Dear Friends,
I want your valuable inputs to understand how do I/We handle impossible HR Head.
I have been working in this organization (13+ year old organization with 10K+ Employees) for more than 5 years. The company had its best and also its worst times ever, finally we have come out and we are stable. With the best and the worst times one thing has been very consistent HR Head's impossible policies.
HR department works in its own time, as if they are in different universe than ours.
1. Office on Saturdays: He says there is some serious norm in Labor laws of India which prevents us from not having office on Saturdays. So we are subjected to 4 hours of office on Saturdays, which is absolute waste of time as we are a Head Office and most of everyone's work is related to the senior management, who are never present on Saturdays. After long fight with HR, we could get 2 non-working Saturdays (2nd & 4th) but we still have to work for the rest of 2/3 Saturdays, with is completely absurd. On top of all this, he speaks like everyone in India works on Saturdays.
2. Bio-metric Attendance/Overtime: A very good initiative to register attendance but the policy is flawed, many departments work till late nights/early mornings but they do not get any overtime compensation, the very next day they cannot come even 1 minute late else it will sum-up to salary cut.
3. Appraisals take time for few departments (always): Appraisals are taken every 6 months but the result of appraisals can only be seen after 6-9 months later. HR speaks about so many policies, processes and how all departments should follow it for fair and proper functionality of the company but they do not fall in this bracket, they will take their own appraisals-are-like-pregnancy time.
4. Biased to departments: HR is very specifically biased towards few departments, labeling them as "you are not a department, you are a support function", with this they treat us as 2nd/3rd grade employees.
5. The dance of Bell Curve: Irrespective of how employees work and rated in appraisals, they have to be normalized with bell curve. As they are biased to few departments, they make sure they always normalize to these departments whereas the other departments are not subjected to any such treatment.
6. Salary disparity: There is so much salary disparity in the company that its unbelievable to even listen/read about it. The freshers who join the company/department have more salary than a 4 year old employee in the same department with the absolutely same/lower role. They had so much disparity that when Labor department announced minimum wage for the state, they had to increase salary of at least 6000 people. There are so many people who are more working for more than 5-8 years in the company and with big titles but have less salary than the people who work under them.
And every time someone in the company want to complain this to the HR, they just don't listen.
There is also a HR grievance Hot-line, which many people call and complain but there is no response, after some inquiry we happen to know that no issues are taken to HR head.
After all this, many of us even went to speak to HR Head, and the way he speaks puzzles anyone in the world. The first thing he uses is lies, says that the onus is not on him as the currently spoken issue is pending with either some other department head or with the management or with the CEO or with the board members. The next thing in the line is, "Only you have the problem, but everyone are happy with this" situation where he make anyone fell as if we see the problem as problem which no one does so we also have to rename the "problem" to "normal situation". The another punch he gives to everyone is, "if you don't like it then resign... no one is stopping you". This is one of the worst things, people really did resign, but their managers fought with HR to keep them, but HR forced them to leave the company but verbal blackmail like "if you stay back, you will never get good appraisals", etc.
I know, after reading this, even you are thinking why am I complaining and why I am not leaving the company. Well the company had been through very good and very bad times and I have a substantial contribution (I was top performer for more than 80% of my appraisals) towards the company also my manager is very good who lets me grow in experience, in role, in knowledge, etc. but due to HR there is no growth in salary or designation. And everything contributes to the HR Head.
So please friends, advise on what can be done? Should I complain to Labor Department? Should I go to Media? I am very confused.
I want your valuable inputs to understand how do I/We handle impossible HR Head.
I have been working in this organization (13+ year old organization with 10K+ Employees) for more than 5 years. The company had its best and also its worst times ever, finally we have come out and we are stable. With the best and the worst times one thing has been very consistent HR Head's impossible policies.
HR department works in its own time, as if they are in different universe than ours.
1. Office on Saturdays: He says there is some serious norm in Labor laws of India which prevents us from not having office on Saturdays. So we are subjected to 4 hours of office on Saturdays, which is absolute waste of time as we are a Head Office and most of everyone's work is related to the senior management, who are never present on Saturdays. After long fight with HR, we could get 2 non-working Saturdays (2nd & 4th) but we still have to work for the rest of 2/3 Saturdays, with is completely absurd. On top of all this, he speaks like everyone in India works on Saturdays.
2. Bio-metric Attendance/Overtime: A very good initiative to register attendance but the policy is flawed, many departments work till late nights/early mornings but they do not get any overtime compensation, the very next day they cannot come even 1 minute late else it will sum-up to salary cut.
3. Appraisals take time for few departments (always): Appraisals are taken every 6 months but the result of appraisals can only be seen after 6-9 months later. HR speaks about so many policies, processes and how all departments should follow it for fair and proper functionality of the company but they do not fall in this bracket, they will take their own appraisals-are-like-pregnancy time.
4. Biased to departments: HR is very specifically biased towards few departments, labeling them as "you are not a department, you are a support function", with this they treat us as 2nd/3rd grade employees.
5. The dance of Bell Curve: Irrespective of how employees work and rated in appraisals, they have to be normalized with bell curve. As they are biased to few departments, they make sure they always normalize to these departments whereas the other departments are not subjected to any such treatment.
6. Salary disparity: There is so much salary disparity in the company that its unbelievable to even listen/read about it. The freshers who join the company/department have more salary than a 4 year old employee in the same department with the absolutely same/lower role. They had so much disparity that when Labor department announced minimum wage for the state, they had to increase salary of at least 6000 people. There are so many people who are more working for more than 5-8 years in the company and with big titles but have less salary than the people who work under them.
And every time someone in the company want to complain this to the HR, they just don't listen.
There is also a HR grievance Hot-line, which many people call and complain but there is no response, after some inquiry we happen to know that no issues are taken to HR head.
After all this, many of us even went to speak to HR Head, and the way he speaks puzzles anyone in the world. The first thing he uses is lies, says that the onus is not on him as the currently spoken issue is pending with either some other department head or with the management or with the CEO or with the board members. The next thing in the line is, "Only you have the problem, but everyone are happy with this" situation where he make anyone fell as if we see the problem as problem which no one does so we also have to rename the "problem" to "normal situation". The another punch he gives to everyone is, "if you don't like it then resign... no one is stopping you". This is one of the worst things, people really did resign, but their managers fought with HR to keep them, but HR forced them to leave the company but verbal blackmail like "if you stay back, you will never get good appraisals", etc.
I know, after reading this, even you are thinking why am I complaining and why I am not leaving the company. Well the company had been through very good and very bad times and I have a substantial contribution (I was top performer for more than 80% of my appraisals) towards the company also my manager is very good who lets me grow in experience, in role, in knowledge, etc. but due to HR there is no growth in salary or designation. And everything contributes to the HR Head.
So please friends, advise on what can be done? Should I complain to Labor Department? Should I go to Media? I am very confused.