A Little Help From My (HR) Friends

I sent the following e-mail to a number of fellow HR Managers/professionals in the local area who provided me with valuable - no, critical - salary information last November:

Hi Tony, I have been remiss in thanking you for the information you sent me for our salary survey at the end of the year. As you can probably appreciate, I am actually just finally finishing up on my proposals since so much seems to get in the way each and every day. As I had anticipated, we were behind the market in many of our occupations and with your help, have been able to close that gap a little more. Our new scales are not yet completed but if you are interested in seeing how they settled out, please let me know and, as promised, I will send them to you.

I really could not do what I need to do with salary surveys without your assistance so I want you to know that from me to you, I really do appreciate it.

As I was sending them to each of the 9 participants, it struck me that I really could not accomplish what I do without the support of other HR colleagues. Competing businesses aside, we really are all in this together. So, to HR colleagues everywhere - cheers to you!

You Have a Leak - Yikes!

I left for a long weekend last Thursday with this message - too much personal health information is being released by HR staff.  Whoa, can't have that happen so inquisitive minds wanted to know.  I asked, Who told you that? Can't tell you. Ok, what type of information was shared? Don't know. Who was it shared about? Can't say. When was it shared? Don't know. Is it one incident or more than one? Don't know, just stop the leaks and reemphasize confidentiality with your staff. Aaargh!

I know my staff and am VERY comfortable with their respect for the privacy of the information we have access to - and we have a bunch. I am not one to "throw a grenade" and blast everyone in hopes I get the right person and really do not have the time, or interest, to entertain or adress such vague blasts. We routinely address confidentiality and will be doing so again shortly anyway.

Coincidentally, I read a post from Evil HR Lady  this morning that addresses confidentiality in HR. She posts so with a wit and directness that I find very refreshing.  Also, coming back from the Canteen with my two egg and cheese sandwich this morning, I was walking behind two employees who were talking very openly, and not too quietly, in the very public medical center hallways about an upcoming surgey and family court issues. Leak? This was as wide open as it gets.

The word gets out and people know things that probably they should not know,  think they know things when they really do not or put 2 and 2 together and get 5. The grapevine is alive and strong. Let's think about sources of  that information and not automatically, as a first thought, look to leaks in HR.  Having said that, if the information did come from my department - I need the facts so I can address it because as the Evil HR Lady says in her post, "if you can't keep your mouth shut, you have no business being in HR."

If you knew what I knew . . . .nah, I won't go there now :)