[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

I don't think so at all. If I had spendy office would be nice feature not for creepy shit. Sitting in office wanna not be disturbed cuz private call, talking to anyone about private matter, taking a nap, yanking one out, having a drink. It's like saying the gun shoots people. Its a lock.

exactly, i would have a button that closed AND locked the door. good for active shooters as well

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

exactly, i would have a button that closed AND locked the door. good for active shooters as well

I have a lock on my front door so I can trap people in and take them to the dungeon. Madness!

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by Torgus

The human resources department's function is to serve the needs of the business; its loyalty and responsibilities are to the company. Now, in some cases, that means advocate for employees against bad managers, because it's in the best interests of employers to retain great employees, identify and address bad management and stop legal problems before they explode. But plenty of other times, what's best for the employer will not be what's best for the employee, and the best interests of the employer will always win out. That's not cynicism; that's simply what HR's mission is.

On top of that, you shouldn't expect HR to keep anything confidential even if you ask or to divulge information they know about others and other departments. They can and will keep secrets or share information as they see fit. All of these things can work to your benefit or against it depending on your needs, the needs of the company, and the quality of your human resources department. Before you jump into a new job, or make a request of HR at your existing one, you should make an effort to understand how the department operates. You don't want to make a request and find out it hurts your position at the company.

Well yeah, of course. I didn't say they don't do that. They can do all those things and have the best interests of the business in mind but still be corrupt assholes.

If you look at the list of stuff Lauer did, I'm sure HR knew exactly what was going on, but keeping quiet was in the best interest of the company. This latest issue was probably too big for them to keep quiet about, or the evidence was too revealing.

[JohnnyCanuck]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

Well yeah, of course. I didn't say they don't do that. They can do all those things and have the best interests of the business in mind but still be corrupt assholes.

If you look at the list of stuff Lauer did, I'm sure HR knew exactly what was going on, but keeping quiet was in the best interest of the company. This latest issue was probably too big for them to keep quiet about, or the evidence was too revealing.

I'm going to challenge this from my own experience. I've dealt with so many serious misconduct investigations where the patterns of wrongdoing have been going on for years and no one in corporate HR knew anything about it. I've had may serious investigations that have involved multiple terminations (including senior executives) be solely of the magnitude they were because they were effectively hidden from those accountable to the organization for ethical conduct (HR/Internal Audit/Special Investigations/etc).

Well run workplace conspiracies go for years before being discovered by internal auditors or internal fraud units or human resources. I'd venture to guess that there were some senior execs at NBC who knew something, but I'll bet you that their General Counsel, Human Resources, or Internal Audit teams knew nothing. Some local HR generalist may have known something, but that's not the same thing.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

I'm going to challenge this from my own experience. I've dealt with so many serious misconduct investigations where the patterns of wrongdoing have been going on for years and no one in corporate HR knew anything about it. I've had may serious investigations that have involved multiple terminations (including senior executives) be solely of the magnitude they were because they were effectively hidden from those accountable to the organization for ethical conduct (HR/Internal Audit/Special Investigations/etc).

Well run workplace conspiracies go for years before being discovered by internal auditors or internal fraud units or human resources. I'd venture to guess that there were some senior execs at NBC who knew something, but I'll bet you that their General Counsel, Human Resources, or Internal Audit teams knew nothing. Some local HR generalist may have known something, but that's not the same thing.

True, and I'm sure you are likely right. I'm sure many things can be well hidden from HR and go on for years without anyone knowing, especially in cases where the aggressor threatens those who they fear may leak information. It is impossible to know, we can only guess, especially with a company with as much presence to the public as a news media organization. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with management, not necessarily HR. I know that in my current company, if an employee gave a co-worker a sex toy as a present, and someone found out about it, there would instantly be an investigation.

I can only imagine the things you have seen, I only bring it up because it does exist, especially for companies with a lot of media presence. They would rather try to cover things up and make them go away if possible, to try and prevent negative publicity from getting out, no matter how stupid that choice may be in the long run. I worked for an agency previously that had a conspiracy that involved over half the HR dept, directors, and a commissioner. It was not anything related to sexual harassment or assault, but because of a few news paper articles that made this particular department look bad in the papers. Instead of coming out with the truth, they picked a scapegoat. They altered his outstanding yearly reviews, legal documents between agency lawyers, and even some signed documents that were FOI'd. I will say they had outside government influence, and many thought their jobs were on the line so they aren't 100% to blame, but it can happen. It took a lot of money in lawyers to bring all of this to light, and many people were impacted from multiple levels.

