What Employees Expect From Their Human Resource Department

Working in the Human Resources department of a big company can be a stressful and complicated multi-person tightrope act, but when the job is done properly the rewards can be valuable for everyone involved. Human Resources have to constantly develop strategic plans to achieve organization goals. The plans often have to be a cross between doing what is best for the company and keeping their employees satisfied/challenged with their jobs. These two ideas are often at opposite ends from one another, which means that Human Resource personnel must be a master in the art of negotiation to get things done and still keep everyone happy.

Most employees believe that in order for them to work more effectively at their jobs, they must be happy at their jobs and they often erroneously believe that it is the job of the Human Resource department to make this happen. Some business executives believe that their employees' happiness has absolutely no correlation with their employees’ work performance and that in some cases, it actually has the opposite effect on work productivity and quality. Contrary to popular thinking, they believe that a happy employee may be a distracted employee. This idea may be true regarding day-to-day operations of a business, but many studies show that in the long run, unhappy employees can lead a company to its ultimate demise.

The Human Resource department has the burdensome responsibility of looking after the employees wants and needs while keeping the executives bottomline on track with their organization’s goals. A great Human Resource worker needs to be a well-rounded individual and requires skills that at include; business expertise, financial, social, personable, discipline, trust, knowledge of the law, resourcefulness and a mind that is geared towards looking at the bigger picture.

In kindergarten, they teach children that if a business is compared to a healthy human body, the top executives are the brain, management are the bones, employees are the arms, legs and fingers, and the Human Resource department is the heart. The heart is continuously pumping and providing everyone else with oxygen and the nutrients that they require. Human arms and legs are useless without a properly functioning brain (business execs) and while humans can function fine without some fingers or a leg, it is still nice to have an entire set. Human Resources keeps the brain of the business functioning properly as well as its toes.

What Employees Want From Their Human Resource Department

Employees are never fully satisfied with their day jobs, but it is the role of HR to make workers happy which keeps them motivated and reduces attrition. Everyone who works for a living usually does so because they want a better life for themselves or for their family’s. Working people want more money, freedom and it is usually the case that they want more time away from work itself. This is a contradictory problem for management, which is why the Human Resource profession can be complicated. Below is the most common list of what employees would like from their work and Human Resources department.

• Salary increases
• Bonus increases
• Retirement planning
• Promotions
• Vacation time
• Paid vacations
• Paid time off
• Mental health days
• Job share
• Sick days
• Shorter hours
• Complete medical coverage
• Meditation rooms
• Napping rooms
• Free coffee and tea
• A corner office
• Get rid of the people they do not like in the office
• Free lunch
• Free snacks
• Full transparency of the companies executive directors
• Company lawyers to defend them in court
• Dedicated parking spot
• Postpone quarterly reviews
• Find out how much their co-workers make
• Maternity and paternity leave

What The Company Wants From Their Human Resource Department

On the flip side of the coin, company executives usually want the inverse of what the employees want from work. This is not because they are heartless businessmen, it is because they are looking at the company as a whole. Business executives are well aware of the fact that their employees are already the company's largest expense and they do not want to spend anymore than they have to on them. If executive directors could have it their way, there would not be any payments made from the business at all, including their employee salaries. Below is the list of what business executives would like to see from their Human Resources department.

• Lower employee salaries
• No bonuses
• No retirement matching
• No vacation time
• No sick days
• No maternity leave
• increase employee hours
• No free anything
• Keep employees quiet
• More employee reviews
• No medical coverage
• No benefits
• More cubicles, less offices
• More money invested back into the business

What Employees Should Really Expect From Their HR Department

Human Resources works with two groups of people, who both need each other to continue to thrive in the workplace. This duality forces compromises and agreements to be made that will satisfy both parties’ desires. For instance, while business executives do not want to pay for extensive employee medical insurance, employees make the argument that their chances of getting sick goes up exponentially the harder they work. Employees getting sick may require them to take excessive amounts of time off from work. This scares business executives into providing proper medical coverage to their employees. In the case of employee sexual harassment, bullying, injury or unethical business practices, the Human Resource department also has to protect the company from its own employees. In extreme situations, like when workers are in a serious risk while at their job, Human Resource personnel typically have the authority to help them as they see fit. If Human Resources believes that an employee has legitimate grounds to sue the company or become a whistleblower and substantially hurt the business, they may want to silence them with a large monetary settlement offer. Below is the list of what employees should expect from their Human Resources department.

• Discuss the idea of a raise or promotion
• Discuss Bonus options
• Get information about the company’s employee retirement program
• Discuss medical coverage options
• Learn about the company’s various employee benefits
• Discuss getting more perks
• Discuss getting more vacation days
• Conduct employee performance meetings
• Give lectures about what is and is not appropriate in the workplace
• Handle new employee training
• Create and distribute company announcements
• Help set large company meetings
• Protect the company
• Keep private employee information confidential

Employees typically expect Human Resources to be their advocate in tough times tw work and people tend to think that Human Resources is their friend and saviour, but when push comes to shove the Human Resources department will always protect the company firstrst, as that is their role. The push and pull between the wants and expectations of the employees, Human Resources and management is an ongoing struggle that will continue as long as modern business exists.