Is it HR’s Fault?

Happy Hump Day!

I’ve been receiving an overwhelming response to my communication around sexual harassment.

One email, in particular, stood out to me.

Hi Sana,

Thank you! I too have been going through flashbacks of my own personal experiences of bad behavior! Even as the HR person, we too sometimes are victims on multiple levels, either directly or indirectly because of where we sit. One of the issues I’m struggling with is the misperception people have with “ HR” in this matter. I’ve heard so many negative comments that it’s “ HR’s fault”, “HR is only about protecting the company, not the employee” which for me personally is so far from the truth! Curious to know what is the sense of other HR professionals with this aspect?

My Response…

Yes, I too have begun to hear how HR is the problem, not part of the solution. In fact, that was the message from at least 2 guests on CNN’s townhall on sexual harassment held last week.

I disagree! Sure, many HR Pros work for companies that are experiencing the bad behavior but if HR is in the dark we cannot help. Many victims choose to say nothing out of fear and I can understand that. Retaliation is real and no federal law is going to stop someone hell-bent on making a victim pay for his/her truth.

When we do know our hands are tied many times. I think there is a misconception about HR’s power. We have influence (some of us) but if the C suite or owner of the company we work for decides to ignore our counsel we have NO control.

With that said, I do believe that HR should take advantage of the current sexual harassment conversation to push an agenda of zero tolerance and more training.

If you would like to share your story with the HR Girlfriends community, we’d love to hear from you.

About the Author

Sana’ Rasul is the President & Chief Girlfriend of HR Girlfriends, a Human Resources networking organization dedicated to advancing the practice and culture of people empowerment. Her team of Girlfriends consult, train, educate, develop, share, promote and advocate for solutions in the field of human resource management. Sana’ is also a credentialed Career Strategist, at TheCareerHelpDesk.com, where she has helped professionals across all industries create a next level career plan, negotiate compensation and develop strategies to land the job, not just the interview.