Interview with a Human Resource Manager

This paper is an interview involving the Human Resource manager who is also the founder of clearing and forwarding company called AIR 7 SEAS TRANSPORT LOGISTICS Inc. I chose to interview the Human Resource manager of the small business because I needed to find out if small businesses value employment laws the same way big corporations do. It is a company consisting of more than seven employees both male and female from different age groups. The interview covered the employment law which includes the relationship between employer and employee in the working place. The employee laws aim to prevent any form of discrimination, establish economic support, increase productivity by minimizing work disruption and promote health and safety in workplaces (Wlash, 2013).

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The manager explained that since he was operating only a small business, he got his employment law training online through the SBA (Small Businesses Administration). He further explained how he was advised to go to the S.BA website where there were easy to use tools that clearly explained the employment laws needed to conduct the kind of business he was getting into. Through the website, he was able always to confirm the employment laws where he did not understand. The frequency of training was not definite because he could refer to the website at any time he needed to do so. The Human Resource manager agreed that the employment law training was essential especially for his kind of business because it involved different shifts and handling of valuables from various clients.

According to Hallock (2012), compensation is what a company pays the employee for their services; it can be through salary, benefits or bonuses. As far as compensation is concerned, the H.R manager was reluctant to talk about it only suggesting that salary compensation is set according to the standards of the industry and can only be reviewed if there is an improvement in performance in the organization regarding revenue and if the market demands an increase in compensation. Typically changes in employee compensation do not take into account what happens internally in an organization but focuses more on what happens externally in the market; if the market moves then the compensation steps (Guerin & DelPo, 2009). In general, the H.R manager understood the compensation analysis based on what is expected of the company if other enterprises in the same industry are compensating their employees in a certain way.

The Human Resource manager gave an illustration of two cases where he had a dilemma of employing the employment law. The first incident involved an employee who was transporting cargo for a client and while he was on transit claimed that he made a stop where the goods were stolen. The problem was proving that the goods were stolen and that it was not just a scheme by the employee who would have planned it all. The employee denied planning the robbery and refused to take responsibility. The goods stolen were worth more than $6000, and it would mean the company would have to pay the client.

Therefore, the H.R manager had to fire the employee for carelessness and getting the company into a financial dilemma. Another scenario involved a female employee who felt discriminated against because she was not allowed to work in a section of the enterprise. The female employee felt looked down upon when she was asked to concentrate on the paperwork and avoid working in the warehouse area where the male workers dominated. As much as it was not a big issue, the female employee felt discriminated against since the workers in the store got bonuses.

The Human Resource manager claimed that in both instances he followed his instincts, but with guidance from the small employment law training, he got from the SBA website. The reason he did not monitor the training fully is because he felt that the cases needed common sense. In the first instance, the employee should not have stopped anywhere unless it was an emergency and if so should have stopped at a secure spot. Therefore, it was clearly a case of carelessness which cost the company a lot of money. The mere fact that the employee showed no remorse made the firing easier because it was an indication he did not see his mistake.

In the second case, the H.R manager felt that the intention was not to discriminate against the female employee, therefore, agreed to let her work there so as to experience what the male employees do but only for a given period. He was confident he did not break any laws because forcing a female employee to work under severe conditions would have led to breaking the rules. The H.R manager expressed concern over the online training saying it was not well detailed and that they could use more training to handle such cases shortly if need be.

I asked the H.R.M what he would do if there were a case involving a male and a female employee with the female employee being accused of sexually harassing the male employee. The H.R.M answered without hesitation that his company does not tolerate sexual harassment and to protect the image of the company the female employee who was accused of harassing the male employee if proven to be guilty would immediately be dismissed from the corporation. When asked if he would not find it strange that a female employee has harassed a male employee, he jokingly said that it is a crazy world at the moment, weird things happen.

References

Hallock, K. F. (2012). Pay: Why people earn what they earn and what you can do now to make more. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Guerin, L., & DelPo, A. (2009). Create your own employee handbook: A legal & practical guide for employers. Berkeley, Calif: Nolo.

Walsh, D. J. (2013). Employment law for human resource practice. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.