How do you handle people assuming HR is responsible for everything from event planning to office supplies? Have you ever had a colleague ask you where to find sugar or other unrelated questions? How do you politely redirect these inquiries? Share your experiences and tips with us! #HRresponsibilities #handlingunexpectedtasks #workplacescenarios #askingHRirrelevantquestions
I tell them where they can find the answers. In this case, I would direct him to the individual responsible for ordering break room supplies. I would not respond in a way to shut the conversation down.
You did the exact right thing. There’s no magic words to shut someone down, but “I don’t know, because I don’t manage that”. is the only answer you need.
I calmly and politely explain where or from whom to find the appropriate help/answer. There is nothing to shut down here unless someone is constantly badgering you maliciously which 99.99999% of the time is not the case.
I calmly and politely explain where or from whom to find the appropriate help/answer. There is nothing to shut down here unless someone is constantly badgering you maliciously which 99.99999% of the time is not the case.
>I had an employee walk into my office today asking where he could find sugar because the break room was out.
Well, did you know where the sugar was?
I will mostly refer them back to their manager, even if I know the answer. In HR you have to protect your time – otherwise you become the “kitchen sink” of questions where everyone throws everything at you. I want to be known as an HR – “Insert HR Competency here” SME, not a guru of everything.
“XYZ is not part of HR responsibilities at this company/organization.”
This is why HR is not out in the open. We are hard to get to, so you have to make it a point to come into the suite.
We used to be by the main door and it was literally the information desk at the airport.
Today someone asked me how something was paid for his company car. I referred him to the fleet manager. He said he has already asked the fleet manager and she didn’t know and that either accounting or payroll would know. I brightly asked him to include me in CC when he emailed the accounting and payroll managers, so that I would know as well. I count that as a solution.
My pet peeve is the opposite- when someone comes to me and says “I’m not sure who handles this but…..”
You know exactly who is responsible for this hence why you came to me. Now get to the point!!
Someone asked me what year our building was built in, and was fuming when I didn’t know. Even directing them to the facilities/building manager who might have known didn’t defuse their visible frustration. I just accept it as an occupational hazard.
I find these people entertaining, they always do the craziest things.
I thought I was still in the IT sub. Same things happen there. People expect IT to have answers to tons of questions.
Then there is the email from years ago where someone in I believed the UK branch sent an all company email globally asking for more toilet paper in the mens room. And all the replies.
I respectfully disagree. Be helpful.
My favorite and only sometimes truthful line is something like “hmm seems like we both are working from the same amount of information on this issue. I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to help right now.”
And send them in their way lol. I don’t apologize. I don’t give them hints of who might help.
Update: sugargate 2024 is resolved because I was just told the OTHER breakroom had sugar. Crisis averted! 🤪
We used to have a phone number that was like a general HR number and it would ring non-stop. We all had to take turns answering it. We would get interns just to answer that damn line.
We got a new VP of HR once and after literally 2 hours of hearing the phone ring constantly he called IT and told them to disconnect the number.
I have never loved a manager more than I loved that manager.
Definitely a catch 22. Being the one HR person in a lean organization, everyone leans on me for everything. Parties, breakfast orders, admin, supplies etc. I’m realizing that I need to get a role in a larger organization to leave those roles behind.
This is what our admins and office managers are for. I think you could have at least directed them to who would know and I would do it from the beginning. “I don’t know, but ___ would” and leave it at that. I don’t care if people come to me with questions, but I’m not planning or ordering anything.
Our HR office is open.. I work from home but there’s a team that is required to be there. And I feel so bad for them because they talk about the times when people come in absolutely livid and they have to hide because sometimes the employee gets aggressive.
I make the case all the time, that the door should not be open people should have to make an appointment and state their case before they come in.
I remember when I first started there. I could not believe that the office was open for any of the 10,000 employees to walk in….. at any time.
And even if they do walk in and it is an HR issue. We need time to look up their file/policies and investigate before we respond to them. it doesn’t allow time for a proper response!
I struggle with this too. Our corporate staff was only about 10 when I started and we’re only 20 now. The company has over 400 employees, but in the office, I’m the grown up that knows how to do things. I’ve been here longer than most of the others and I’ve handled a lot of things that an office manager or IT manager would have handled before we hired those positions. Still today, many staff here come to me a bit helpless from time to time. My coworker advises me to take it as a compliment that they think of me as a person who knows and cares enough to get things done. I’ve tried to adopt that philisophy since then and take it as a compliment.
Honestly I have to deliver so much bad news and have so many hard conversations that I welcome a simple task I can complete that will make someone happy from time to time.
So who is responsible fir supplies? I’d recommend putting a note near the coffee machine a number or email for people to report lack of supplies/machine breakdowns.
If you don’t have a facilities person, I think you are being rude to this person who was asking a reasonable question.
Just redirect them to who the appropriate person is. 🤷🏻♀️ For any supplies, I redirect to facilities. I genuinely don’t mind. I see it as they’re comfortable approaching me for help. Being kind and patient in those small situations goes a long way to build rapport and trust. If you’re rude or short when they go to you for small things, they won’t come to you for major things either.
At my current org we have a doc on the intranet that describes who to contact for different issues.
– Ex:
– Workers comp injury = contact HR Gen at 5678
– Benefits question = contact HRM at 1234
– Supplies = contact Operations at 3456
Maybe that would help.
I’d recommend publishing your HR strategy and objectives so employees see what you are focused on. This might help (with reiteration) your priorities to your employees.
If someone came to ask me for where the sugar is, I’d say something like… when I want sugar and don’t see it in the break room, I bring it from my home or ask a co-worker. My responses usually focus on how I would solve the issue as an employee. They may not like the response, but at least I give them an answer other than… it’s not my responsibility.
I tell all my employees that if they don’t know who to go to with a question they can come to me and I’ll help them. It builds trust, helps them learn who the right resources actually are, and really doesn’t take up all that much of my time. Then again, I work at a company that has an “all hands on deck” culture and not a “not my job, not my problem” culture.