HR Dilemma in a Startup: How Do You Balance Employee Rights with Management Demands?

Hello friends,

My name is Vimala, the HR representative for a software startup company. I report directly to the Director as I am the only HR personnel in the company. We are currently facing some challenges with our staff due to irregular salary payments and a lack of appraisals after completing one year of service. Coupled with internal politics, these issues have resulted in employees resigning from our company.

The Director is understandably upset about this situation and, for a few employees, he has threatened to withhold their last month's salary on the grounds of incomplete work. However, it should be noted that these employees have cited the Director's harsh behavior as their primary reason for leaving prematurely.

As an HR professional caught in this situation, I am unsure of the best course of action. Should I advocate for the employees' rights or support the management's decisions? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or advice you all may have.

Looking forward to your responses.

Thank you,
Vimala

Vimala,

There are three questions to uncover:

1. As your subject says, should you be supporting employees or management?
2. It's a startup company, so I assume no HR standards are in place.
3. Employees leaving the organization.

What I feel is you should start addressing the most important issues that are creeping into your organization - salaries not being paid on time, absence of appraisals, and employees quitting.

Talk to your Director clearly regarding employees leaving and then suggest a few important areas that you would like to work on immediately to find solutions to the existing problems - salaries not being paid on time, absence of appraisals, and employees quitting.

Set a timeframe for all three things and then start working on those key areas. Get the right policies in place and implement them with immediate effect. Once you have SMART (Simple-Measurable-Accurate-Realistic-Time Bound) policies for your organization, I think you will have a better system in place, and you will definitely see a change within management and employees too.

HR is a support function, and it has a lot of strategic impact once we start framing policies. I don't say that you should only support management or employees; it doesn't happen that way. It's about what is good in the interest of all, meaning a WIN-WIN situation for employees and the employer. All your decisions should stem from the Vision, Mission, Values, Objectives, and Goals of the company as a whole. Employers and employees work under one roof to meet mutual objectives/goals.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

Hi Vimala,

I am presently working as a Manager-HR with a UK-based organization. What I feel is that an HR should be a dual person when dealing with the management and employees. Yes, an HR should be very friendly and deeply involved with the employees, but on the other side, an HR is one who is in charge of the smooth running of any organization.

Thanks,
Anil Thankan

Hi all,

Thanks a lot, seniors, for your suggestions. As you all mentioned, HR should be positioned between management and employees. I always strive to keep my employees happy and my employer satisfied. However, in this situation, the employees are not at fault but are being denied their salary. After a couple of employees left with one month's notice, the Director stated that he wouldn't pay them as they left without completing their work. They are now asking me to convince my boss and help them get their pay. I have spoken to my Director, but he is sticking to his point.

Regards,
V.J.

Hi Vimala,

Did you find out from the management regarding non-payment of salaries for the last few months to the employees? Also, who is leaving the company - are they billable to the company or are they on the bench? First, identify where the problem lies - is it with the management or the employees. Once you pinpoint the issue, you can act as a bridge between the management and employees.