What should line managers know about HR?

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Do you as an HR professional encounter line managers' misunderstandings of the roles and responsibilities of HR? Then, the recommendations listed below on what exactly you should explain to line managers are meant just for you. These recommendations were originally published on hrreporter.com.

1. HR will not do your work for you

Managing employee performance and deciding on employee remuneration and career progress is not a task for HR but for managers.

2. Do not ask us to fill vacancies in a week

HR people certainly know that the sooner they fill the vacancies, the better. However, managers should also be aware that the whole process will take at least one month.

3. HR does not determine the amount of salaries and bonuses

Finance and top management make principal decissions in these fields.

4. All performance problems cannot be eliminated by training

A manager should always perform a training needs analysis first. He should also know that if the poor performance problems are organizational, cultural or attitudial, a training will probably not solve the issue.

5. HR can solve problems individually

The work in HR requires a higher degree of consistency in compliance with predetermined procedures, which is given legally. However, HR professionals know that each case is different and try to enforce a maximum degree of flexibility in the approach to individual employees.

6. HR is not responsible for changes in laws and regulations

Since legislation and regulation are constantly evolving, the responsibility of HR is to monitor these changes and warn of potential risks.

7. HR does not do only recruitment, payroll and company parties

Even if somewhere it can still be this way, HR as a discipline is already elsewhere, at the position of a strategic partner to the company.

8. HR is not obsessed with political correctness

HR professionals are not "cops" without a sense of humor. On the contrary, they are trying to build a pleasant atmosphere in the company, which includes fun as well.

9. HR is not a place for those who have failed elsewhere

Although some people enter the HR profession accidentally, it is a completely well-established managerial profession now.

10. HR is not needless

When HR is one of the areas that are the first to be cut in times of crises, you cannot be surprised that employee engagement declines in these periods.

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Article source Canadian HR Reporter - Canadian national journal for human resource management
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