How Can I Diplomatically Urge HR to Act on a Crucial Job Vacancy?

Hello Everybody,

I request your help in drafting an email to my HR manager regarding inactivity towards a vacant position. About a month ago, I asked the HR Manager to fill the Assistant Trainer position. Initially, she postponed it by weeks, mentioning that she had to fill 10 other vacant positions requested by different managers. Subsequently, she organized a walk-in for the Assistant Trainer position, but we received no responses. Since then, she has not provided any updates on the status of the job vacancy.

As a Training Manager, having an Assistant Trainer is crucial for my role. The VP of our company has advised me to be persistent until the position is filled. Please assist me in drafting an email that conveys assertiveness, a warning, but in a diplomatic manner.

I would greatly appreciate your guidance and support in composing this email.

Thank you,
Kind regards,
KVE

Hi KVE,

I would like to ask you a question. Do you have documented proofs of the below:

1. When did you first give your requirement?
2. When did you get the first response?
3. How many candidates have you met till now for the interview?
4. Did these candidates fulfill these requirements?
5. Did you send reminders through emails? Reminders through telephone do not carry any value; you cannot document them.

If you have all the above documents, you can very well go ahead and draft an email asking them why they have not filled in the vacancy.

If not, send two reminders asking them about the status. Don't react through these reminders.

On the third email, you can definitely raise your voice assertively and ask for an explanation for the non-conformance.

"The mail can be like:

With reference to my trail mail below (the reminders) regarding the vacancy for the post of assistant trainer, I am sorry to state that it is more than [days/months] since I placed the requirement for the same, but still it is pending, and I was sent only [number of candidates] for interviewing in the last [days].

I would also like to inform you that the non-availability of this resource is putting my performance at stake. Hence, I kindly request you to fill in the same before [day].

Note: CC this email to your manager and the HR's Manager.

Hope this helps you to some extent.

Ram

Hi Ram,

Thank you very much for taking the time to read and reply to my post. I highly appreciate this kind gesture; it is indeed very helpful. Once again, thanks a ton for the guidance.

Regards,
KVE

Dear Friends,

Thank you again for the inputs and guidance provided on my concern. Per your suggestion, I sent the HR Manager 2 trail mails and finally a stern mail. However, she hasn't even cared to respond yet. It's been more than 2 weeks since I sent her the stern mail. I also copied our boss, the VP of the firm, on the same mail. Both of us report to the VP. She continues to fill in posts for the other designations and doesn't even have the courtesy to respond to my requirement placed over a month.

This is really frustrating and angers me! How irresponsible, unprofessional, and unkind could she be! Please guide again. I would highly appreciate this kind gesture.

With much thanks,

Chow,
KVE

Hi Kve,

At times we do come across heights of unprofessionalism.

As per your mail, if you can handle her and also you have marked a mail to your seniors, now there is time to handle the situation by asking for a written justification for her non-performance, and also you can directly mark the mail to your manager and keep her in CC.

DRAFT: This has reference to the captioned subject and the trailing mails. I regret to inform you that the vacancy for the post of assistant trainer has not been filled up despite repeated reminders. I raised this requirement <days> before, but other than a few, no more interviews have been conducted.

I request your help in this regard as it may affect performance, and I don't wish to suffer due to the non-availability of resources.

Hope to receive my answers this time.

Regards,
Kve

Hope that this would suffice.

Regards,
Shweta

Hi KVE,

You must send an email to your boss, cc'ing her boss, to address the negligence she is displaying towards the requirements and the issues you are facing that are affecting your work.

Regards,
Kalpana

Dear Shweta,

Thank you a million! It's been really kind of you to have responded. I highly appreciate your kind gesture. Thanks again. I guess this should shake her up!!!

With much thanks,

Regards,
KVE

Hi KVE,

I was just curious to know if you have tried to find out the reason behind her not responding to your stern emails and requests.

Since you have not mentioned whether you have tried to talk to her in person before sending stern emails, I assume that you have not had a one-on-one conversation with her to understand the real problem.

I am not taking sides here, KVE, just trying to place myself in her shoes. Maybe she is being pressured by other managers to close some positions that might have been placed much earlier than your requests, or perhaps priority has been given to those positions. Ideally, she would be working on a priority basis. She should have sought guidance from your boss (VP). Just check with your VP if your request for an assistant trainer is considered a priority request.

Even the most gentle people can get offended if you rub them the wrong way. Perhaps she took your email reminders as complaints or accusations of her not doing her job.

If things have not yet escalated, I suggest you approach her and ask politely about the problems she faces in filling the position. Make her understand that you are not trying to find fault with her but are actually trying to help both yourself and her by filling the position promptly.

If nothing improves, call for a meeting with your VP to sort it out... All the best.