Human Resources has too much power?

[wj4]

Hi folks,

Do you think H.R. has too much power? In the companies I've been with, if you somehow leave a bad impression with H.R. or if they simply don't like you....you're pretty much gone. Of course they will go through the required write ups to protect their behinds. I have seen about 4 people let go because of personal issues with H.R. personnel rather than performance issues. Personal issues meaning stuff outside of work.

I don't think most people go through the trouble of contacting corporate HR and they just look for another job elsewhere.

How do you guys feel about the topic?

I've come to the conclusion that if they want you to get fired, sooner or later you will.

 

[Russ]

HR now runs my company. Pretty much everything runs through this branch. Hiring, firing, promotions, you name it. I once had to wait a month for an offer letter from HR to take a promotion. Even though everything settled amongst myself and my superiors, still had to wait to make the move (cue Jeopardy theme).

I recently did some online training for things like harassment, conflict of interest, etc. At the end of each segment you're presented with multiple choice questions. It's really quite amusing because one of the choices is always "immediately contact HR". It turns out this is always the right answer regardless of the circumstances.

My boss is just below VP level. One of three guys in his position at the company. One of his immediate subordinates (someone in my position) was fired and he wasn't even notified of a problem until it was over and too late. This guy was in a really hard to fill position and was fired for something that, really, he should've been reprimanded and warned. His immediate supervisor didn't like him though and was able to work with HR to get him fired.

Granted, HR has done a lot of good but it's a double edged sword. 10 years ago and beyond my company could be a little like the wild west even for a big corp. and some people got away with pretty crazy behavior. Those days are over with the rise of a very powerful HR. When accepting the job at my current location I was told to be really careful because a lot of the employees have HR on speed dial...