HR Role: is Employee Advocate or employers puppet

Dear jagdeep,

I appreciate your views. It is correct what you have observed about the HR people. But to modify your views to certain extent, most of the HR personnel don't even work for the company, they merely work for just one or two top bosses, who try to misuse and make the HR organization to dance at their tunes only as against the interests of the employees, not in the interests of productivity for the company.

In one Public Sector Enterprise, I observed that  the manager and his assistant used to work at the whims and fancy of the CEO of the organization and to please him. To teach lesson to a Dy. General manager and in-charge of a field unit, even the most vital documents sent by him were intentionally not put up to the CMD. Not only that after his transfer at the behest of the said CEO they became instrumental in framing a Major Penalty Charge Sheet for financial irregularity on the part of the said DGM. The only proof to scuttle down the charges were the said vital documents, which they destroyed intentionally.

I had to defend his case in Departmental Inquiry case against him, as his Defence Cousel. Since the said DGM used to keep one copy each of the said documents, the same had to be produced during the Departmental Inquiry conducted by the Central Vigilance Commission, along with proof of their dispatch showing also the proof of handing over of the office copies of the said documents through the list of handing over & taking over of charge to his successor on his relief. Had he not kept the copies with him and had the management been able to destroy the proof of dispatch also, the said DGM would definitely have been dismissed or terminated due to the conspiracy made by the HR people in connivance with the CEO of the organization.

In fact most of the HR people are not bothered about the fact that only the satisfied employees can enhance the productivity and efficiency or the company. And in most cases, you can find that the HR people forget their duties and responsibilities about maintenance of the employee-employer relations just to work at whims and fancy of the said bosses only to please them, or under the influence of their own ego. They also forget their responsibilities that they have to act as the true guide, advisers and the mentors of the employees, who in fact are laymen so far as the rules and regulations of the organization are concerned.

yes dhingra ji you said the actual. In My 14 years experience I also faced this type of situation. HR name not to be human resource. It should Be CR . Company resource. The HR deptt. is only puppets.

i tell the recent case when i was interviewed I ask my responsibility in new organisation they misguide me about duty timing & other things. They Work for company not for human .After joining of new employee they don't want to talk and say work according to your boss.

Dear Kaliyamoorthy,

I appreciate your views and am also of the same views what the supervision and controls the HR is required to exercise and have also stressed on the same point. But in most of the cases they don't do like that just to act as puppet of a few of the top management personnel. If you carefully read my posts that clearly indicate what you have stated. IN NUTSHELL, they should not act like puppets of the top management and work in a very rational way, as their duties and responsibilities are quite crucial to develop and retain the human capital for the development and progress of the company and not to serve the vicious interests of a handful of the top individuals.

Dear Mr. Dhingra,

You said ," HR is misused by management". Management is ,nothing but, a handful managers. And, HR is no exception to misuse. HR alone can not be blamed for it.You will find misuse of powers, in all walks of life. We have to exercise the Supervisory control to reduce it. It may be a remote monitoring or close direct invigilence. Howvever, the role of HR can not be made null and void.

Dear Mr. Kaliyamoorthy,

I know you understand the position, but still I would like to differ with your view point about "the management manipulates the skills to benefit the corporate objectives", as at most of the times, the HR is misused by the management to manipulate the skills NOT to manipulate the skills to benefit the corporate objectives, BUT to fine tune that to benefit the personal interests and to serve the biases of the top management against the wider interests of the employees. Even in some cases independent auditors don't lag behind, what to say of the dependent HR department.

Dear Mr. Dhingra,

The play of human element can not be ruled out in any profession for that matter. We need to basically accept and manage that affairs. No body is so objective in their dealings in whatsoever sphere they profess their skill. Granting all this assumption only, management manipulates the skills to their tune to benefit the corporate objective. The degree of manipulation varies from place to place and person to person. But, the role what we are asked to do is to be delivered in the best possible way by using various checks we have in place.

Dear Kaliyamoorthy,

The question is what role the HR is supposed to play and what role actually do they play? The role they are supposed to play is the real role of the HR, but what role they usually play is their personality which they normally try to demonstrate. In both the cases, it is their role only. My views are based on 40 years of my service experience in various organizations and about 10 years of consultancy period thereafter. I am sure, by gaining more and more experience over the years to pass you would like to appreciate my views, though by that time I would not be there in this world to know about your sweet & sour experience about the role of HR.

Dear Mr.Dhingra,

What I am expressing, here , is the role of HR NOT THE PERSONALITY who normally occupies the positions. May they be Liberal, Democratic or tyrant.

HR is not the ultimate point in any organization. When there is a stalemate / ice made, it can be broken with CEO. We have access to explain. Moreover, there are other tools available for an employee such as Employee council's, Redresal of grievance cell. Performance monitoring & evaluation. Project/Contract/Operation guy can always interfere to do the needful. Employee is not let alone to work with HR.

Dear Abhishek,

Yours can only be a presumption, as HR cannot transform unless it starts exerting itself to act in a balancing role.

Dear Kaliyamoorthy,

Nobody would raise any objection if the HR works by rules and regulations. But in MOST of the cases of working of HR, while advancement and welfare measures remain missing, grievances are created more by its style of working when instead of properly guiding the employees, their egoistic attitudes or the puppet-like working cause more grievances amongst the employees.

Nobody would say that they should work as advocates of employees, but they must work rationally maintaining proper balance between the employee-employer relations by acting as guide for the employees and advisers to the employers.

Observation of Piyush Kant is quite wrong. HR never works as an advocate of employees. It may be a pick & chose case for their own acquaintances only.

HR is not an independent entity of any Corporate body. It's an element of it and bound to be driven by the rules and regulations of that structure. All the deliverables are always measured to the  management guidelines & rules and regulations concerned. But, the fact is that, Corporate guideline also take care of its' employees through various measures & program. That means delivering goods to Corporate entity means that it delivers goods to its employees.

Remember HR is an employee of that organization for which he is paid. Grievances, advancement, welfare measures, pay & incentives etc, can be effectively intervened by the HR , in support of the employee if the demands are in line with the Corporate policy.

Thanks for referring this debate Mr.Kriti, i really liked the words used by Mr.Ps Dhingra, we know that all company's Hr are helpless as much as any other employee of that concern's

Dear Mohan,

HR role of course is not to be a "puppet of the employer, but if you conduct an honest survey you will find even more than 95% of HR would prove to be the puppet of the employer.

Kriti I agree with your point of view. Thanks for referral.

In a private company employer appoint and pay salary to work for him, so HR need to work for him and as good HR they can explain employees problem to employer for smooth running of the company

I want to support your statement, Nilesh.

H.R. have to do / work as per guidelines given by management.