Struggling with Discipline Issues as the First HR: How Can I Gain Respect and Unity?

I am working in an IT company and facing discipline issues in this office. I am the first HR of this company. The issue in this company is that employees are not accepting me as the HR of the company and are taking me for granted. I discussed this issue with the boss, but he told me that they never want their employees to work under restrictions. So, I need your help, guys, to provide me with a few innovative ideas to handle this situation.

Problems I Am Facing

I am facing the following problems:

1. Late coming.
2. Employees leaving the office for personal reasons during office hours without informing me.
3. Taking unnecessary leaves from the office.
4. Not cooperating with each other.
5. Office divided into groups, and no one is willing to communicate with each other.
6. One employee thinks she is the best in the office and does not consider me as HR.

I appreciate any suggestions or advice you can offer to help me address these issues effectively.

Thank you.

Leadership Challenges and Organizational Culture

Whatever is happening in your company is because of the poor leadership of your business owner. When a leader allows these things to happen, what can HR do? Employees have understood "over here what is acceptable behaviour." Now it has become your organization's culture. Changing culture is not that easy. It requires a lot of support from top management.

In India, this problem is prevalent everywhere. In the initial stage, business owners have to wear multiple hats, and in the bargain, they do not give much importance to people issues. This is the very reason many companies do not grow.

Steps to Address Indiscipline

I recommend you calculate the losses caused due to the indiscipline in the company and present it to the MD. Find out what he says. All bosses are ultimately money-oriented. They understand only the language of money.

While bringing change, make sure that all the notices and circulars are issued under the signature of the MD. You draft them but let your boss sign them.

Ok...

Regards,
DVD

Please post the inputs you sent to Shashidhar K in this forum, whose objective is not only to help resolve issues/situations for the members but also to share with other members in a process of "Learning through Sharing."

Regarding the situation you are facing, as DVD mentioned, this is typically the scenario in most SMEs until they reach a critical mass, irrespective of the sector/domain.

It's quite apparent that your boss is confused between 'discipline' and 'working in restriction.'

As DVD suggested, start to 'Monetize' each gap from your end and present the data/results to your boss, preferably in a visually appealing PowerPoint presentation if possible. Ultimately, it's the 'money' language that bosses understand.

However, I want to emphasize that this won't be a simple exercise; it will be tough. But another perspective to consider is: 'What an opportunity to learn on the job. It's up to you whether to make the most of it or simply walk away from such situations.'

Based on the points you shared, I recommend not focusing on all of them in the same way. Begin by addressing them one by one, prioritizing based on urgency. Handling the most urgent tasks first will make your workload more manageable.

Wishing you all the best.

Regards,
TS

Dear Ms. Juhi Kardam,

You might have heard this quote: "SAU (100) SONAAR KI EK (1) LOHAAR KI."

Let me be very honest with you. Experts have shared their views/opinions with you, and I second Mr. Dinesh and Mr. Taj. I would love to say that either you continue without getting exaggerated, leaving everything to your boss, or look for a better company where you will get an opportunity to justify your roles and responsibilities. If your boss/owner is seriously interested in introducing and implementing disciplinary strategies that would benefit his organization and employees as well, let him do it. Only then will you have an opportunity to prove your talent. Never be harsh on your employees just because you are in HR. Every HR professional has certain limitations, and it is not the responsibility of HR to take everything for granted. You need to make wise decisions.

With profound regards,

What I feel after reading your post is that there is a significant amount of miscommunication among all the people in your organization, including employees, HR, and especially the management.

Steps to Improve Communication

The first thing you can do is to have an open group meeting with all the employees. Ensure at least one person from the management side, whom you feel is genuine on these issues, is present. Inform them about the company's policies, rules, etc., and the consequences if they do not follow them. Document the meeting minutes and get them signed by your management.

After that, you can have one-on-one talks with employees to find out the issues they are facing. If anything serious comes up, you can discuss it with management.

Hope this works... All the best!

Thanks to all for understanding me. Employees of this company are very undisciplined; they do not bother about anything. Even when a management person took the meeting, they were not ready to listen to him. Now, what I can see is that they have started arguing with management. The boss told me to make a sheet and judge the activities of each employee, but the thing is they are taking everything for granted.

When your boss made the decision to hire someone to lead the HR functions, it indicates that he is quite frustrated with the issues you have raised. From your inquiry, what I gather is that your boss is aware of these issues, wants to address them, but prefers not to do so himself, and hence the reason for bringing you on board. When you mention that he does not want his employees to "work in restriction," it also implies that he does not want them to misuse office resources - reading between the lines.

In addition to what others have already suggested, you can address each issue individually based on priority. Developing policies and presentations is a way to demonstrate to your boss that "DISCIPLINE IS DIFFERENT FROM RESTRICTION," but before that, there is a lot of groundwork for you to cover.

1. Familiarize yourself with the organizational structure - identify the most senior employees who hold decision-making authority, employees who have been with the organization for more than three years in key positions, the working patterns of various departments, and compile a list of employees who engage in personal tasks during office hours.

2. Once you have completed this, begin drafting policies (that are not overly strict and consider employees' work-life balance) and involve the seniors/team leaders of each department in the process. Seek their input to refine the policies further.

3. Simultaneously, have a discussion with your boss to comprehend the type of culture he envisions for the organization and create policies aligning with his vision.

4. Finally, present the policies to your boss, highlighting the agreement of senior employees who can assist you in disseminating the policies to other team members, thereby reducing your workload.

