By Mara Thorne
When someone says “HR Consultant” to you, do you imagine a stern-looking person perched in an office or loitering in the corridor, in a black suit, like some kind of corporate crow waiting to swoop down and find fault with something? And what does “HR” stand for, anyway?
Let me introduce myself. My name is Mara Thorne, and I’m an HR consultant, but I’m actually quite a friendly bird! I work with Fides Media to help keep their people focused, motivated and productive. For me, what’s important about HR is the “H”, the “human” bit. Never mind what the “R” stands for – could be Resources, could be Relations – what I am focused on is people in organisations. Or sometimes outside them, trying to get in....
HR is incredibly diverse. People come to you with the most bizarre situations, and you have to advise them, take action - do something. It’s not all about hiring and firing, there’s a whole load of other interesting stuff going on.
• Imagine a factory where about 200 burly blokes do metal fabrication; it’s a greasy, dusty, and pretty macho place. One of those blokes tells you he’s decided to become a woman. He’s been to the doctor and he’s taking female hormones. Before long, the bulges under his overalls start to attract attention - and he wants to start using the ladies’ toilets.... What do you do?
• What if a young girl in your department goes out one lunch time .... and doesn’t come back? She’s not answering her mobile and her parents don’t know where she is. Has she just got fed up, or has she been run over by a car? Do you get angry, or worried?
• One of your sales people rings to tell you he’s been followed back from a call, and when he’s stopped at a motorway service area, the car’s been broken into and the samples stolen. He’s pretty shaken up about it; what if they’d followed him all the way home? What do you say to him, and how do you protect the other sales people?
• A worker gets drunk at the Christmas party and takes a swing at his boss in front of half the company. So you tell him not to bother coming back, he’s fired. Next thing you know, there’s a Tribunal claim in the post. What did you do wrong?
Yes, these things really happen. I know, because I’ve had to deal with them. And that’s the sort of thing I help with now - as well as many, far less interesting things, like contracts, policies, disciplinaries, restructuring and a lot more besides.
So what do I stand for? Well, I believe that people are what make the difference in organisations – so you need to recruit the right people, manage them properly, and care for them, to get the best out of them. For me, it’s all about people.
Check out my website: www.mthorneconsulting.co.uk for full details of what I can do for you, or contact me on 01372 700139 or mara@mthorneconsulting.co.uk for advice and support.
