HR & Employment Contracts

ScorpioHR

As previously stated, I work for a small group of physician's. Before I came to the company, there was no HR Dept. Our physician's have employment contracts that come up for renewal throughout the year. The Business Operation's Manager (btw, does anyone have a job description for THAT title?LOL)
handled the renewals. It is quite clear to me that this should be a function of Human Resources. The contracts involve pay changes, vacation schedules, cme allowances, etc. These are all area's that I have to update and track. Here is my dilemna. This Manager is VERY sensitive, territorial and manipulative-I do not want to send an e-mail and tell her that contract's will be handled through HR without being prepared for every argument she will put forth-And, she will :-)While I can surely state the obvious, it IS a function of HR, I am looking for thoughts, opinions and maybe some other compelling reasons to explain my position-What better place to ask for help than the Forum! Thanks and have a great day!
Scorpio

Don D

Although you are probably right, I suggest it should not appear to her that it was YOUR call. You have a territorial, manipulative and sensitive co-manager. Why in the world would you want to invite her anger, disappointment and pain and perhaps venom? You will either puncture her bubble or engage her in battle. You won't be 'the bad guy' if it comes from another direction, the COO or CEO or Board, for example.

BTW, I'm not real sure I'd want to add a bunch of legal contracts to my responsibilities. Remember the old saying....'Be careful what you ask for'. To get your toe in the water, you might just tell her you'd like to review them from an HR perspective before they go out for signature.

Rockie

Hey Scorpio:

In our practice...all physician contracts, etc. are handled through our attorney. We have a medical staff coordinator that handles all the CMEs, physician scheduling, vacations, etc.

Some of our physicians are shareholders who are equal pay and newer hired physicians are non-shareholder employees who are paid a salary.

If your docs are on a specific salary and accrue vacation like other employees do, then I would suggest that this all be handled thru HR.

I can't imagine why a business operations manager would be involved in this or want to be involved for that matter. I assume since there was no HR before you came, "someone" did it. When HR does come on the scene and attempts to assert their responsibility, some folks don't like to give up what they perceive as their "power" base. If possible, I'd meet with this person face to face and just explain how you perceive your role and why you feel you need to have this responsibility assigned to Human Resources...for the protection of the practice and legalities that might ensue if HR issues are not addressed properly.

Our practice is large (28 docs), so I really could not imagine having to deal with all of their issues on top of 350 employees.

Good luck!

KathiHR

We are in human services, we also have a Business Manager (& yes, I have a job description). There are several areas where our duties intermingle - our business manager handles all contracts & legal matters, but I review employment contracts & legal matters related to employment. Our Business Manager is also responsible for risk management - another area that we end up working together. I don't think its uncommon for a business manager to be handling contracts. But related to employment, this is an area that requires teamwork - you each bring an expertise to the table. Some of the issues covered in an employment contract are policy-related - vacation, pay, expenses, etc. You probably also need to be watching over equitable pay policies & avoiding discrimination in pay structures. So there's plenty of reasons for you to be involved. I think you'd be better off to approach this from a team point of view. If you know she's territorial, then don't launch an invasion. Rather, you need to be allies working together. If teamwork is idealistic & not possible with her, then I agree with Don - you'll need someone higher up to force her to work with you.