Follow-Up to last Springs HR Investigation and My Job...

[Mikelly]

As some will recall, this past spring I was involved in a pretty serious HR investigation at my job where I supervised about 30 people. I was a Deputy program manager and personally responsible for generating well over 10million in revenue for my company. Anyway, I eventually survived the HR Investigation and moved onto another job with the same company, but at a different location and NOT managing people. Yesterday I had cause to go back to my former location to deliver some equipment for some tests that are being run. This required me to come into direct contact with those who levied the allegations against me. Part of my duties prior to the HR Action, were to build a state of the art IT Test facility, which has been nearly completed since I left the position back in March. It was good to see the fruits of my labor. As I walked through the corridors and office spaces and watched some of the testers working, it was bittersweet knowing that I had created the idea to build the facility, and then sold it in the government and my company, and to see it realized was something pretty awesome. However, the fact that I now drive 18 miles further, and am no longer in the role I was formerly in simply left a bitter taste. Four out of the five employees who ganged together and made some serious allegations against me are still there. I saw three of them. Funny thing is that ALL FOUR have been put on notice for poor performance, insubordination, and a host of other issues. I have a meeting scheduled today to discuss my future with my current senior manager, and I know that the issue of managing people will come up. I think I needed to go back to my former job to get closure, to SEE for myself that what I was doing was right, and what occured, and the actions of others was the issue. Even though I was cleared in the HR review of the incident (I would have been fired otherwise), I needed to go there. I'm not sure if I'm "READY" to manage people again, but I may very well wade back into the pool. If I do, I will be investigating liability insurance for managers, JUST IN CASE...

 

What still needs to be FIXED is the fact that an employee can make any host of claims of wrong doing by his or her supervisor, and a Companie's HR group MUST take action of some sort. However, as is often the case, the company is more concerned over a class action law suit, or a single law suit than doing the right thing by ALL parties involved. I can't say that my company acted any differently. They were less concerned about IF I had done anything wrong than they were about getting involved in a Law Suit. They weren't prepared for it when I came back to the table with my own lawyer, taped conversations I had with my Vice President (From my residence in Virginia, to his office in Virginia, Which is legal in Virginia). If companies really want to provide an environment that protects all parties, there should be accountability on all fronts. If an employee makes claims that a supervisor has done wrong, and then the claims go unfounded, there should be action taken against the employee or employees involved. Not sure how most companies handle these types of issues, but the research I have done shows that most companies handle it the way mine did...Poorly, and without protecting the manager or holding the employee accountable.

 

Mike

[jt1]

A good friend had a similar situation come up. He works for a large company, managing about 40 people in a manufacturing plant here in NC. Two women got pissed at him about their schedules and assignments, banded together and charged him with sexual harrassment. I have known him and his wife for years, they are both very religious people who do a lot in the church and community. There was no way he would ever do anything like that. The HR investigation cleared him completely, one of the women finally admitted the whole thing was a hoax to get even with him for changing their schedules so they couldn't work together. After he was cleared and the dust settled, his employer transferred him to another dept. with a big cut in pay. The only reason was they said they had to "take action" to defend against sexual harrassment lawsuits. The whole thing caused him a huge amount of grief, worry, and embarrasment. I told him he should get his own lawyer and sue all concerned, but he is just not the type of guy to do that. Life, lawyers, and our court system really sucks sometimes.

[CruxGNZ]

Man, things just aren't the way they used to be.

 

!M!

[VRJoe]

Well, thanks to a select group of lawyers and polititions it appears that we are now guilty until proven guilty. This kind of stuff just boils my blood. Common sense is gone, right and wrong doesn't count, all that counts is what the lawyers can sue for.

 

The corporate enviorment today is one of the reasons I run my own businesses, and will help others do the same.

 

Needless to say I now support Tort Reform.

 

- Joe

[randy 77zt]

job burnout.the job i have has no chance for advancement.unless you are locking in a retirement with the company you are working for it is probably time for a change.you are stuck in a corner so you can stay busy and not bother any one.those workers ganged up on you because you made them actually do some work.i saw a post of yours awhile back about your z for sale.i can relate to that.if i sold all my toys and rented my house out i could hide in baja for awhile to think of something better to do.happy hour starts a 1 pm there.good luck.do not move to ca-its getting very expensive here.

[Mikelly]

Actually I'm not in a corner it seems. I had a meeting with my boss yesterday and he asked when or if I would be ready to start taking more program level responsibilities and I said that going back to the site, witnessing all I had accomplished, and seeing that the antics of a few had caused all this, and that I was indeed a good manager, I'm ready. I've learned, taken some valuable lessons from it, and look at it like boot camp... Glad I did it, but don't want to go through it again!

