When HR becomes RH ( Run for Help) – Here is a Real Case Study

Yesterday i was at a meeting with one of the 3 top executives whom I admire for his effectiveness and brain and the HR Manager of a leading organization.

After the meeting, he told me of his experience of participating in one of those HR events that are organized in Cyprus and in which the organizers beg C-Executives to participate and the participants attend basically for politics.

He asked me the following question. Suppose as a Company you operate on these values: Customer experience, Growth, Family, Teamwork, Responsibility. One day you discover that a member of the staff submitted an expense requisition and claimed €130 on false ground.
What would you do?
1) Fire him/her
2) Nothing
3)Get the money back and give him/her a warning.

He said, most HR Directors at the event answered without hesitation that they would definitely fire him/her because the crime is theft and there is no other action to be taken. Also, they would change the procedure to ensure similar incidents never happen again.

Now, what would you do?

This is a typical example when HR becomes RH. This happens when your values are not connected with your processes and your people. They are there not to impress yourselves and feel proud about them but to impress your visitors entering your board room as they are hanged on the wall inside an expensive wood frame.

The answer to this real case is: If your value as above is Family, then act as a family. What would you do if you found one day that your child stole from you €130? Would you fire him/her? Would you turn him/her to the police?

Yiannakis Mouzouris
B.Sc. Mech. Eng., M.Sc. Mgt
Business Consultant / Trainer
Performance Management Specialist