It is not at all clear to me what the HR department is actually doing in this company? I mean, what exactly are they doing to help us, their employees? I would not like to cast doubt on their competencies, but they do act a bit incompetent. However, there may be those among us who are satisfied with their work. Maybe it’s my fault that I expected a lot more from them. Still, they are responsible for many things and I would like to know in what aspects have they disappointed you?
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Within HR is ER. ER has no guidelines or rules and accepts different behaviors depending on who you are In the org. The higher the band, the poorer behavior is accepted. EVP (DB) was caught in the act with an admin at the office had no consequence. Senior leaders bullying on social media and reported in the media were allowed to stay and one is still there as an EVP (DVH). Within ER there are some talentless people doing investigations and making recommendations on punitive action. Some talented ER resources admit they have rampant incompetence within their org (TM for example) but are not managed with courage due to politically correct reasons. For the sake of all of us, let’s hope someone cleans up ER.
I can’t comment on HR because it was non-existent for the LA offices. I know a handful of employees including myself wrote emails and called, never received heard back.
HR is for things like the formalities of benefits administration, payroll, recruiting, org charts, org changes, promotions, hiring and firing. These they do on behalf of the company. They don’t make decisions. The business does. Where did you all get the idea that they did something for you? They are employees of the company not your hired counselor or confidante. The interests of the company and you may not always be aligned. Any company will throw you under the bus for the right money.
@vow and does that make it OK? The conversation here is about what they SHOULD be doing.
HR is there for Nike not you. They look out for the company’s interest first and then you maybe. HR is not your friend. What do they do all day? Good question. Many of us wonder that. They are not good at analyzing HR cost data and cannot tell a manager or VP the cost of their organization presented in the org charts. Finance has to do that for them. So their role in a reorg is messaging not decision making. The functions make the decision using cost data from finance. HR messages the outcome and updates org charts.
@hqa, yes, that is true but is that the right thing to do? I argue that it is not. HR should also ensure that resources are available for employees to develop. HR should provide a work environment that free of bullies, harassments, and inequality. HR should ensure that people managers are properly trained to manage employees, and so on. Nike's HR does none of that effectively. Nike's HR is more like a legal department. There should be a legal function within HR but not for ALL of HR to turn into a legal function. Shame....there is so much potential but they do not care and they are only order-takers. End of story.
HR departments are there to protect the company. The employee, is a resource. Like a laptop, or a coffee machine. Only difference is that you are human. You can expect the legal minimum protection from your HR partner. Nothing more.