Human resources is hardly a new profession, yet many are still confused about its purpose.
At the heart of the confusion lies this question—does HR exist to serve the employer or the employee's needs?
Clearly, HR professionals are hired by the organization to further the organization’s goals, but if employees don’t have HR to go to when there’s a problem, who do they have? And when employees approach HR for help, if HR can’t be trusted, what’s the point?
Good HR is a delicate balancing act of employer and employee interests. The function exists to protect the company and serve employees—in fact, some HR job advertisements are obvious in their intention to attract professionals who’ll advocate for employees and keep them engaged and feeling good about their workplaces.
HR professionals are also tasked with keeping up with the laws that affect employees’ rights and ensuring the company does what’s required to protect those rights.
Now that sounds like a group you can trust.
HR professionals are people. As such, they’re as susceptible to abuse of power as anyone else, and no, not all HR professionals can be trusted. For whatever reason, some HR professionals don’t keep confidences, and they don’t have the best interests of the employees who rely on them for support at heart.
But this lack of trustworthiness is not a problem with the function. It’s a problem with the person assuming the function. And knowing whether you can trust the HR professionals in your company can only be learned in the same manner that you’d learn whether anyone can be trusted—by matching an individual’s words with his actions.
Still, HR tends to be around when something bad is going down (layoffs, disciplinary meetings, firings) and at those times seems like anything but a friend to employees.
So we ask again, can you really trust HR?
Well, that depends.
If all these things are true, you can trust HR.
Of course, being able to trust HR doesn’t mean you should stop looking after yourself. Do the best job possible, and document anything that has the potential to go South, such as a conflict with your boss or a peer.
Again, HR folks are people. How would you protect yourself from being compromised by other dishonest people?
Here are a few suggestions for protecting yourself when you cannot trust HR:
Unfortunately, unscrupulous HR professionals are a reality of the workplace. However, a few bad apples are not proof that the function is rigged in the employer’s favor or that the entire profession is suspect.
On the contrary, plenty of highly competent, knowledgeable HR pros would go to the mat to support a deserving employee.