Why You Should Love Your HR People
Quiz time! For each of the roles and responsibilities listed below, ask yourself: “Is this a compliance or human resources issue?”
For compliance, choose A.
For human resources, choose B.
And if you can’t pin down the answer, choose C.
(It might help to have a pen and scrap of paper handy.)
- training
- recordkeeping
- onboarding
- employee background checks
- anti-harassment policy and procedure development
- drug testing
What do your results look like?
Depending on the structure of your organization, you may have all As or all Bs; or a smattering of As, Bs, and Cs; or mostly Cs; or 2 Cs and 4 Bs; or…
Yeah, to be honest, it’s not really much of a quiz, since there’s no “right” set of answers. Indeed, at many organizations—especially small- and mid-sized businesses—one or two people may be responsible for both workforce compliance and HR. After all, both departments share a common goal: making sure employees are happy, productive, and following the rules.
HR is Where Compliance Happens
The difference (again, for some but not all organizations) may lie in timing and proximity. In terms of an organizational compliance program, HR personnel are sort of like first responders. They’re the ones dealing with employee disputes, harassment claims, and terminations. After the compliance department updates the organization’s training curriculum or workplace policies, members of the HR department are the ones who have to field tough questions from employees. During a government investigation, HR records are the first place agencies often turn.
In other words, HR bridges the gap between compliance concept and execution. In complex, heavily regulated industries, that isn’t a simple feat.
Show Your HR Department Some Love and Support
However you draw the line between departments, it’s hard to overstate how much HR does for compliance at every stage in the employment lifecycle. An organization’s workforce compliance program would be nothing but paperwork if it weren’t for the people on the ground handling employee issues in the moment. Not everyone has what it takes to juggle regulatory information, business goals, and the needs of each and every employee.
But HR people aren’t superhumans (or, if they are, they’re pretty good at hiding it). Your HR department only has so many hours in the day, and the rules and demands on their shoulders tend to pile up.
That’s why we created the HR Support Center. Complí’s HR Support Center provides access to a team of certified HR experts with both state and federal expertise, proactive email alerts on regulatory changes, weekly and monthly bulletins, and an HR resource portal. HR Support center users gain access to our team of HR Professionals, available by phone, email, and web portal—and certified by the Human Resources Certification Institute and/or SHRM. Our HR Pros have 250 years of combined experience, and handled more than 35,000 HR questions last year alone.
For more information about the HR Support Center, and to watch a demo, click here.
