After 20 years experience in HR, I left a post as HR Advisor as I was moving to a different part of the country. This move did not occur for various reasons and I decided to look for another job in my home area. I was recruited to a company (300 employees) as an HR Administrator (the only job I was offered after 4 months search in a rural area)
The company had not had a designated HR professional for the past 6 years. A Director, my Line Manager, has taken the role of HR Manager as part of his brief for the last 15 years, he admits the HR processes were not his main concern and were badly neglected (The previous HR person fulfilled a welfare role as far as I can gather & the Board found this operationally unsustainable)
He told me, on my first day, that after my 3 months probationary period it was planned that I would become the HR Manager (part of his title)
The last 10 weeks have shown me that the company only took on a designated HR person because their clients expected an HR system as part of the profile of the company manufacturing goods for them. I have been left pretty much to my own devices and praised informally for instigating preliminary initiatives to improve HR procedures (believe me there are none in place!)
It is quite disturbing how totally lacking the basic HR & management procedures are within the company. Frankly the company is seriously legislatively non-compliant in almost every area of HR.
The middle managers are falling over themselves with gratitude that I am there to assist them with ER issues (disciplinaries, grievances, absence management, recruitment)
I am finding the job very enjoyable and challenging and a really good project to get my teeth into
My problem is how do I approach the end of my 3 month probation. I need some serious commitment from the Board of this company to the HR role if it is to work at all effectively. Also I am on HR Administrators salary and what they are expecting is an all-inclusive HR Department.
the company have previously called the part time Payroll Administrator – Personnel! and she has struggled to write references and write notes in disciplinaries & grievances. A role she considers to be worthy of prurient interest at best. She is entirely the wrong sort of person to be involved in HR matters)
She is universally disliked in the office and unfortunately I inherit her to line manage!
thats a quick gallop past the main issues!
Any ideas how to approach end of my probation in 2 weeks time?
any thoughts would be very welcome
Anon
