Today’s post is a “honey” of a blog.  This means to the untrained person that in reference to Buzz’s August post of Follow Up and Follow-Through. I could not agree more with everything she says in this post. Not only do I agree with this – I have lived nearly the exact same set of circumstances.

Accordingly, this post is directed to the younger folks in HR.  The ones, who have not yet turned into the Cynical, Old Curmudgeon (COC) that I have become.  As an HR pro, when it comes to managers and supervisors completing the appropriate, yet always not existent documentation do not believe anyone. Say “GIVE ME A COPY!”

That way I know it is done. It reminds me of Ronald Reagan’s famous  three word sentence to Mikhail Gorbachev, “Trust but Verify.”

So as the COC that I have become, I can almost assure you that most, if not all supervisors WILL NOT perform even the minimal amount of documentation — unless your organization is structured such that it has processes in place to keep them from getting paid without doing the proper documentation.

I have also been through the distasteful process of employee reinstatement.  Or for the sports-minded supervisor, said another way Employee 1 – Supervisor 0.  You lost! But yet they (the run amock supervisors) still don’t seem to figure it out and it really is such a simple thing. You must do the proper documentation.

“I am too busy.” That’s my favorite. The supervisor is the only person in the whole organization  who is busy.  If you can’t get it done then you need to stay longer. That is why you are an exempt employee.

FMLA, it has been around since 1993  and if you are a supervisor and do not know about it, you are not qualified to do your job!  See ya – get out.

In Buzz’s story, I would also find some fault with the HR department. The reason is this, because HR needs to make sure everybody who is remotely related to supervision or management knows about FMLA and how it works, and the ramifications of improper FMLA administration at the supervisor level.  So there is a shame on HR too.

When supervisors come to HR they are usually looking for the answer they want, not necessarily the answer you give them.  So don’t consider it advice. You are giving them a directive, an order to handle a situation in a certain matter – at least based upon the facts as they are presented.

And remember what Regan told Gorbachev, “Trust but Verify.”

 

***************************************************************************

Dave Ryan, SPHR is an HR veteran, who has been in HR since in, was personnel.

Dave was my 2nd follower on Twitter and the 1st person to ever @-mention or retweet or #FF my writings. And when Dave tweets, people listen — so to have his support was and still is such an honor!

Dave is a dad, husband, blogger, ice hockey official and a fan of all
things electronic.  You can find Dave at his blog site http://hrofficial.com or on
Linked In at http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidryansphr on the
tweet stream as Dave the HR Czar http://twitter.com/#!/davethehrczar.