Does Your Human Resource Department Demonstrate a Weakness?

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Being proactive is without a doubt the single best policy for any company. That being said, when is the last time that we analyzed the strength behind our human resource department? Too often companies will place this department on the lower end of the corporate totem pole with the misconception that the only reason it is even necessary is because, “My attorney said so”.

I want to share with you some research from SexualHarassment.com. Notice this paragraph from section O-iii

Most large companies have human resource departments and most companies’ sexual harassment policies call for human resources to handle the reporting and investigation of sexual harassment complaints. Thus, in most sexual harassment cases, the human resource department is on trial. If the company has an adequate sexual harassment policy and employees know how to report sexual harassment to human resources, and in fact report sexual harassment to human resources and the department performs an adequate investigation, then plaintiff will probably lose any sexual harassment case other than a strict liability case against a supervisor.

However, thorough discovery will usually reveal that the human resource department of the company is not as good as it looks.

The reason why human resource departments are inadequate is simple. They do not make money for the company. Many companies have human resource departments only because an attorney advising the company regarding sexual harassment has told them to, and often very little of the human resource personnel time is spent on sexual harassment prevention, training and investigation.

Does this not speak for itself? Even though this section of the law is pertaining to sexual harassment, Fair Housing is an even bigger concern since the government is fully endorsing testing groups to go out and mystery shop your properties to see whether or not your team is following the Fair Housing act. Here are some questions you need to ask about your human resources department.

Does my team have regular compliance training?

Do I have a way to prove that the training took place?

Is my human resource department properly staffed and empowered to do their job?

Is there a follow up program if a team member falls below the benchmark set for education?

Do you know specifically which part of the education the learner failed in?

Does your team just “know” the laws or are they educated with real life scenarios?

Perhaps you have some other questions that the human resources department should ask. This really is no laughing matter and this department should never be scoffed at. Technology has enables many companies to streamline the process and provide a SAFE and economically sound solution to compliance education. Do I really need to start citing lawsuits and the financial judgments that have been passed as a result of a “weak human resources department”? We read about them all of the time. Specifically when it comes to Fair Housing violations, I post them regularly on our Facebook page. This has created an even greater awareness of really the scope of what is going on. I encourage you to join the page.

From a corporate culture perspective it really hinges on how much as a company we really value education and training within our organization. Do you list it as an expense like you do office supplies? Or is it presented as a valuable tool and investment for your company? I look forward to your thoughts on how much you value education and what checks the human resource department needs to be constantly doing.

Written by Jonathan Saar

Do you have a way to track, analyze, and report your compliance training?