Monday, August 07, 2006

Finding The "Human" In Human Resources

The other day I needed to get a hold of someone in the Human Resources Department. It had to do with documentation and I really needed some assistance to complete it properly. I learned that the person with whom I needed to speak was on Maternity Leave, which seems to me to be a good reason to be on leave.

I called the person filling in for her. She was on vacation, which may or may not be as good a reason to be on leave but seemed understandable. It is August. Her message , however, said to contact another person, which I did...or let's say tried.

His message said that he was in and if the caller had left a message the day before, he would be getting back to that person later in the day and to be patient. Being busy, may also be a good reason, but it wasn't as good as the other two reasons- at least not to me. All was not lost because his message also gave another number to call- he called it the HR Hotline- and that I could call if I needed immediate assistance, which I felt I did.

I called the hotline. No answer.

I called again. No answer.

I called again. Someone answered, then hung up.

I called once more. No answer.

If the purpose of the hotline is to give people immediate assistance no matter the status of the people needed, it failed. If the purpose is one of education, it worked. I stopped calling and just figured it out myself.

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