Can HR Professionals Truly Be Friends with Employees in the Workplace?

Hi all, can an HR professional be a friend to the employees of the organization?

Regards

Yes, of course, HR's approach is employee-friendly! HR's prime job is to facilitate its employees by providing better working conditions and environment. At times, HR is criticized for not being so cooperative. Let me explain here, the hands of HR are tied, and they are required to work within the set rules. But otherwise, their role and approach are always to support, help, and cooperate with its employees.

Regards,
JSM

Whether HR can be a friend of their employees?

The answer to your question is as simple as anything else to be explained.

HR Professionals: Balancing Friendliness and Professionalism

"HR professionals have a persuasive, friendly personality and an ability to deal with conflict. Strategically, they should be fair-minded in terms of dealing with employees, discrete among their personal attributes."

Being too "cordial" is perilous to the organization as a whole. Friendliness should be at its limits so that HR should have the ability to see the big picture as well as relate to all levels.

Regards

HR can always have a friendly demeanor with employees while ensuring they adhere to their job responsibilities. This dynamic approach is essential as HR personnel are typically people-oriented and should know how to present themselves positively. There are times when we may need to enforce strict adherence to processes; however, this is mainly due to the structured processes in place. In general, an HR professional should be a good listener, which is achievable through being supportive and cooperative.

Thank you.
Regards

HR could be friendly, but can it always be? It may be perilous at times, as pointed out by Sharmila Das. However, at the same time, 'keeping a stiff upper lip' also does not certainly help. Managing human resources and integrating them into the company's objectives requires various types of persuasive mechanisms. Certainly, overindulgence in one method or another would not help. The delicate balance lies in a difficult answer as it depends on a variety of factors.

One thing is clear; the best approach would be 'One may not oblige always but could talk obligingly'. Even where a 'NO' is necessary, it could be communicated without hurting the receiver. This delicate art requires mental rehearsal to determine how the unpalatable news is to be delivered.

Regards,
KK

Hello All, In my company, I have a restriction on establishing a good relationship with an employee due to confidentiality matters. Even management does not want to compromise on this, which is why, as a manager, I am keeping my distance from every individual. I am following my management's instructions, and maybe that's the reason Ms. Deepa is asking the question. Am I right, Ms. Deepa?

Thank you.

Regards, Ashish

Thank you all for your valuable thoughts/inputs. Yes, Ashish, I agree with your point. Maintaining confidentiality is also one of the reasons I asked this question. Sometimes when I say it is confidential, they feel the organization doesn't trust their employees. There are situations where we have to take the blame on ourselves even though we did it because of certain rules and regulations set by the organization/management.

Regards,
Deepa

The Role of HR in Encouraging Open Communication

HR should be friendly in encouraging employees and colleagues to air their views comfortably. It should not be vindictive. However, it should not bend rules and must be able to make decisions on merit dispassionately.

A colleague of mine used to describe the ideal approach a Front-Line Manager should have in dealing with juniors in the Pharma industry: Your junior "should feel like putting his hands on your shoulder" but "dare not do it." I feel, with HR, it should be a similar attitude.

The Role of HR as a Supporting Function

First of all, HR is a supporting function in the organization. They are placed there to support the people. For example, for an engineer, all the equipment, instruments, and machinery are assets. Similarly, for HR, manpower is an asset. The only thing is to "Handle with care" because they have emotions, sentiments, ego, etc. Being a friend, they will share their grievances, their issues. Finally, HR should not be represented as a fear factor image.

Regards

The Role of HR in an Organization

HR is like any other department in an organization. However, there is a difference. They are the main link or face between the rest of the employees on one side and the management on the other side. They cannot, generally, take sides and call a spade a spade. If management errs in any manpower-related decision, it is the duty of HR to put the matters in the proper perspective for the management to take note of and also recommend proper action against employees through legitimate, humane decisions. They should also have a 'heart' instead of going by the rule book all the time. HR should look at the problems not only from the management's perspective but also from the employees'.

There are tons of reading materials available on the internet to give you better clarity, just in case what we have written here is not sufficient for you.

HR are not DEVILS... They too are human beings.... If you want to treat HR as your friend, then you should not try to take undue advantage of your proximity... Please remember that!

Dear Members,

This is not a rhetorical question. I'm curious, and this is just the right group to ask.

Here's how my internal discussion plays out…

In this day and age of almost pathological focus on employee engagement, you would think they work "for" the employee, ensuring they get what they need to be "engaged" and add value to the company.

I'm sure management (read: Executive Management) believes HR works for the company, focusing on finding an optimal mix of cost and productivity to be competitive and drive business success.

Maybe I'm naïve, but it would seem that HR is in a pretty untenable position—a lose-lose situation if there ever was one. HR is constantly making decisions, like whether to include a new employee engagement option to support the employees—even though they know it may cost the company money, and with no proof it will provide a return, they could be bad stewards of the company's money. What to do?

Sure, you can make the case that the engagement investment is good for both the employee and the company, but at the end of the day, HR needs to come down on one side or the other.

HR could be the arbiter—the dispassionate third-party who provides a fair and balanced point of view, taking into consideration both the company's and the employee's points of view. But the person signing HR's paycheck is the company, and we all know we shouldn't bite the hand that feeds us.

