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This isn't surprising. Every company I've worked for, HR seemed out to protect the company only and try to quiet/bury complaints. It's a well known mantra not

by axaxs 8y ago

This isn't surprising. Every company I've worked for, HR seemed out to protect the company only and try to quiet/bury complaints. It's a well known mantra not to ever talk to HR, sad as it's become...

coderdude 8y ago
It's called human resources. It exists to manage humans as a resource. The idea that it exists to benefit you comes from having human in the name. It's like a farm having a department called cow resources.
philpem 8y ago
"Milkshake Duck is a valued and respected member of the organisation and has been here many years..."
lhorie 8y ago
The timeline in the article says that allegations were made against her about racial discrimination, and then she left the company (with all parties declining to comment). Isn't this sort of the opposite situation from your run-of-the-mill evil/apathetic HR dept stories where the victims get the short end of the stick?
- axaxs 8y ago
  That part was a little unclear to me...but it seems to be both against her directly and against her dismissing complaints more broadly via the anonymous tip line. Apologies if I misunderstood!
jiveturkey 8y ago
> HR seemed out to protect the company well, that is their job ... > This isn't surprising. Not sure how those two statements go together. HR's job is to protect the company from HR-related issues, like claims of discrimination. When the head of HR is herself embroiled in a discrimination inquiry, it shouldn't be a surprise that she is asked to leave.
- axaxs 8y ago
  But that's never how HR is framed. It's always framed as your friend, if you need anything at all, if you have any problem...talk to HR. Every company I've worked for has been that way. In my experience, based on reports from people who had complaints(though I've never had an issue myself), HR's primary role is making you 'shut up and go away.'
  - brazzledazzle 8y ago
    I think their role is really to determine if there’s any legal risk which they use to determine if they should eliminate the problem or ignore it. In theory that should mean protecting the company from a manager or other employee engaging in discrimination or harassment. The trouble is that HR is like internal affairs. Since they’re part of the organization they can be influenced by politics. I sometimes wonder if legal aspect of the role HR serves would be better served by an outside legal firm that can determine the risk “objectively”. They’re never going to choose an outcome that will better serve an employee but HR doesn’t do that anyway. At least they’ll be able to tell the organization, “This dipshit is going to get you sued and you’re going to lose” without worrying about an HR manager trying to sweep something under the rug because they have a good relationship with the people in question.

by axaxs 8y ago

coderdude 8y ago

It's called human resources. It exists to manage humans as a resource. The idea that it exists to benefit you comes from having human in the name. It's like a farm having a department called cow resources.

philpem 8y ago

"Milkshake Duck is a valued and respected member of the organisation and has been here many years..."

lhorie 8y ago

The timeline in the article says that allegations were made against her about racial discrimination, and then she left the company (with all parties declining to comment). Isn't this sort of the opposite situation from your run-of-the-mill evil/apathetic HR dept stories where the victims get the short end of the stick?

axaxs 8y ago
That part was a little unclear to me...but it seems to be both against her directly and against her dismissing complaints more broadly via the anonymous tip line. Apologies if I misunderstood!

jiveturkey 8y ago

> HR seemed out to protect the company well, that is their job ... > This isn't surprising. Not sure how those two statements go together. HR's job is to protect the company from HR-related issues, like claims of discrimination. When the head of HR is herself embroiled in a discrimination inquiry, it shouldn't be a surprise that she is asked to leave.

axaxs 8y ago
But that's never how HR is framed. It's always framed as your friend, if you need anything at all, if you have any problem...talk to HR. Every company I've worked for has been that way. In my experience, based on reports from people who had complaints(though I've never had an issue myself), HR's primary role is making you 'shut up and go away.'
- brazzledazzle 8y ago
  I think their role is really to determine if there’s any legal risk which they use to determine if they should eliminate the problem or ignore it. In theory that should mean protecting the company from a manager or other employee engaging in discrimination or harassment. The trouble is that HR is like internal affairs. Since they’re part of the organization they can be influenced by politics. I sometimes wonder if legal aspect of the role HR serves would be better served by an outside legal firm that can determine the risk “objectively”. They’re never going to choose an outcome that will better serve an employee but HR doesn’t do that anyway. At least they’ll be able to tell the organization, “This dipshit is going to get you sued and you’re going to lose” without worrying about an HR manager trying to sweep something under the rug because they have a good relationship with the people in question.