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HR practice failure in a flat structure

Gemma

I have recently had a terrible experience as an employee in a flat structure and I was hoping for some insight into how things should be done in relation to disciplines and dismissals etc..

I was the only female in a team of men and we operated a flat structure so managed ourselves on a day to day basis. A complaint was raised against me by a member of my team and 3 of my colleagues (including the complaining member) met with HR and they typed a written warning and sent it to me - no investigation or hearing. 

I appealed and raised a grievance to the HR person (we have no policies and procedures) and my team decided 2 weeks later to dismiss me as they felt I was no longer a good fit. 

Flat structures are not the norm so it does make it quite a complex situation and probably quite a unique one. But what is the proper protocol? I've spent most of my life in recruitment and managing teams so this absolutely baffles me. What role so HR play in a flat structure?

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  • Welcome to the Community, Gemma... and for an important and challenging first post.

    Sorry to hear of your recent experience. I think much has been written about flat structures... but perhaps in a quasi-academic way... slightly removed from the reality, which your post highlights with clarity.

    This article is a very good critique and suggests flat structures will fail as they grow:

    Nails in the Coffin: Why a Flat Organizational Structure Fails

    It argues that in the absence of a formal hierarchy, a "secret implicit structure" takes over. This might have been the case with your situation.

    There does appear to have been a real failure of due process here... although it does remind me of recent discussions we've had in the context of start-ups.

    I'd be interested to hear more of the (non) role of the HR person.

  • in reply to Steve Bridger
    Thank you for that link. On my quest for knowledge, I've actually come across it previously but thank you as it's always worth re-reading the article for any missed pieces of knowledge!

    There's quite a lot of information available it would seem about the struggles but I haven't been able to find much relating to the role of the HR function and how HR practices are/should be followed.
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  • in reply to Steve Bridger
    Thank you for that link. On my quest for knowledge, I've actually come across it previously but thank you as it's always worth re-reading the article for any missed pieces of knowledge!

    There's quite a lot of information available it would seem about the struggles but I haven't been able to find much relating to the role of the HR function and how HR practices are/should be followed.
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