So, while intellectually I know that providing the best environment to your employees will drive company success, the corporate brain is going to want to make sure that expense is never more than the optimal level. Not. One. Penny. More.

If HR focuses too much on the employee, you're not fulfilling your responsibility to your company (remember them—you probably see their commitment to you every 2 weeks). If you focus too much on the company, your employees will feel the pinch and the lack of attention, and be disengaged.

Who Does HR Work For?

It's a question I'm glad I don't have to struggle with each day, but most HR pros are either walking that thin line between executives and employees—or have made the decision.

HR can be a friend of the employee—but not get much love from the Execs.

HR can be the friend of the company—but create a less than perfect employee environment.

Regards,
Shubha

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I take this opportunity to stress again that when we raise questions, it is essential to provide enough information about who we are and why we are raising the question. Such action helps bloggers to focus and give precise answers without digressing.

Defining "A Friend of Employees"

First, you have to define what you mean by "a friend of employees." For example, the free dictionary at friend - definition of friend by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. has 5 definitions. Kindly look it up and tell us which of the definitions you were referring to.

When I started my journey as an Industrial Engineer/Productivity Services Analyst, I was told to be "friendly" with the workers but not to get "familiar." When one becomes "familiar," there is a chance of being accused of favoritism.

I agree with the inputs provided by Simhan. In my opinion, a friend is a person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. I would like to share one of the scenarios. I am working as an HR in an IT services company, and almost all employees are friendly with me. However, one of the consultants the management decided to let go due to non-performance, and hence they didn't confirm her employment, and she had to leave. She misunderstood and thought I had not communicated with her properly. So, we have to strike a balance between friendliness and professionalism, and some of the employees don't understand this fact.

Regards,
Deepa

The present trend is to extend the concept of customers within the various departments in an organization. So, for the HR Department, all the employees are internal customers. Friendship to the extent of knowing the employees is essential. Yet, as pointed out by others, it should not create a situation where the work ethics come into confrontation.

Regards,
V.Raghunathan

The Importance of Treating Employees as Internal Customers

If all employees are treated as internal customers in one form or another, and they are treated like kings (customer is the king concept!), indirectly, you are going to delight the external or invisible customer. There is also another school of thought: if you take care of your employees well, you don't have to worry, and they will take care of the customers themselves.

However, ultimately, your goal is to please the customer and stay in business. Whether a satisfied customer is going to fetch you more customers or not, unsatisfied customers will stop you from getting more customers.

Take these factors into account while handling your employees.

Best wishes

The Role of an HR Manager

An HR manager's job is to ensure that:

- The expectations of the management (the promoters) are met satisfactorily.
- The aspirations of the employees (in terms of growth, security, etc.) are taken care of.
- The statutory compliances are met for smooth sailing.

Thus, an HR manager is neither a friend of the employees nor an errand person for the management. She is like the lady of the house who has to balance the needs and aspirations of her children (employees) while keeping the husband (the management) in good humor. A very tough role indeed.

Navigating Workplace Friendships for HR Professionals

For HR professionals, making friends at work can be fraught with complexity, which is why it might be prudent to avoid happy hours after work and play it safe by keeping to yourself. After all, it can be hard to enjoy a drink with a colleague whose performance is under review or who is part of an ongoing HR investigation.

When HR gets too close to some staff, they court allegations of discrimination and favoritism. Where harsh decisions—such as lay-offs—have had to be made, personal friendships forged between the HR professional and the affected staff have precluded employers from acting fairly.

Clearly, it's harder for HR to discipline staff if they are friends and have personal knowledge of them, but it can also be difficult for HR professionals to tread the fine line between collegiality and professionalism.

Another issue that can arise is perceived favoritism. If other staff feel they are being treated less favorably than those who are friendly with HR, it can have a negative impact on the work atmosphere. "Teamwork may become more difficult, grievances may be generated, and bad behavior may become the norm," Holden said. "This could impact absenteeism, staff turnover rates, and customer service."

Mitigate the Risks

- Be consistent and always act with integrity—never reveal confidential company information to your workplace friends, even if you feel that they would benefit from this knowledge.
- Join professional networks to meet professionals from other organizations so that you can discuss and workshop work-related issues in a confidential environment with professional peers—or post discussion items on the HR Daily forum.
- Establish ground rules and stick to them—explain to work friends from the outset that circumstances may arise in the future in which you will need to act in the best interests of the company.
- Be transparent—always disclose potential conflicts of interest to your manager.
- If you do attend after-work functions, avoid gossip and stay away from the punch bowl.
- Choose your work friends wisely—at the very least, wait until your potential friends have passed their probation period.

Regards

Ahha! Yes, anyone can be a friend of anyone. In specific, HR is also a human being. It's HR by profession but human by himself. In the last organization, I had a Senior HR as my friend, and we eventually became good friends, who is now a best friend of mine. Remember, although we were friends, we had our own duties and responsibilities to perform. We mixed our emotions, play, humor, everything together, but when it comes to work, we stood in our own spot.

Friendship in the Workplace

Well, just wanted to ask you one thing: are you willing to make a friend by heart or by profession? I am not HR but still have almost 700+ HR friends because friendship was only from the heart, friendly.