Page 14 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

INTRODUCTION

On any given day, millions of Human Resources professionals encounter unpleasant work-
place experiences ranging from mild annoyance to potentially costly lawsuits. Unfortunately,
most of these professionals’ recommendations to deal with these experiences are either
ignored or dismissed by their leadership, resulting in unnecessary problems for the company.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has identified being a “credible
activist” as one the six most important skills an HR professional must have to succeed.
However, there don’t seem to be any courses on how to become a skilled credible activist. It
isn’t taught in graduate school, and it can’t be faked.
Many popular magazine articles, news features, Web sites, and e-zines about how to
cope with various types of workplace dysfunction often advise HR professionals and other
employees who suffer at work to simply get another job. This is frequently not an ideal or
even realistic solution, particularly during a recession. HR professionals know there are bet-
ter solutions. They know there are greater employment lawsuits during economic down-
turns, and whether they know it or not, in most states, they are in a unique position of
having advantages that most employees don’t.
A 2008 survey of HR professionals asked, “Do you trust and respect your company’s sen-
ior management team?” Of the nearly 300 respondents who replied, the results were as follows:

Yes: 38 percent
No: 53 percent
Not sure: 9 percent
Many non-HR employees might be surprised to see these results, thinking that just
because HR professionals are part of “management,” there is always agreement among them.
The average HR professional, however, wouldn’t be surprised at the results, as most within
the field agree that no matter how many academic degrees, professional certifications, or
additional training they have, management often considers HR to be unimportant fluff rather
than the essential strategists they are. Additionally, HR professionals are well aware that
while they are part of management, they are also employees reporting to that management,
who are often reluctant to value what HR has to offer at critical moments or to take seriously
the employment laws in the realm of the HR discipline.
These results indicate a crisis in corporate governance, which is not surprising given the
current global recession. When companies function in full legal compliance while using com-
petitive management methods, their businesses are more profitable and experience far fewer
lawsuits and regulatory fines. Many workplaces fail to handle employee complaints about
harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or ethical concerns appropriately. Many don’t appro-
priately handle issues relating to safety, violence in the workplace, or the consistent applica-
tion of policies. Most organizations also have severe problems relating to issues that are more
common, yet harder for most employees to articulate, such as unfair performance evaluation
systems, abusive managers, confusion about how roles are defined, how to make legitimate
complaints, retaining incompetent people in powerful positions, and more.

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