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Frustration!!

Phil

I have been working in HR for nearly 11 years now, I recently took a job, which at interview sounded brilliant: I would be tasked with overhauling the HR function and basically redesigning it, all seemed brilliant...... then the reality of the job started to set in: the current HR department was staffed with people that the CEO had just placed into the function (one from accounts?? and the other is a business studies PHD student, neither of them have any interest in HR, nor do they have any previous experience. The department was initially set up via an HR consultancy, so all of the templates they left with the company were wildly out of date when I started looking at them. They were not conducting RTW checks correctly and had incorrectly been issuing contracts that were either incorrect, missing clauses, or just completely out of date. The policies here are ridiculoisly amateur, to the point there are 4 conflicting AMP's all of which are available to all staff, it soon became apparent that this was not the job I was sold, I have tried to discuss this with the CEO, but there is no understanding of an HR function at all, no amount of explaining risk has made a different, I am just met with 'we'll just pay it if that happens' I have been witness to people punching other employee's only to be given no warning or put through disciplinary because of their job title, it is making me physically and mentally ill, the problem is, I am not in a position to just leave a job, and HR work is not rife in my area, I cannot travel due to a disability. Does anyone have any advice as to how I can keep sane whilst I start the long process of trying to find another job?

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  • Hi Phil

    Firstly I would take a step back, a deep breath and count to 10. As others have said it's a far from ideal set they seem to have gotten themselves into, but they were at least a tiny bit honest with you at interview - the HR department does indeed an overhaul, albeit a much bigger one than what they were probably prepared to put across from the sounds of things.

    You say the two current "HR" team members aren't interested in HR. Could this be because they don't quite know where to start themselves and the department has been left to get itself in such a pickle and by the sounds of things had no support along the way that they've reached the "Whats the point stage". Yes, they don't have a background in HR, but really not many us do at first, we learn along the way because someone gives us the chance to do so. You've got a team of what I would like to think are 2 intelligent people (one is finance based and one has a PhD - you don't get those without some brains!) - look at what skills they have and try to engage them into working with you by playing to their skills.

    Perhaps have a talk with the person with an accounts background and get them to put together some figures on the costs of not conducting RTW checks/employing people illegally, the cost of tribunal claims for bullying and harassment and such like. Work with the business studies student to start updating processes/policies explain the importance of them to them in a business context. If they've just been dropped into the role by the CEO and they felt they couldn't say no then they're probably feeling out of their depth as well.

    Make a list of what needs to be done - break it down into bitesize chunks with them. Maybe do this over lunch or coffee away from the office. You may find some barriers come down and they open up - people say more away from the office as the walls don't have ears.

    But most importantly don't try to tackle all of it alone, and all in one go. Don't take work home with you and don't stay late if it's not 100% necessary. Do what you can in your 8 hours, take your breaks, step away from something and work on something else if you're hitting a road block that can't be solved immediately. Rome wasn't built in a day after all!
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  • Hi Phil

    Firstly I would take a step back, a deep breath and count to 10. As others have said it's a far from ideal set they seem to have gotten themselves into, but they were at least a tiny bit honest with you at interview - the HR department does indeed an overhaul, albeit a much bigger one than what they were probably prepared to put across from the sounds of things.

    You say the two current "HR" team members aren't interested in HR. Could this be because they don't quite know where to start themselves and the department has been left to get itself in such a pickle and by the sounds of things had no support along the way that they've reached the "Whats the point stage". Yes, they don't have a background in HR, but really not many us do at first, we learn along the way because someone gives us the chance to do so. You've got a team of what I would like to think are 2 intelligent people (one is finance based and one has a PhD - you don't get those without some brains!) - look at what skills they have and try to engage them into working with you by playing to their skills.

    Perhaps have a talk with the person with an accounts background and get them to put together some figures on the costs of not conducting RTW checks/employing people illegally, the cost of tribunal claims for bullying and harassment and such like. Work with the business studies student to start updating processes/policies explain the importance of them to them in a business context. If they've just been dropped into the role by the CEO and they felt they couldn't say no then they're probably feeling out of their depth as well.

    Make a list of what needs to be done - break it down into bitesize chunks with them. Maybe do this over lunch or coffee away from the office. You may find some barriers come down and they open up - people say more away from the office as the walls don't have ears.

    But most importantly don't try to tackle all of it alone, and all in one go. Don't take work home with you and don't stay late if it's not 100% necessary. Do what you can in your 8 hours, take your breaks, step away from something and work on something else if you're hitting a road block that can't be solved immediately. Rome wasn't built in a day after all!
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