HR Review – Handling HR for clients can be exhilarating and, at times, intimidating. Each of our clients faces unique challenges, which makes for exciting work. But, of course, being anxious about giving clients good guidance is natural.
In addition to managing anxiety about client needs, HR reps must also manage liability risks to the clients. What follows are some ideas to help mitigate those risks and ease your anxiety as you help clients through thorny issues.
Know Your Client
Clients entrust you with various types of confidential information. Before you discuss sensitive information with a client representative, it is crucial to confirm that you’re dealing with an authorised person.
Ideally, you’ll have preexisting relationships with your clients. Still, in the case of a new client or an occasional user of HR services, it is essential to ensure you’re talking to a permitted client representative.
Releasing confidential employee information, such as medical information, to someone without authorisation could result in liability for you or your client.
It is also crucial to remember who your client is when handling calls from complaining client employees. In this context, well-meaning Human Resources professionals sometimes forget where their loyalties lie.
There are instances where an HR professional violated her professional duties by urging an employee to sue the employer for discrimination.
When faced with an employee complaint, it’s best to consult a client representative about their preferred course of action before advising a worksite employee.
Be Clear About HR’s Role
Clients occasionally misunderstand the role of HR. For example, clients sometimes call for “legal advice.” Correcting the client’s understanding of HR’s role is essential if this happens.
Legal advice is what lawyers dispense to clients. It is guidance specific to an attorney’s client about how a particular law will affect the client’s rights or duties.
It is simply not within the ken of a Human Resources department to provide legal advice because it is illegal for non-lawyers to do so. Moreover, providing legal advice gives rise to legal and ethical duties your organisation does not want to assume.
An early opportunity to educate a client about HR’s role is in the client service agreement (CSA). In it, the client should acknowledge that your organisation is not providing legal advice.
Additionally, when consulting on a case in which a legal claim is likely, remind clients that your communications may be discoverable if litigation arises. In my experience, clients are grateful to learn about the boundaries of the Human Resources offering.
Recommend a Lawyer When Appropriate
While we may want to be all things to our clients, sometimes a client needs a lawyer.
For example, the client may be faced with a demand letter or a charge of discrimination and need the benet of legal advice and the confidentiality shield of the attorney-client privilege (things an attorney alone can provide).
HR can help a client understand why the cost of legal counsel may be worthwhile.
Help Clients Evaluate the Pros & Cons of Potential Courses of Action
When the right Human Resources strategy isn’t clear-cut, clients appreciate a discussion of the spectrum of potential outcomes of their proposed courses of action.
By discussing possible worst- and best-case scenarios, clients can make well-informed decisions.
Disclose Inherent Information Limitations
Clients expect HR representatives to have the expertise, but no one can reasonably expect our teams to have a ready answer for every situation.
The pandemic highlighted the reality that hosts of unknowns sometimes vex even the most seasoned experts. Clients deserve to know the level of certainty we have about the issues they’re facing.
When in doubt, I encourage my team to resist winging it. Much better is the approach of taking the time to research novel issues and confer with co-workers before consulting with the client.
In the end, if your research is inconclusive, let the client know. A graceful way to do this is to summarise your research efforts in writing and explain why you’ve hit a dead end.
Use Writing When Appropriate
HR teams should assume their client communications could come to light in future litigation cases. Thus, the decision whether to provide advice in writing or by phone should be a deliberate one.
Ask yourself, “How might memorialising this advice in writing help my client or organisation?” In situations when clarity is vital, send an email. If, for example, you feel the client did not understand your message during a call, follow it up with an email.
If you are concerned the client may disregard your verbal advice to its detriment or the detriment of your organisation, send an email clearly outlining your advice and the reasons for it.