatever they ask for help with … today so far, helping one with a Residency Application and advising another on how we can change her hours to accommodate external study she wants to do)

Management Support, mainly advice around how to treat different employee related situations and always with the requirements of Employment Legislation in mind.

Restructuring, changing house rostered hours to best meet increasing resident needs and managing the resulting changes

Training administration, (recording training requirements and scheduling training to ensure all staff are up to date. Ensuring individual staff training records are up to date)

Health and Safety, managing the whole HSE function proactively, not just recording accidents etc

Projects as directed by my boss or the GM. Most recently setting up an externally provided Employee Assistance Program, calculating food stock levels to accommodate a 3 day or 14 day civil defence emergency and of course a project around Swine Flu preparedness.

I also do IT support but that’s only because I know a wee bit about it … it’s not really in the job description.

[Headbanger]

You asked:

I did no such thing, Though looking at what it is you do, It must be a prime position to pressure people into sex aye? woot woot. Stroke it to the east, stroke it to the west, stroke it to the ladies that I love the best, I say stroke it.

That aside I just rang a recruitment company about a job listing, I expected to be given 1000 questions so they could put me on the books, Instead they couldn't get rid of me fast enough, even used old fashioned methods like direct answers to questions, and real information.

Must be my charm.

[Oakie]

Though looking at what it is you do, It must be a prime position to pressure people into sex aye? woot .

I don't know about pressuring people for it but about 10 years ago one young lady did offer to perfom an indecent act on me if I adjusted her pay rate up a little. She must have decided that nibbling on my knob wasn't worth the extra money though because she withdrew the offer a short time later.
I'm sure I received another offer at some other time too but I can't recall the details. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking.