New HR Manager Struggling with Expectations: How Do You Handle Grievances and Appraisals?

Dear Seniors,

I would like to hear your suggestions on the experience I have had. I have a year of experience as an HR executive. Now, I have been appointed as an HR manager. It has been a couple of months since I started working in this new role. I have introduced numerous initiatives that have been appreciated by my boss. However, at times, I find it hard to manage all the job responsibilities. There are moments when I feel demotivated by my boss, which really brings me down.

They have high expectations of me, and I would appreciate your guidance on how to handle employee grievances, performance appraisals, and more importantly, how to prevent employee terminations.

I am awaiting your early reply.

Thanks in advance.

Honey

Grievance Handling

• Skip-level meetings
• Complaint/Suggestion boxes in the work areas:
- Red: To be addressed without delay
- Orange: To be addressed in a short period
- Green: Compliments
• Helpline number
• Complaint register: So that grievances can be diverted to the respective departments
• Create awareness and freedom so that employees can reach out to you for any work-related issues.

Performance Appraisal

You should first decide on the tool that is appropriate for your organization.

Thanks!

Regards,
Bharath

I was the Head of HR and Senior DGM when I retired from one of L&T's business units. For almost ten years, I handled the whole operation single-handedly. In case you don't get proper assistance or support from the management side to help you tackle the whole lot of issues (like in my case, which was the situation for ten long years), it's better to organize your tasks. Organizing your responsibilities should be in a sequence such as time-bound assignments, deadline-oriented tasks, and work based on frequency. Some responsibilities may recur daily, some weekly, and some monthly. If you can properly schedule these tasks in a large annual planner, you can manage them smoothly. Trust me, it will work just fine. Also, when you do such work daily, allocate some extra time in your schedule to handle unexpected emergencies.

For example, performance appraisals are annual, and depending on the annual cycle, you can take action just one month before the cycle starts. Similarly, in your daily schedule, allocate time for issuing appointment letters and other staff admin-related activities.

Over time, you will find that you still have time left for pursuing other personal work and commitments.

All the best

Thanks a lot, Sundaram Sir. I will keep you posted on the doubts and will be waiting for your suggestions too. Once more, thanks for your valuable suggestions and guidelines.

Thanks in advance,

Honey

I am also facing the same problem. I am the only HR person here. I have only 1 year of experience in recruitment and changed my job to work for a generalist profile. I am a fresher to all HR activities, and there is no one to guide me. Please, I too need your help.

Regards,
Neha Pargaonkar

Hi Suresh, thank you very much. I am now following the same guidance provided by all our seniors, like you.

Regards,
Krupa
Mysore