Integrity in Human Resources
One subject that no professional wants to think about is questionable integrity or ethical issues in their profession. Unfortunately all too often there is someone somewhere that sullies the reputation of the whole group and can give the profession a bad name. Ethics and integrity are important in all professions but there are some, like management positions and Human Resources that are expected to uphold a higher standard of ethical behavior.
Human Resources has an important role in a company; they should be the conscience of management to ensure that all the actions that are taken are fair and within the restrictions of the law. Human Resources professionals should be objective and balance the needs of employees and management, and ultimately HR needs to do what is best for the company. Let's face it; it doesn't always work that way. Human Resource professionals are of course human, which means that they have their own agendas and needs and that can complicate things. In the second place, HR reports to management and if that arrangement isn't set up properly it can lead to problems. If an HR professional isn't prepared to stand up for what is right than not only does the employee lose but the company may lose as well.
The important components of maintaining integrity in HR starts with respectful treatment of employees and even though that sounds like something that is a no brainer, unfortunately there are plenty of cases where that doesn't happen. Of course when employees are not treated with respect HR is no longer trusted and becomes somewhat of a joke within a company. This can also occur when HR only gives lip service which can be just as damaging; when HR says they will follow up on something and they don't or they say one thing and do another or worst of all they flat out lie.
Being an advocate for employees is not always easy especially when HR has to challenge or even disagree with the very management they report to. This is where the integrity of HR can be tested. If the HR professional at least tries to do the right thing, which can mean taking their case as high as necessary in the organization than they can hold their head up high knowing they maintained high ethical standards. However, if they take the path of least resistance and give up after pleading the employee's case and getting a negative response, they may fool themselves into thinking they are doing their job, but in reality they aren't. This isn't to say that every situation that an employee brings to HR should be agreed with and fought for, but if the employee was not treated within policy and law than it is the obligation of HR to correct that injustice.
HR has an obligation to conduct investigations in an impartial manner ensuring that they do not allow their own biases to influence the results. It also is important that whoever is conducting the investigation should not have a reporting relationship to those involved. If someone feels that they can't be impartial, they should remove themselves from the investigation, that is the only way to ensure fair investigation results.
People who work in Human Resources have to remember that decisions that they make and actions that they take can impact people's lively hoods and should not be taken lightly. Sometimes they are the only ones that can offer an objective viewpoint and if they take that responsibility seriously than everyone benefits.