 

Randy, I actually calculated it, and with selling my toys, house, cashing in my retirement and heading to the mountains, I could live quite a while up there AFTER buying land and a house. I just don't think I'm ready to walk away from this just yet. So I'm keeping the toys, cars, and the house... For now anyway!

 

Mike

[Kevin Shasteen]

There is a presumption of guilt now days (thanks to new Color of Law type laws) that make a presumption of guilt till proven innocent.

 

People, regardless if they are church goers or not, will only be as honest as they are morale & appropriately ethical. You cant look at people as a church goer or not a church goer; people are poeple-this means they are subject to wrong doing. The problem I have witnessed about people is that most will only be ethical & morale when it is easy-but once the pressure is on their ethics & morals go flying out the window and the wickedness in their hearts, that we all posess, surface. Only a person who is interested in truth will resist that wickedness. Those individuals who resist wickedness are in the minority. This is a dynamic I always find interesting; everything seems to always go back to Politics, Economics & Religion.

 

Mike, my rule of thumb is to trust people as far as I can throw them. Dont blindly trust someone simply because they smile at you & appear to be 'Nice'. Am I jaded...no not at all. Working at the insurance company I used to work at really opened my eyes in the realm of humanity. I too witnessed people, who were suppose to be 'Good' but because of ethnicity or geographical upbringing, their outlook on life is skewed. It really is a shocker when that part of a person surfaces....it is always something that takes me by surprise. I too seem to always look for the best in a person.

 

What I illuded to earlier about Politics, Economics & Religion. In the corporate world you are only interested in one thing; the bottom line! A corporation is subject to the public and at the same time they must show a profit. So money and political correctness are the rule of thumb. Not to mention that Insurance absorbs the risk of any wrong doing, therefore, how a corp. reacts to an allegation will be a script instructed by the premises liability insurance carrier.

 

When an allegation is brought forth-it isnt a matter of who is right or wrong, rather the important issue is to "Isolate" the issue. Cut their losses as quick as possible. Religious beliefs (whatever theirs & yours are) is immaterial...yet w/out some form of religious belief there is no standard as all ethics/morals ore standardized by a religious paradigm; so w/out a religious structure at the core-anything goes.

 

As one previous poster put it, "We really are upside down on our thinking". Unfortunately, corporations, specifically the one I worked for, alwasys did the same thing your corp. did to you yet because we were insurance adjusters-the corp. was a little slower in tresspassing against our good name. When your company claims they are going to "DO THIS TO YOU" because of an allegation: you must do what you did-TELL THEM...bold facely/eye to eye, "IF YOU DO THIS THEN I WILL SEE YOU IN A COURT OF LAW AS YOUR ALLEGATIONS ARE UNSUBSTANTIATED". If/when this ever happens, you must tell them w/out emotion even tho you may be filled w/anger, it isnt about emotion...it is business-so hide the emotions & tell them point blank what you will do: and then shut your mouth and dont say another word-let the deadly silence play out-the next person that speaks usually is the one who tips their hand first...watching and interpreting body language also helps. It is a poker game & Corp.Admin are ruthlessly good at it. Regardless of their answer-you wer right in sticking to your guns; you have to.

 

What you did (get your own lawyer) was the right thing, you were innocent & you knew it; that shows integrity which most corp.admin are highly lacking in.

 

I'm glad you proved them wrong; score one for the good guys. Because we, the good guys, are in the minority-be careful & watch your back; dont let your experience jade you but dont be so quick to "Get Personal" w/a fellow employee simply because they appear to be Nice/Kind...it really is sad that we have to have our gaurd up everywhere we go.

 

Unless you grew up w/the person only trust them as far as you can throw them...that is my rule of thumb. sad-but it is a good rule.

 

Take it slow-good luck.

 

Kevin,

(Yea,Still an Inliner)

[johnc]

Large company HR departments spend a lot of time whispering worst case scenarios into the ears of managment. This leads to fear and knee jerk reactions by management to any hint of sexual, racial, religous, or other types of "harrassment." Management focuses on risk minimization tactics as opposed to solving the problem.

 

Large company HR departments do this for a number of reasons:

 

1. As a way to increase their power and control within the company.

2. Out of ignorance of the laws and case history.

3. A side effect of "lawyer masturbation" where the most unlikely, worst case scenarios are discussed as if they have some reasonable probability of occurring (similar to "engineering masturbation.")

 

The laws as written make sense and are not Draconian. Case law is also reasonable and reflects a common sense resolution of these problems. What's wrong is that managment at many companies cave in and settle before all the facts are out - and plaintifs know that and take advantage of it.

 

BTW... having been part of a 100 person software startup we had a couple sexual harrassment issues. In both cases we showed some backbone and ended up getting criminal charges filed against a false accuser and getting criminal charges filed against a guy who really deserved it. In both cases we also never faced a civil lawsuit.