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Hacking HR complaints for better company culture

Updated: Jun 22, 2023

Human resources complaints are a fact of life.


Many topics that fall under HR are subjective and have some element of unconscious bias at their core, making them a natural magnet for employee grievances, justified and frivolous alike. Even if your company is totally compliant and everyone’s behavior within bounds, taking HR complaints seriously can help make your company a more harmonious and productive place to work.


Businesses have a legal obligation to put policies and procedures in place for how they will handle and investigate employee complaints. These policies and protocols help ensure objectivity when investigating the merits of a complaint so that problems don’t escalate into a toxic culture or (heaven forbid) legal action.


Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

Here are six tips on how to stay compliant when handling employee complaints, and use investigations as a tool to improve workplace culture for all:

1. 🧐 Make sure policies are clear: Policies that draw bright lines between appropriate and unacceptable behavior are easier for team members to follow, and help investigators identify what behaviors need to be addressed. Make sure your policies clearly define discrimination and harassment, provide clear expectations for performance metrics, and provide objective criteria for compensation/promotion policies. Communicate these policies to your employees regularly, and make sure to include a variety of clear examples for both desired and unacceptable behavior.

 

2. 🧑🏾‍🏫 Train your team: Companies that do not require harassment and discrimination training are more likely to receive putative damages, and many states require training. State training requirements are determined by where your employees work (not where the company is headquartered), and define who must go through training, how often, and what the training should cover. If only some of the states where you do business, consider requiring training for all of your team regardless of where they live since protections in one state could be violated by team members who live in another.

I know, I know… HR training. 😖 Cringe.

But prioritizing training shows that your business takes its team’s rights and comfort seriously, and the cringe factor often stimulates light-hearted conversations of serious topics among team members. Ethena (not sponsored, but recommended) delivers short, culturally relevant training modules on a monthly basis instead of mind-numbingly longer trainings every 1-2 years. Team members can complete the training in bite-sized chunks over time, or bank them into longer and less frequent sessions according to personal preference.

 

3. ⏱️ Act promptly: Taking every complaint seriously means acting promptly to investigate and address issues. A complaint can negatively affect your company culture if left unaddressed, even if the complaint doesn’t end up being out-of-bounds of labor compliance laws. Responding quickly to every complaint helps you to contain the impact on overall culture by…

  • ⏸️ Pausing whatever behavior led to the complaint,

  • 🫸 Creating clear confidentiality boundaries during the investigation, and

  • 👯 Providing an opportunity to create a more harmonious work environment.

When the person with a complaint sees the company taking immediate action, they are less likely to act out in subversive ways. Furthermore, if a team member is filing a spurious complaint to avoid accountability for poor performance, a prompt investigation will help get to the bottom of the issue and address it appropriately before suspicion has a chance to spread more widely within the organization. Regardless of the outcome of your investigation, ensure that all parties involved are treated fairly and respectfully.

 

4. 🗄️ Keep detailed records: Document all aspects of the investigation, including the complaint, witnesses, interviews, and actions taken. In the worst case, this documentation can serve as evidence of your compliance with labor laws and regulations in case of a legal dispute, but records can be useful as more than just a CYA measure. Cultural issues that don’t rise to the level of a compliance violation may manifest as common themes in unrelated complaints. As an example, a manager’s unrealistic expectations may manifest as a discrimination complaint from a single mom, allegations of bullying from a junior team member, and complaints from another that they’re not allowed to take time off. Reviewing complaint and investigation documentation may reveal trends that when addressed can improve employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

 

5. 💬 Follow up with employees: Best practices (and many laws) require that you keep the details of your investigation confidential, however it’s important that the complainant understands that you’re taking their complaint seriously. Set realistic communication expectations at the outset by letting employees know about your confidentiality policy at the time they make the complaint. After an investigation is completed, follow up with the employee to ensure that they feel their concerns were heard and addressed. You may not be able to share all of the details of your findings and disciplinary action, but following up to make sure that the employee feels safe and heard will help maintain a positive work culture regardless of the circumstances.

 

6. 👨🏻‍⚖️ Consult with an HR professional or lawyer: Remember that many compliance violations are a result of good intentions and flawed interpretations of rules or incentives. In some circumstances, the regulations in one area may directly contradict the requirements in another. If you're unsure about how to handle a complaint or investigation, consult with an HR professional or lawyer who can guide you through the process and ensure that you stay compliant with labor laws and regulations.


In the end, HR complaints are a symptom of cultural issues. While it is important to stay compliant with labor regulations, avoiding lawsuits should not be your primary motivation for complying with regulations for appropriate workplace conduct. Taking each complaint seriously and undergoing prompt and thorough investigations helps you identify the problems in your company culture that distract team members, hurt engagement, lead to higher turnover, and harm overall productivity.

An earnest and curious investigation also provides hints for the best ways to address cultural issues before they become systemic. By creating clear policies, training your employees, responding promptly to complaints, keeping detailed records, following up with employees, and consulting with an HR professional or lawyer if necessary, you can ensure that your business stays compliant with labor regulations.

 

Summary:

  • HR complaints often fall into a grey area because of their subjective nature.

  • Your company should have policies and procedures for responding to employee complaints.

  • Complaint investigations give business leaders a tool to identify cultural issues before they become systemic.

  • Policies should be clear and easy to follow.

  • Train your team on appropriate behavior, even if not required by law.

  • Respond to complaints promptly to contain the problem and prevent negativity from taking root.

  • Keep detailed records of complaints and investigations, and use them as an early warning system for cultural and operational issues.

  • Follow up with the complainant after the investigation.

  • Consult an expert, if needed.

 

Want to learn more about how to create policies that people support, not resent? Check out these related articles:

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