Can HR Send out an email like thatI worked for a company for over 5 years and left due to many work ethic reasons. I still have very good friends who are there and one called me today and she is trying to get out of the company, but as many of us know..it isn't always easy. The company spends a lot of time bringing moral down by spending countless hours on "Tardy Policies", and "Who didn't wipe up the kitchen counters". She has been late by a few minutes maybe 3 times in the past month. It happens, and she admits it and doesn't have an excuse for it. The HR Manager sent out a group email to all the employees who have been late...even once over the past month, and included the dates and times of the tardies for everyone to see, and included in the email that they will be written up by noon if they cant provide legit reasons for being late. Is that ok for HR to do? Let everyone know you are being written up in a group email? HR and employee supervisors do have the responsibility to investigate offenses and there probably isn't a law prohibiting this moron from doing this. If people are late, they need to be responsible about it. But the fact she made this public is making my skin crawl. This is the kind of thing that should be handled privately. How juvenile to rat everyone out like that! Your friend should read the employee handbook to see how matters like this are supposed to be handled. Tardiness is a real problem for most companies, and most have a written policy for disciplinary actions for minor offenses, and/or termination when tardiness is excessive or unexcused. If there is a policy and process, HR should abide by it. If there isn't anything spelling out a policy or disciplinary process, then management can probably do what they deem necessary, even if it's a lousy thing to do. Thanks for your reply. I was part of the HR/Payroll department when I was there, and I completely agree that people need to be on time for work. No question about it. When I was there I would let a manager know that one of their employees was late more than once within a week, and ask them to address it with them. The new HR manager seems to enjoy intimidating employees, and the owners love to back her up on it. They love write-ups, and suspensions...but are losing so many employees because of their approach, such as this group email. My friend feels angry that she wasn't approached one on one about it. Funny thing is..it's a family owned business, and the owners never come to Manager meetings on time, never show up for work until 10 or 11am, and miss appointments with outside clients, and just say, "oh well, reschedule". They dont' set the best example. She just needs to get out.
Thanks again!! Sounds like the "family" got themselves a hatchet man and are letting her do their dirty work for them. Is there a handbook, or formal policies for addressing issues? If not, your friend probably doesn't have much choice except to find another job or stick it out in hopes this HR person leaves or gets fired. It seems obvious, but someone needs to tell the owners that being on time for work is important, but so is employee retention. If this person is causing people to leave, this family owned business needs to get a clue. The cost of hiring gets more expensive every year, and they would be better served by building relationships with the team they already have than hiring a new one and hoping "it sticks".
Good companies would have flex time. When you accept a job, you also accept the rules of the company. As a manager of a department, I demand my employees show respect and arrive on time. For example, my employees work a Monday through Friday or Tuesday through Saturday 8:00am to 5:00pm schedule. Most of them reside within a 20 mile radius of our offices. One travels well over 65 miles ONE way to work and she always arrives at least 30 minutes before our scheduled work time. If an employee finds they are arriving late all the time, they must either leave the house earlier or find other routes to work. Sure, there are valid excuses like major traffic jams on freeways; a child is sick or some other once in a while excuse. But if the lateness shows a pattern, that is not acceptable and grounds for written reprimand. I do not email the employee. It is highly unusual and not very professional to broadcast an email like that. I sit the person down and talk about the problem before I make a decision to write the person up. Lateness is a serious problem. When you're late, someone has to cover for you and it's inconvenient and unfair to others. However, this is a very bad approach to solving the problem. The supervisors and managers should speak to their people when they are late despite their excuses and how late they are. Then if it continues, they should write them up and eventually fire the employees who, after repeated warnings, cannot get their act together. Sending group emails to people who have been late and threatening them that they will be written up if they cannot come up with legitimate excuses by a specific deadline is terrible, ineffective, and evidence of very poor leadership and management skills. That is not the way you motivate people to be on time. You take it on a one-on-one basis and have clear policies regarding lateness in the handbook. You can also post all the rules for everyone who works at the company on a bulletin board in the HR area or administrative area. As far as wiping up the counters, this is small potatoes and a very petty complaint. Wipe the counters up yourself without fussing and go back to work!
Bunzo | |
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Career Tips
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