Diff between HR & Compliance?

Nina I

I am wondering if any of you, with all your varied backgrounds, may be familiar with differences in HR dept structure - I am the Compliance person here, and work closely with our HR director. We both report directly to the CEO, and have around 550 employees. I handle all government reporting (a considerable amount in our industry), audit internal policies for compliance, as well as conduct internal and external complaint investigations, such as anything filed with EEOC, local DOL, sexual harassment, etc. She handles everything else, although we consult frequently (sometimes daily) about problem terminations, applying company policies, etc.

For example, I conduct all sexual harassment investigations. Since these files must be kept separately from the employee's personnel file, she feels uncomfortable that she doesn't have the information in their files, and is now pressing for inclusion in meetings where I am fact-finding with managers. I don't have any problem with that, either, but it seems redundant for both of us to be present. Perhaps she should conduct that portion, and I should be the one to take the direction from her, once they decide which way they want to go. . . ?

Does anyone have any ideas regarding traditional (or untraditional) roles for each of these positions? Recently it feels like there is some tension in the "what is mine" area (I am picking up from her, not vice versa), and I would like to know how other companies structure their HR departments. Any info would be great.

Shawn

It sounds like one of you should be reporting to the other. It almost sounds like you have 2 HR Directors who have split the duties and you keep bumping into each other. It isn't clear to me who should be the boss based on the duties you described, but one of you should become the real HR Director ansd the other should be a HR Specialist or HR Officer.

Pork

In these types of structure considerations it would appear to me that Human Resources is a field of responsibility in which you have rules and state/federal law in which you must comply and be accountable and confidential. All who deal in this area must, likewise, be also responsible for the consideration of law and confidential nature of the Materials in the HR area and the operating business.

COMPLIANCE has a total function in the consideration of the federal/state law or an association in which compliance law is concerned with the compliance issue in all operating departments. Quality control and record keeping for compliance issues regardless of the concerned department's feelings of position of operational issues needs. The quality control/compliance officer must be able step across any departmental lines and should not report to the HR or any other department required to respond to any operational law or rule.

Both of you should report to the senior leadership structure; find out what the senior leadership want, work with the compliance officer so that together you can set -up cleaR LINES OF COMMUNICATION AND AUTHORITY. Present your plan to the CEO/SENIOR LEADERSHIP and move on from there! Pork

Don D

I agree with Shawn. Yours seem to be two different departments. I've found that typically a large HR Department will contain one or more people assigned specific areas in which to oversee compliance. I've also seen EEO Compliance Officers separate and apart from HR entirely so as to provide total separation. And in some HR departments, things that come up such as sexual harassment complaints are assigned for investigation and recommendation to a rotating group of HR professionals or farmed out entirely. In any event, I would be most comfortable with clear lines of organization; who reports to and takes direction from whom. I am sure that you are just as hesitant to give up your work independence as she is insistent that you do so. Something will pop sooner or later in the elastic fabric of your department.