Remember, efforts are never futile. If you demonstrate dedication, you will undoubtedly achieve your goals. While this may not address your immediate concerns, it will significantly aid in resolving the issues you face.

Regards,
Hiral

Thanks a lot for giving me such wonderful ideas. I'll try to apply them all. I think first I have to reconstruct a few things. I want to justify myself in front of the boss while giving him the report, and at that moment, I'll introduce a few rules and regulations that will help both me and the company in the future. Please suggest a few rules and regulations for my employees. 

The Importance of HR Policies in Company Growth

If your company is not driven by HR policies, you may continue to face similar types of problems. I advise you to frame policy guidelines on each type of issue you experience and release these policies after approval by the management for the information of all employees. Thereafter, create HR processes (automated/manual) to implement these policies. If you want to be an effective HR resource, introduce transparency in your environment by making it process-driven.

Small companies with good HR policies and processes (called HR practices) find it easy to grow. IT companies, in particular, make it even easier through the automation of these processes. The above advice is based on four decades of experience, but to follow it in practice, tremendous effort is needed. If you are ready for the same, you'll be a successful HR professional.

Regards.

Dear Juhi, You have been adequately advised by many colleagues from HR. I would like to address the issues listed by you:

1. Late coming.
2. Employees leaving the office for personal errands during office hours without informing me.
3. Taking unnecessary leaves from the office.
4. Lack of cooperation among employees.
5. Office divisions leading to a lack of communication and dissatisfaction among staff.
6. An employee who believes she is superior and does not recognize my role as HR.

I appreciate and validate your concerns.

Best regards,

You mentioned that this is the first HR. It means the company is new. The group dynamics in any new group/company are always like this. New people from different backgrounds/companies have come together and are trying to settle down. It is called an amorphous group, with each member trying to measure out the other. Very normal. Take it easy.

Slowly try to formulate your HR policy in consultation with the boss. It has to be aligned with the vision and mission objectives set out by the management.

Try to percolate/disseminate this policy among the employees through all communication means such as notice boards, emails, and the company intranet.

As an HR person, try to be patient, reason with employees without being argumentative, position yourself not as their adversary but as the one who would try to facilitate their induction and settling down.

Arrange for a get-together as a team-building exercise.

They don't treat you as HR! You are the appointed and undisputed HR. There is no doubt, and you don't need to prove it. HR is both a visible and invisible face of the company. Be patient, considerate, ask them their problems, resolve issues. And you will be rewarded by their support in the coming days.

Coming late—I am sure you have the time attendance system—magnetic or biometric. I suggest having biometric, as it cannot be bypassed. Make salary based on this. HR policy should deal with other variables—going early/coming late/taking written permission/etc. Once the salary gets deducted, things will fall into place. Show their attendance MIS to the boss. There will be supervisors/line managers too?

Don't get into insecurity about some girl not giving you your due. HR will have no ego. Suppress it and be good to her. You will get your dues.

The organization has to be built, and you have to be the mason. It is easy to change jobs, run away from problems, but difficult to build it brick by brick. Once you are able to do it, you will have the satisfaction that you cannot measure now. Be polite but firm. Be tactful. Be a quick learner. Do not run to the boss for every small issue...he has hired you to help him sort things out, and you need to prove that he was right in selecting you. Cheer up!

I wish you the best.

Hello Juhi, I faced the same problem when I joined my company as the first HR. The thing is, employees think HR is a person who will keep an eye on them and make policies and rules to trouble them, so they don't accept us. Even we as HR professionals want to control employees and frame big lists of dos and don'ts. But think as an employee: what do you want in your workplace? What will be your expectations from your senior HR manager, etc.?

My Suggestions:

1) First, sit with your boss and try to understand his vision for the company, and then frame policies.

2) Have an employee survey which will include a questionnaire like: Are they satisfied with leave policies, reward policies, the kind of work, work environment, etc.? But don't ask them to write their name as they will not give true feedback if their name is asked.

3) Be patient and friendly with them but not too personal.

4) Every company has limited PL, CL, and SL. Talk with your boss about ensuring that leave should be granted by the respective managers only, as they are working with that employee and are in a better position to tell whether work will be affected or not. HR should be in CC to record the leave for salary preparation.

5) Lastly, quitting a job is easy. Is there any guarantee that you will not face any problems in your new job? So, it's better to face it now and give time to yourself and employees too.

Hope things will be good with you in the future.

You must have recovered by now. Now, whatever issues you think are there, please make a sheet of them and do some brainstorming to solve each one. Find the best solution and apply it. Initially, for the first two to three months, it may seem like nobody is paying attention to you, but it will improve over time.

Best of luck to all.

Dear Juhi,

Instead of starting your interaction with discipline, why don't you start it with some fun and bonding initiatives? To be a successful HR professional, your team needs to support you always. Therefore, build trust with your team first, and gradually, they will abide by whatever policies you implement.

Best Wishes,
Murali

Completely agreed with Mkandukuri. You can start the office with small games for an employee engagement program. Games should be team-based so employees have to work together to win. Sometimes, games should rely on general knowledge, prompting employees to share their knowledge and discuss it in groups. Over time, the games will become an interesting aspect of office life, and tardiness may be reduced to some extent.

Hold a Meeting for All Employees

Explain how ESIC on duty will function. If an employee leaves for personal reasons without informing HR, and an accident occurs, the company will not be able to provide support through ESIC. The employee will have to bear the expenses. Form 36 for ESIC will not be provided.