At some point, employees may find themselves in a workplace situation that they cannot or do not want to, fully address themselves. Here are a few key things that you should know when an employee visits the HR Office.
Organize the Facts of the Situation
When an employee has experienced a situation that has been upsetting or uncomfortable, it can be hard for them to explain in detail what actually happened. While they are explaining the situation, listen attentively, but also take notes. Many times, the story may not be in precise chronological order, or the employee may include details later on that they did not include before.
Taking notes will allow you to fully assess the situation and assess the validity and importance of the situation. From there, you will be able to form a plan of action and implement the next steps that you will take.
Ask Probing Questions
As an HR manager, your job is to get an accurate account of any situation that your employees may have. This requires a lot of listening, but you will also have to ask questions to steer the conversation in the right path, and to get the information and answers that you may need.
When asking questions, make sure that you are separating facts from emotions and opinions. While the employees feelings do play a key role, their emotions should go in a separate category from the actual series of events. It’s also important to remember that some actions are simply irrational and unsafe or harmful, regardless of what the employee was thinking or feeling at the time.
Wait Before Finalizing Decisions
When listening and analyzing many situations, you may already know what course of action you will take. However, never finalize a decision, or tell others what you will do, until you actually gather all of the evidence and speak to everyone involved.
A single small detail can change the whole course of events, so it’s important to not make any promises of action until you are absolutely sure. Decisions have to be fair, equal, and logical based on job protocols.
Respect Confidentiality
Employees are often scared to report something to Human Resources because they feel like they will receive backlash in some way. For example, an employee may not want to report a coworker in fear that the coworker may find out who reported them. As an HR manager, your job is to keep files as confidential as possible. One employee’s situation should not be discussed with any other employee, or any other manager that is not immediately involved.
Some situations may require you to break confidentiality, such as to do an investigation about the situation. Even so, the only people that should be involved in a Human Resource level situation are the direct people involved and those that can directly affect the situation.
Dealing with HR issues can be challenging, because each situation is unique to the employee and usually has many moving parts. By taking these steps, you can apply the skills necessary to deal with any Human Resources level workplace situation.
