That HR are useless in whatever setting they’re in?

[MiffyMiffed]

Bear in mind, that people don’t usually have to deal with HR as a new starter all that often, unless they’re serial job jumpers.

I started a new job for NHS 4 years ago and it took HR 6 weeks to process my paperwork. I had to actually ring them up and tell them I was starting on so and so date so send the paperwork to my new manager ASAP. They managed to do it in 5 mins after the phone call. 🙄.

Now I’ve got a new job, different setting, in a university. Again, absolutely useless. I’ve been emailed forms to fill out and send back. I emailed on the first day to confirm whether they wanted them back by email. No reply. So filled out forms online and sent them back. 3 weeks later I’m being told to post them. Then I’m told to scan a picture and send it. Next day I’m told everything has to be by hand. Tomorrow I’ll be told something else.

I’M SO FRUSTRATED.

I’m HR Director for a large University. I could, if I so wished, post a very long list of all the amazing fuckwittery, incompetence and at times downright nastiness my team have experienced from candidates, new starters and established colleagues. But I won’t, because I’m not a twat and I don’t tar all colleagues with the same brush.
Somewhere in Mumsnet land there’s a mother-in-law who worked as a GP Receptionist, spent a bit of time working in a School Office, re-trained and got a job as a teacher, decided that the holidays weren’t long enough so moved into HR at which point AIBU spontaneously combusted.
Get a grip Op.

Yanbu. I'm another serial job jumper. I have worked everywhere from tiny family companies to global corporations, all utterly shit. At the moment I'm supposed to be starting a new job on Tuesday and I haven't received a contract, I've emailed HR and was told that the person responsible was on annual leave last week what about the whole month before that. I went in to hand in my DBS and rather awkwardly handed it over to the same woman who is supposed to be on annual leave. Still haven't received my contract though. Right when this saga started she emailed thanking me for my bank details when I responded that I hadn't given them to her she ignored my emails.

lucky I'm old enough not to go into high blood pressure over that one.

Well, there would be plenty of support for you at my organisation if you did.

I'm supposed to be starting a new job on Tuesday and I haven't received a contract,

They have 3 months from your start date to provide you with your main terms of employment. Not common for the contract to be provided prior to employment.

More
Not as this company. Bank details and contract signed and submitted prior to starting.

I used to work closely with the HR team at a university and the amount of complaints about people being offered jobs verbally but not receiving any paperwork or emails to confirm for sure until months after the start date. You can understand that some candidates were reluctant to hand in their notice to their current employer.
This was not an isolated case.

how do you hand in notice without any paperwork?!

HR in my first job were appalling. Just 2 examples:

1. I interviewed 2 people for the same job, in my own department. One was perfect for the job & would've helped relieve the pressure on all of us. The other was a complete no-hoper. We recommended the first guy, HR chose the second. Why? Because he already lived locally so they wouldn't have to pay relocation expenses.

1. I'll never forget the HR woman who slowly ate a bag of crisps throughout my meeting with her where I asked for time off because my beloved FIL had just died suddenly.

@MoreSlidingDoors - HR should be able to handle a bullying claim. If you can't go to HR with an issue about bullying it is a really poor show.

And most people would expect a contract prior to starting. Otherwise by starting you have basically accepted the terms of the contract that you haven't actually seen. The contract is a basic admin job using templates. It cannot be that difficult.

It does make me really nervous not having a contract, I start a job soon and handed my notice in as I knew how quickly my employer would need to recruit. It's my risk to take and hopefully it'll pan out, I've had to do it every time as I don't think I've ever had a contract in a timely manner. It does state I can start work without a contract, that's all well and good for them, but what about me? There are things I want to see in the contract that might change my mind! It's poor really, no where else would you expect to not see a contract prior to starting the commitment.

I think it's pretty ignorant to write off a whole profession just because you had two less than satisfactory experiences. You should try being on the other end dealing with some of the twattery from staff.

No doubt your work is beyond criticism and you've never made a mistake

I once did an interview at a college for which their HR department was amazingly useless.

It started with the invitation to interview letter which told me I'd have to give a 5-minute PowerPoint presentation. This seemed a bit odd & when I checked it was incorrect & should not have been in the letter.

At the interview, I'd been discussing my computer literacy/experience with the first two people on the panel & they were impressed. Their questions being exhausted, they turned to the HR woman & told her to go ahead with hers. She looked at her notes & then asked me, "Have you ever used a computer?". I & the other panel members just looked at her in surprise. She didn't have a clue that she was looking bad, & so I went through everything I'd just said, & then she went onto her next question.

Afterwards, HR didn't give me the verdict by the apppointed deadline & I'd decided I didn't want the job anyway, so I rang HR & said I was withdrawing my application. They wouldn't let me! It had to be them accepting or rejecting me.

silvery surfer, I'm not writing off all of HR. I'm just giving examples of bad practice.

Like so many jobs, if HR is done well, nobody notices.

@MoreSlidingDoors Bullying is certainly HR's remit to deal with. A trade union only supports the person/people going through the process with.... HR.

Bit worrying that someone who is a 'director' in HR for the largest public sector employer in the UK doesn't know that.

As previous post. Why, MoreSlidingDoors, is bullying not do do with staff welbeing? And not everyone has unions.

@MoreSlidingDoors - HR should be able to handle a bullying claim. If you can't go to HR with an issue about bullying it is a really poor show.

Not HR’s remit to handle a bullying claim. That is heard by an appropriate manager with HR supporting manager, individual and witnesses. It’s not usually HR’s role to investigate or decide (in the business partnering model at least).

Bullying is certainly HR's remit to deal with. A trade union only supports the person/people going through the process with.... HR.

Not so in the NHS model. We use a national policy. HR are neither judge nor jury.

Bit worrying that someone who is a 'director' in HR for the largest public sector employer in the UK doesn't know that.

I know my area, which is part of the NHS. It has been the model used by every employer I’ve worked for in the last 20 years (public and private sectors).

ifIwerenotanandroid
silvery surfer, I'm not writing off all of HR. I'm just giving examples of bad practice.

Your title says HR are useless in whatever setting they are in. How is that not writing off all HR? Are you disagreeing with yourself?

Even if you have a contract a job offer can still be withdrawn.

I am the whole HR department in my (small) company and I promise you I care a lot more about every single employee than I do about protecting the directors or the organisation.

I'm sorry you've had such bad experiences but I don't think it's helpful to write us all off as incompetent admin staff. It's a lot more than that! I've dealt with incompetent people in all sorts of jobs (I've had a few different careers) but I don't assume the entire profession is useless!

floorboards but people like you are individuals. You can't fight city hall, as they say!

@MoreSlidingDoors Are you saying that if a member of staff came to you concerned about being bullied that you would just refer them onto a trade union?

Nobody said HR were the final judge and jury but they can surely investigate?

And in most big corporations I have worked for HR do make a decision at the end of the investigation and if you are unhappy with that then you go to a union/tribunal.

Here's my experience of HR during a very difficult time when I was signed off...

HR phone to see how I am:

Me: I feel suicidal
HR: Aww. That's sad. We'll call you tomorrow at midday

Never heard from them again. Not by phone, email, letter, nothing.

At my last firm there was a senior partner who caused lots of difficulties with his mean sexist behaviour - the head of hr was shagging him (he was married) so no support there

So overall, people have had bad experiences with HR, which just proves my point. Probably is due to underpaid and overworked staff who don’t give a shit. This is a new recruit’s first impression of their new job place and I’d think they’d try to make a good impression.