Human Resources Department

[tvguy]

I see a lot of folks referring to their HR Department in posts here. I'm in California, and maybe it's just here, but companies here started eliminating HR in the mid-2000's, (2005 at my last employer) and that was the first department completely eliminated in 2008 when the economy went south (my current company, and my wife's company).

Benefit coordination (Health Insurance, Flexible Spending, 401k, Payroll) were all shifted to outside, online companies.

Wondered if your employer still had HR?

 

[kwelch10377]

Yup...my company still has an HR department, but I also work for a company with 90,000 employees worldwide.

 

[Pakey]

I'm in California. The company I work for still has an HR Dept, it's one of the departments that reports to me; I have 3 people who are full time HR. We have about 300 full time employees and a couple of thousand seasonal employees.

 

[DebbieB]

I see a lot of folks referring to their HR Department in posts here. I'm in California, and maybe it's just here, but companies here started eliminating HR in the mid-2000's, (2005 at my last employer) and that was the first department completely eliminated in 2008 when the economy went south (my current company, and my wife's company).

Benefit coordination (Health Insurance, Flexible Spending, 401k, Payroll) were all shifted to outside, online companies.

Wondered if your employer still had HR?

I work for a large company, we have a regional HR rep, a central hotline #, online self service. Most of the benefit administration is handled by outside companies (401K, Flex Spending, Disability). If you have an issue such as harrassment, there is definitely an HR procedure to contact.

 

[Angelhalo]

Yes, my company has one, as does my DH's and my mom's. She actually is a manager in the HR dept.

 

[DSNY4ever]

I am in California and we have an HR department, I think our office has about 250-300 employees.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Yes, we still have an HR department. They aren't very helpful, but they're still there.

 

[tinatark]

Funny you should ask... I reconnected with the HR VP from my old company a week or so ago - her position was "eliminated" back in July - she had been there 42 years - I'm sure at the salary max for her position - around $150k.

I did look though and there is a HR VP position now open at that same company. Guess "she" was eliminated, not her job. Stinks.

 

[tvguy]

Yup...my company still has an HR department, but I also work for a company with 90,000 employees worldwide.

We have 33,000 employees in the U.S.
HR was just one person at my location, that's all centralized/outsourced/done online now.
I have to wonder if they outsourced HR to protect themselves from liability.......thought being....we're paying this company to make sure we follow the law.....if the outside company screws up, they are held at least partically responsible if not entirely.
My location got caught in a huge mess several years ago. California law REQUIRES lunch breaks, and even says when they must happen (between 2 and 5 hours after your work day starts). Most of us prefer to work 8 straight with no meal break, or "take" our lunch period at the beginning or end of your day. Law doesn't allow that. They had to pay out a ton of money for that.

 

[Planogirl]

We have an HR department but all they seem to do is administer tests and answer questions about benefits. DH's company provides HR services for a large firm so this might be the type of thing you see in your area.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

My wife's last company had an HR department, but they have dwindled in size and scope.

Hew new company has a HR department, and all I know is that they can actually not hire someone if they choose... where I worked, hiring was all done by department heads, and HR had NO SAY in who got hired, unless they failed drug tests or something like that. As someone said, basically their job was health benefits and basic admin work. And they used to make boatloads of cash. Now they make about half of what they used to make.

I don't get how HR should have any say, really, over who gets hired. Most of those folks don't know the jobs of what the hired people will be doing. They have no idea of how the jobs are performed... at least in what I did when I was last employed by a company.

 

[coconutprincess]

Yes, we do. But I work for a very large company so they are only really benefits and onboarding stuff. You never really interact with them.

 

[cluvsdisney]

My company has an HR person. We don't need a dedicated HR dept so this person also acts as the office manager and processes payroll. Several years ago, we were in a growth spurt and things were falling through the cracks without having one person to control these types of issues.

 

[bballmom56]

Most of us prefer to work 8 straight with no meal break, or "take" our lunch period at the beginning or end of your day. Law doesn't allow that. They had to pay out a ton of money for that.

That's the way I would prefer it too. I hated taking an hour lunch when I really didn't have anything to do with that time. Who needs to sit around for an hour? My 15 minute break would be sufficient. I would love to work through lunch and leave earlier. Yes, I know there has to be office coverage for certain hours, but I am sure that could be worked out.

I left my job in HR (back when it was just called "Personnel") 25 years ago. We were responsible for hiring clerical, maintenance and security people for our institution. We took the initial application, interviewed, gave tests (shorthand and typing tests), checked references and if the candidate seemed like a good fit then referred them to the department head that had the opening. That person decided whether to hire them or not.

Tomorrow I start a new job in HR again. Lots of new rules and procedures I'm sure.

DH's employer has an HR dept. of about 2-3 people and they are worse than useless. They actually make situations worse. Possibly came close to violating some laws, but they are a private institution and unless an employee wanted to risk their job and had money to hire an attorney, it will continue as is. Plus they are not helpful and can be nasty when asking about benefit info. I wish they would outsource them!!

 

[LukenDC]

I'm an HR director and can assure you that HR is alive and well. Companies outsourced many of their transactional HR functions or used technology to create self-service options for employees. The HR folks left behind after outsourcing tended to be well-educated professionals who were able to focus on more sophisticated HR needs, thus bringing HR to the next level of value and professionalism.

It is a big risk to completely outsource HR. Recruiting and employee relations, for example, have a substantial impact on organizational culture and employee morale. HR also crafts the strategic direction of benefits, compensation, and employee development and is usually the linchpin of compliance with labor laws.

 

[scrapbookworm]

The company I work for has 5 employees. So no, we don't have a human resource department. I guess the HR dept would be me (if something needs to be filled out) or my boss (if a decision needs to be made).

I've had to talk to some of our vendors before about benefits, and when I asked a question, I was told in a smart aleck tone to direct the question to my human resource department. When I told the rep that we do not have a HR dept and my boss had instructed me to call her, she asked me in the most scathing voice "What do you mean, you.don't.have.a.human.resource.dept?". I don't remember now what company or what the question was, but I remember her attitude and tone of voice.