Feeling Stuck in HR: How Do You Handle Resistance from Top Management?

Dear Seniors,

Greetings of the day! I am an HR professional currently working with a manufacturing unit in an MNC company as a Senior HR Executive. Before moving forward, I thought I would share with you a few issues I am facing in my current job. It would be really helpful if you could provide your valuable suggestions.

Background of Current HR Challenges

I joined this company one year ago, and it was the first time they were starting an HR department. Previously, all HR-related jobs were handled by the Secretary to the MD and the Finance department. We are a team of two people, with a trainee working under me. During the interview, they mentioned that we would be responsible for all HR-related tasks from scratch.

Challenges with Top Management

Most of the people from the top management sit in the HO and have more than 15-20 years of experience in the same company. They have adapted to the pre-existing culture and way of working. It seems they have almost closed their eyes to any future changes. Most HR-related tasks, like preparing offer letters, hiring employees in the system, issuing letters, etc., were handled by the Secretary of the MD, and payroll processing, exit formalities, etc., were handled by the Finance team. In short, the secretary and the Finance team were working in mutual coordination from HO.

Efforts to Update HR Processes

Now, we have joined the branch office as HR, and as communicated, we started updating the company policies and designed procedures for different HR processes (recruitment process, exit process, appraisal process, joining process, etc.). We discussed and shared the same with our line manager, who is the GM for Plant Operations sitting in the branch office for approvals, and he shared the same with the top management at Head Office. We also shared the roles and responsibilities we should handle. As a result, they approved our draft for roles and responsibilities, except for the compensation and benefits area since it is handled by the Finance department. There was no support from the top management regarding this, and the reason given was that the Head of Finance has been handling it for more than 20 years, and it is not proper to ask him to give the responsibility to people who just joined.

Struggles with Implementation

Our GM shared all the documents designed by us with the top management at HO for final approvals. They approved a few processes, but in practice, they want to continue with the old processes handled from HO, even for our branch office-related tasks. We tried to speak to the GM a few times regarding our roles and responsibilities, but things are not changing. Honestly speaking, every morning when we come to the office, we do not have any work to do. A few months back, as requested by them, we drafted new formats for offer letters and sent them to the HO. After a few days, we received a new format changed by the secretary and approved by the MD with an instruction to follow the new format from now onwards. The company policies we drafted are still not approved by HO.

Lack of Support and Future Plans

Our GM is somewhat convinced, but since the other top management is sitting in the HO, we were not able to communicate with them directly. The GM plays an intermediary role between us and the HO. Since we are only responsible for the branch office, we are not getting enough support from the HO. We will not be able to achieve our goals without support from HO because they are the decision-makers. The trainee who was working under me left the company a few months back since she was not getting any chance to work in HR. I am also planning to leave this company since I am not getting any exposure in HR, and moreover, I am not comfortable with the working environment. I know I fought with the management only for HR rights, not for any personal profit. I was working in a top FMCG company abroad before joining here. I am totally upset with the behavior of our management. There is no HR person in this company or in the HO to support me.

We thought of sharing our problems with you since you all are experienced persons in the HR field. We have become totally helpless, and we believe that you can help us with some valuable suggestions/advice.

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

Thanks & Regards,

Siju

Thank you for a comprehensive description of your issues. The problem you are now facing is actually very common, in varying degrees, in all companies, all over the world. In a nutshell, the company has grown from a secretary handling HR to a dedicated HR team. You have reviewed and updated policies and procedures, but they have not been implemented; this is because the company (and top management) has failed to complete the final stages of the process. This process is called CHANGE MANAGEMENT.

How to Plan and Implement a Change Programme Effectively

As Head of HR, you now need to call an urgent meeting with top management and make a presentation on how to plan and implement a change programme effectively. The presentation should cover the following:

1. Identify the changes required (the old vs. the new policies and procedures which you have already done; best demonstrated by a SWOT and PEST analysis).

2. Determine the major issues (you have already done this).

3. Identify and assess the key stakeholders (the secretary, top management, etc.).

4. Win the support of the key individuals (by demonstrating the benefits to the company).

5. Identify the obstacles.

6. Determine the degree of risk (i.e., the acceptance vs. non-acceptance of new practices) and the cost of change, not only in monetary terms but also in a smoother and more focused approach.

7. Understand why change will be resisted and how it can be managed.

Points 1 to 7 above will form your preparatory work for the presentation. People are the key factor in overcoming resistance to change. The successful implementation of new working methods and practices or integrating new businesses into a group is dependent upon the willing and effective cooperation of employees and management. Many change initiatives and programmes fail because they are derailed by the "people factor"!

A key part of successful change is, therefore, building and communicating the reasons and the vision for change. Various techniques can be adopted which help ease a change process, including:

- Cross-functional teams
- Stronger internal communication
- Negotiation
- Action planning
- Appointing "change agents" or "champions of change"
- And a certain amount of compulsion, manipulation, and coercion

The trick is to help top management to accept change more easily: top management and you need to:

- Act decisively – demonstrate momentum
- Consider how they will be affected
- Involve them in the change
- Consult and inform frequently
- Be firm but flexible
- Monitor the change

I acknowledge that some of the above may not apply in your situation, but at least you will be able to understand that changes need managing. Do the presentation and ask for feedback and a commitment from management that the changes should be implemented, but do not forget to address the fear of such implementations. Fears such as, for example, does the secretary think that her own job will be devalued.

I hope the above is of some help.

Regards, Harsh

Dear Harsh, Thank you for your reply. Here, my main problem is that I am working only for the Bangalore unit and do not have direct access to the management sitting in the Delhi office. Also, we do not have an HR in the HO to support me or understand the problems. Most of the HR-related tasks were directly handled by the MD, and now he believes that I am taking his jobs. I have spoken to my Manager, who is the General Manager, many times but didn't get enough support, maybe because he reports to the MD and cannot ask him to give his jobs to me. They believe that I am here to challenge the Management and change everything that they have been following for the last 30 years. However, I have only tried to improve the process, but they are not ready to accept it. Their recent decision is to centralize all the HR-related activities like offers, payroll, training, and appraisal in Delhi, and the MD will take care of it. I have given my resignation since I do not see any future for me in this company, but I am so upset because I don't know if I did something wrong or not. I do not think they can understand me since they have never worked with an HR or don't know what HR is.

Regards, Siju

As it is virtually impossible to meet with the MD to progress, you have taken the right step in resigning. All you have done is to move the company forward, and if in doing that the MD has not been able to see the benefits, then consider it his loss. You have done nothing wrong; unfortunately, there are people who cannot move with the times, and that is life.

I wish you all the best for the future.

Regards,
Harsh