How Can Ms. A Ensure Her Hard Work in HR is Recognized by Management?

Ashwini Mhapankar
Ms. A and Ms. B's Transition to Company Payroll

Ms. A and Ms. B are working in the same organization as a Team HR. Previously, they were on third-party payroll for the same company and reported to the director of the consultancy that managed their salaries. This consultancy acted as an outsourcing HR firm for the company.

Now, as the consultancy's director decided to wind up the business, he asked Ms. A and Ms. B to work directly on the company payroll. The client company agreed and took them on their payroll. When they joined, no interviews were conducted; instead, their salaries were revised, and appointment letters were issued.

Roles and Responsibilities

Ms. A worked from the consultancy office, while Ms. B was based at the company's branch office. Ms. B was the front face, handling some daily responsibilities, whereas Ms. A managed most of the payroll preparation and compliance tasks. Ms. A shared this work and data with Ms. B, who then forwarded it to the company. The consultancy's director was aware of their work distribution.

Ms. A has more experience, qualifications, and HR knowledge than Ms. B. Both have completed 12 months with the company, which believes they are sharing responsibilities equally, with Ms. A having more knowledge and responsibilities. Ms. B requires support in performing tasks.

Challenges Faced by Ms. A

Ms. A wanted to discuss her situation with her current reporting head, but it is challenging to compare her role with Ms. B's. Her manager asked her to list their shared responsibilities. However, Ms. B, being the front face, still relies on Ms. A for assistance, which complicates the listing of responsibilities.

Now, as Ms. A works from the company's head office, she must share updates with Ms. B at the branch office. Otherwise, Ms. B might claim she was uninformed about management decisions. If Ms. A approaches management to discuss these issues, they might perceive that only Ms. A is working, as Ms. B is not at the head office. Despite Ms. A's proven performance, addressing this with management is challenging due to Ms. B's apparent involvement.

(It is commonly observed that management shows little interest in employee issues and often delegates them to HR while focusing on their businesses.)

Seeking Advice for Ms. A

Kindly suggest how Ms. A can ensure her hard work is recognized and her career growth within the organization is not impacted. Her future appraisal might be affected if management assumes both are working equally and provides the same increment.

(Ms. A cannot seek assistance from her former director to recommend her hard work, as he is settled outside of India.)

Please provide your valuable opinions to assist Ms. A.

(*Ms. A is one of my college friends)

Regards,

Ashwini SS Mhapankar.
parimal564
Addressing Workplace Dynamics and Responsibilities

Ms. A needs to speak with a familiar employee who is based in the corporate office but is not usually known by Ms. B. She should clearly communicate with them about roles and responsibilities and discuss the problem to assess the corporate office's culture.

Furthermore, she should address the concern with authority by raising questions and resolving it; otherwise, it will persist as long as Ms. A remains there. If the company is professionally managed and follows procedures, the authority will inquire further and provide valuable input to Ms. A.

Best regards,
Parimal
Ashwini Mhapankar
Thank you for your reply, Mr. Parimal. However, this is a significant problem: the organization is not professionally managed. All seniors are preoccupied with their own work and do not try to understand who is genuinely working and who is merely pretending. This is the issue my friend is facing, and it will be very challenging to convey this distinction to management. Please suggest if there is a way to present this to management professionally, without making comparisons, so they can truly understand the difference. Thank you.
parimal564
Dear Ashwini,

In this situation, Ms. A has to directly speak with the concerned authority. If she cannot, write an email to them regarding the whole subject.

Best regards,
Parimal
bijay_majumdar
Practically, it is not so simple. Management believes what they see. Secondly, being upfront and challenging may bounce back, probably due to the image/repute created by the B.

Suggest being in touch with management and showcasing your work for quite some time. Let management know about you. Once confident that you can, now ask for a justified solution.
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