Human Resources Advice - When do you call for help?

HR-SA Limited
11 Hanningtons Way
Burghfield Common
Reading
Berkshire
RG7 3BE
Tel: 0118 983 1681
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When do you call for help?

We often decide that we can adopt the ‘DIY’ approach and do things ourselves as we have convinced ourselves this will save us money. I have done it myself in doing jobs around the house – but then found that the time it took and the total cost involved was more than if I had sought help from someone with more skills and experience in the task than I had.

I have found that the same experience can be applied to the various people and employment issues which can surface out of nowhere. In the past I have had calls from managers who had adopted the ‘DIY’ approach, things had not gone the way they had expected them to, and they then found they had a bigger problem to deal with. They sought help, but the cost of overcoming the problem was more than if they had asked for that help at the outset.

The biggest challenge was to get those managers to accept that whilst they were ‘experts’ in their own field and were doing a good job, they could not be all things to all people. To ask for help in particular circumstances was, in fact, a sign of their own development.

The key principle we instilled in those managers was never to be too proud to ask for help or guidance. It worked and the incidence of problems diminished considerably. It became known as the ‘if in doubt – ask HR’ rule.

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