re: Are HR departments beneficial?

Recruit candidates so that employees being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars can focus on their primary duties. This involves identification, scheduling, and contracting.

Training new employees of company policies.

Identifying turnover issues and creating solutions to fix them.

Creating and managing leadership development programs that move people cross functionally potentially across the country or globe.

Handle benefits, payroll questions.

The list is really long and these are a handful of random thoughts coming to mind...

That is just a bad HR department. Good HR is irreplaceable.

It can let the business focus on growing the business and not worrying about back office process. It also gives a single source of truth for policies and who generates them.

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They've always been a pain in my arse. I have been dealing with them for the past two months trying to get a new job, and God damn they don't call anyone back. I called one lady probably 10 times over three weeks and left maybe 7 messages. No return phone call. I finally caught her on the 11th call for her to tell me that a company had workers in a position that I knew they didn't. Have been trying to get in touch with, and leaving messages for, another one lately also. The owner of the company even told her I'd be calling, but she won't call back. That's happened multiple times, but never for a company without an HR department.

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Sounds like a bad move.

Companies looking for new hires are like women, they sniff out desperation and it turns them off.

Necessary evil.

/thread

Any comment disparaging an HR department are way off base. There are bad employees within HR departments but the function of the department is vital. If he had wanted you hired he would have assured that she blow up your phone, he brushed you off so deal with it.

Employees can be difficult so it sure helps to have a trusted and impartial advisor who can see through the bs. Also, hiring and terminating is a task with many details that need to be addressed and a pro handles it for the company. The only people hating HR are candidates who cannot get hired and employees who will/have been disciplined or fired.

quote:

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The one at our company is worthless. Comes in an hour and a half late everyday and never answers her phone. Doesn't send paperwork to our corporate office on time for new hires and the bitch also hired herself help to do her job.

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Sounds like your company does a shite job of managing hiring and firing.

quote:

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ecruit candidates so that employees being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars can focus on their primary duties. This involves identification, scheduling, and contracting.

Training new employees of company policies.

Identifying turnover issues and creating solutions to fix them.

Creating and managing leadership development programs that move people cross functionally potentially across the country or globe.

Handle benefits, payroll questions.

The list is really long and these are a handful of random thoughts coming to mind...

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Also compliance with EEOC, HIPAA, Wage and Hour Law. Handling FSLA and other leave. Investigation of complaints such as harassment, non-payment of hours or OT, and about a million other things.

It's amazing how little some of the OT knows about departmental functions in legitimate businesses.

They serve a purpose. Although, most of the time that purpose is listening to hormonal middle-aged women bitch about their coworkers.