Components of HR that I Sorta Kinda Like

Yes, there are some things in HR and my personal job situation that I like. I know it's hard to believe.

Components of HR that I (Generally) Don't Hate

Employee Relations and Coaching
A lot of the time people come to me all aflutter, freaking out about their latest problem. I listen, ask questions and then give them the simplest advice I can think of. It is amazing how often people sigh and say "I feel so much better now". By just being a patient listener I've "solved" half of their problem. Or helped them solve it, however you want to look at it. By understanding business in general, my company's business specifically, the employee with the problem, some simple psychology and HR tidbits I offer advice that is practical. It is challenging but easy at the same time and the reward is often great.

Benefits Administration
Benefits are interesting to me simply because so many people don't understand them. I like being able to help explain how these programs work to people who have that deer in headlights look come their enrollment time. Since I work in a relatively small company I have the time and resources to help my employees when they have questions on forms or need help understanding an EOB. My employees really trust me (probably too much) and to me that says I am doing the right thing for them by helping them instead of saying "I don't know, call Kaiser's customer service, dewd".

Recruiting
I like recruiting mostly because I'm really good at it. I also like it because it can be so dang entertaining. A few years back I worked for a high tech company in their recruiting department. They were a cool company and received hundreds of resumes for each opening. Unfortunately the timeline for hiring was on the long side. This not only frustrated hiring managers and HR folks, but candidates too. One candidate, not very qualified, sent us an email two weeks after he submitted his resume accusing us of being "on a Jimmy Buffet time frame" with recruiting and as such was withdrawing his application. I laughed for days about that one.

Handling Crisis (or Being Calm When Others Freak Out)
One thing you learn pretty quickly in HR is you need to remain calm, especially when others are freaking out. The fire alarm goes off. There is a disgruntled former employee in the lobby. Someones paycheck is wrong. An employee's car broke down at lunch 10 miles away. Someone is throwing up in the bathroom. A manager is screaming at an employee. The President needs something overnighted and UPS already came and went. A bum is picking cigarette butts out of the container outside. You're out of post-its.

For some reason I am the calm one. Some employees even call me "the voice of reason". I have a talent for quickly assessing a problem, handling it professionally and making it "go away" as soon as possible. I think it is because I am a middle child. At any rate, I like that people depend upon me to handle things that scare them. Sometimes "handling things" is simply instructing an employee to do x, y and z "go to Office Max and buy a big stack of post its. Write up an expense report and I will sign it". It's not hard and I get hero worthy praise for it. Nice!

Kicking Butts
I love, absolutely love, telling a well-deserved person to stick it where the sun doesn't shine. There is nothing more satisfying then disciplining and/or terminating a bad employee. I also love the fact that even when a surly employee talks smack to their manager they think twice before pulling that with me. They absolutely know I won't stand for it and am more willing and able to do something about it than anyone else in the company.

So there you have it. Next perhaps I will discuss skills - those I have and those I lack. I'm actually sort of enjoying this. Blogging is much cheaper than therapy or career counseling!