[wrickem]

Yesterday, 3 people from HR grilled my poor niece for 2 1/2 hours. They tried to twist comments he said to and about her around and make mountains out of molehills, but she stood firm that ML and her only had co-worker banter and if he ever would have crossed the line she'd have told him, then if it didn't stop she'd tell somebody else and escalate it.

I've got to give her credit though, when they asked her if she was afraid of coming forward she told them to stop wasting time on her when there were SERIOUS allegations by others and that the ONLY thing she was afraid of was THEM and pointed at the 3 HR people in the room with her and asked if she needed a lawyer

[JohnnyCanuck]

CTinline-six I agree with you that there are almost always people that knew who either looked the other way because "that's just Matt" or actively covered up for more insidious reasons.

Reporting chains are a critical element. Even though I have always had a normal reporting chain to a director or AVP or other executive, on serious internal investigations I have often found myself reporting directly to CEO/CFO positions and through to the HR committee of the Board. Internal fraud units almost always report directly to the CEO and a Board committee. Without those mechanisms in place, you get a chilling effect on investigations and on the organizations commitment to do the right thing. I've been fortunate in that respect that I've always had a clear line to the right places, but I know that's not always the case and I have peers in other organizations who have to walk a much finer line.

[JohnnyCanuck]

Originally Posted by wrickem

Yesterday, 3 people from HR grilled my poor niece for 2 1/2 hours. They tried to twist comments he said to and about her around and make mountains out of molehills, but she stood firm that ML and her only had co-worker banter and if he ever would have crossed the line she'd have told him, then if it didn't stop she'd tell somebody else and escalate it.

I've got to give her credit though, when they asked her if she was afraid of coming forward she told them to stop wasting time on her when there were SERIOUS allegations by others and that the ONLY thing she was afraid of was THEM and pointed at the 3 HR people in the room with her and asked if she needed a lawyer

Then that's not a properly run witness interview or investigation. Perhaps they need to take one of my workshops

[wrickem]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

Then that's not a properly run witness interview or investigation. Perhaps they need to take one of my workshops

I definitely think it sounds like they could use it. Now might be the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself to their hr department

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

I don't think so at all. If I had spendy office would be nice feature not for creepy shit. Sitting in office wanna not be disturbed cuz private call, talking to anyone about private matter, taking a nap, yanking one out, having a drink. It's like saying the gun shoots people. Its a lock.

Dude, I've had spendy offices in swank places and I've never had a secret lock actuator on any door. If I needed privacy, I simply told the admin to hold all calls and visitors for the next hour or whatever unless the building was on fire or a first degree relative called with an emergency. I was never disturbed and my privacy was always respected.

No one needs a Dr. Evil secret lock except for Dr. Evil. And you know if you're going to see Dr. Evil or even Commander Grab 'Em by The Pussy, what to expect. Even an alien.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

I have a lock on my front door so I can trap people in and take them to the dungeon. Madness!

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...ce-report.html

Mr. Lauer beat everyone to it.

[gonzo]

Does she know what his job was during his interview and what her husban...never mind.

http://thehill.com/homenews/media/36...-more-in-karma

Lunatic fringe.

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Dude, I've had spendy offices in swank places and I've never had a secret lock actuator on any door. If I needed privacy, I simply told the admin to hold all calls and visitors for the next hour or whatever unless the building was on fire or a first degree relative called with an emergency. I was never disturbed and my privacy was always respected.

No one needs a Dr. Evil secret lock except for Dr. Evil. And you know if you're going to see Dr. Evil or even Commander Grab 'Em by The Pussy, what to expect. Even an alien.

Guess I'm am alien then cuz think it would be cool to have and not creepy.

[Katin]

Originally Posted by Torgus

The human resources department's function is to serve the needs of the business; its loyalty and responsibilities are to the company. Now, in some cases, that means advocate for employees against bad managers, because it's in the best interests of employers to retain great employees, identify and address bad management and stop legal problems before they explode. But plenty of other times, what's best for the employer will not be what's best for the employee, and the best interests of the employer will always win out. That's not cynicism; that's simply what HR's mission is.

On top of that, you shouldn't expect HR to keep anything confidential even if you ask or to divulge information they know about others and other departments. They can and will keep secrets or share information as they see fit. All of these things can work to your benefit or against it depending on your needs, the needs of the company, and the quality of your human resources department. Before you jump into a new job, or make a request of HR at your existing one, you should make an effort to understand how the department operates. You don't want to make a request and find out it hurts your position at the company.

Enlightening...