New to HR: How Do You Balance Distance and Discipline with Employees?

Hello seniors, I am working in a software company. Two months ago, I got placed in this company. I am totally new to the HR field. The problem is, I don't know how to maintain distance with the employees, and I also don't know how to handle employees when they break HR policies. Kindly provide some solutions for my problem.

It appears that you need to have a correct perspective of the HR role. HR's role is that of a people's advocate to empathize with people's causes, a facilitator to help the operational managers sort out people's issues, and a change agent to initiate transformational processes that add value to the business. Therefore, what the HR should know is not how to maintain distance with people but how to narrow the distance between them and the people and how to bridge gaps in human interactions in the organization. It does not mean that you should not maintain confidentiality. You should maintain confidentiality whenever required but without distancing people.

Once you strike a chord of harmony with people, the incidence of breach of policies by itself comes down. To start with, you can call a meeting of the staff and inform them that the HR policies are made to enlist the cooperation between the employees and the organization in achieving goals and thus request all of them to follow the policies both in letter and spirit. If some continue to violate the policies, pick them for counseling at your level in the first instance and in the presence of a senior leader in the second instance, clearly alerting them to the possibility of inviting stricter action if the conduct is repeated. If the employee concerned is still persisting in their objectionable conduct, you can issue them a memorandum. You can thus deal with the problem in phases while keeping a record of the same.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & IR Advisor

Thank you for your valuable information, sir. If I'm very close with employees, it may lead to them not following the policies, and it can also be challenging to earn their respect.

Respect is what others feel about you and how they hold you in esteem. You can infuse good feelings about yourself in others through your conduct. Employees should feel that you genuinely care for their interests. For example, sitting with them to understand their grievances and needs and promptly addressing them is one way of earning respect without distancing them.

You should be interactive but not intrusive into their inner circles. You should be communicative but not inquisitive about extraneous matters of theirs. You should be a friend but not gossip with the employees. You should be caring yet firm when needed. You should be transparent yet maintain confidentiality when needed. You should be professional yet not personal. You should be close yet maintain distance. This is how you need to understand the balance of distance and nearness in your role as HR, in my view. Hope this helps.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & IR Advisor

I totally agree with the fact that being in HR does not necessarily mean you have to be a watchdog of the company's policies. In fact, you should be the person that every employee can freely approach and trust. It is a very thin line between being close enough for professional reasons and distanced enough to earn respect. Of course, it all depends on how much authority the management has given you to execute decisiveness if any deviation from standard policy is required.

Regards,
Clement

I have recently joined a new company as an HR manager. However, I am the only person in the HR department. I am unsure about what my responsibilities will be in this role. Can you provide guidance on what I should focus on and how to best contribute to the company's HR functions?

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Regards

We can maintain a relationship with each employee. That's not a problem for HR. However, there is no need to disclose your personal and confidential matters to them. If you do, the ball will be in their court, and they can use it against you at any time. Building rapport with them may help them accept your concepts, but they also need to adhere to your new implementations. Do not permit junior employees to address you with disrespectful language. They should address you by name, sir, madam, or HR.

The Technique of Balancing Engagement

This is a type of technique because being too inflexible can make employee engagement feel like a burden. You can inquire about and understand their personal and professional matters without sharing any confidential information about yourself. Simply listen to them. People are generally eager to discuss their lives and experiences, which can give you insights into their personalities.

By listening to them, we can discern their nature and character. It is unnecessary to form special relationships within your organization, as there may be cliques present. Other groups might attempt to oppose you, so it is essential to maintain equal relationships with everyone.

Communicating HR Policies Effectively

First, tell them about the positive side of the particular HR policy. Just try to convince them by saying, "Normally, a professional company does this, and it will help you build a prosperous career. So please cooperate."

Addressing Non-Compliance

After that, if they are not following the policy, inform the employees that not adhering to the HR policy will result in action being taken against them through the issuance of a memo. Explain the consequences that will be outlined in the memo. If an individual receives three memos, they may face termination from employment. Therefore, they should cooperate with the HR policy.

HR is a facilitator in an organization. You should show empathy to employees, not sympathy. You should not maintain distance from them; rather, be a part of them to understand what they feel and what they expect from the organization, but don’t be overly friendly with employees.

You should make employees aware of the HR policies of your organization and what behavior is expected from them. If they break these policies, send an official memo to them and discuss it with them. At times, you need to be soft, and at other times, you need to be firm.

HR is a bridge between management and employees, so create an environment where they feel comfortable sharing issues with you. Keep learning, and you will become an efficient and effective HR professional.

I totally agree with your idea. As HR professionals, we must have the ability to identify employees' nature and character when they are talking with us. Also, as HR personnel, we have to listen to what people say. Then we will make decisions based on what we think is official. It is important to ensure that for non-official speech, we should listen and keep it confidential.

Implementing HR Policies

HR professionals have to ensure that employees obey HR personnel and other employees within the organization. How can we implement this? We can utilize policy power, share procedures, handbooks, and help them understand.

Regards,
Malikzada

First of all, you must have the confidence to work as an HR Manager. Once you are in this field, you have to imbue a sense that you are an agent of policy, roles, and regulations, and you have to act accordingly.

Secondly, you must maintain an appropriate level of closeness with employees—not so much that they feel overly friendly and disregard rules and regulations. It is up to you to demonstrate how the roles are practiced within the company. If you lead by example, others are likely to follow suit.

Thirdly, you must have the authority from senior management to implement policies within the company. If you do, then you must act in accordance with the company's desired roles.

Regards,
Kiramuddin

Thank you, Kiramuddin. Your comment is really very useful for me. One more thing: how do you handle employees when they are not following the HR policies?

Regards.

In such a situation, you can seek help from the senior management team or the company owner. I would like to emphasize that it is important for you to demonstrate how to implement the policy in this company.

Additionally, you can discuss with the supervisors to assist you in the implementation of the policy. Alternatively, you can create an employee handbook where you share a portion of the policy with the employees and supervisors.

Regards,
Kiramuddin

Understanding Behavioral Dynamics in HR

How to behave depends entirely on the individual and circumstances.

• You can't always be tough, nor can you be easy all the time.
• Actions must be well thought out, and you must mostly stand by them.
• Never deviate from policies and rules, even if everybody gangs up against you. In the end, they will know that you were right as far as policies and rules are concerned.

Adapting to Different Environments

How to behave with a certain group or in a particular company will depend entirely on experience and experiments. With people, you are always learning. Almost all the suggestions mentioned in this thread are excellent and worth practicing. However, what you pick up and what you leave will depend on the people and circumstances you find yourself with.

Visualizing Situations for Better Understanding

I want you to visualize two situations and decide on how you want to proceed.

1. Visualize a child being force-fed by its mother. The mother coaxing the child, the child shouting its lungs out, the mother trying to whisper words of encouragement to force the child to accept the food. Finally, if the child still doesn't come around, the mother even slaps the child, forcing it to gulp the food down, though the child may still be protesting.

2. Imagine having your arm around everyone's shoulder while keeping an arm's length—I know it is tough practically, but this is what you have to practice in HR.

All the best.