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Perception issue
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Perception issue
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We have a manager with considerable authority who regularly goes out for lunch with a HR staff. It is public knowledge that they are good friends. I would like to find out what this situation could po
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Perception issue

posted at 2/24/2011 8:17 AM EST
Posts: 27
First: 3/30/2001
Last: 2/24/2011
We have a manager with considerable authority who regularly goes out for lunch with a HR staff. It is public knowledge that they are good friends. I would like to find out what this situation could possibly do in terms of employee perception and effective management.

Would this mean that the supervisor who supervises the HR staff should be worried about possible leak of confidential data and possible negative employee perception?
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Perception issue

posted at 2/24/2011 8:31 AM EST
Posts: 45
First: 1/13/2011
Last: 4/14/2011
No, it would mean that anyone worrying about this arrangement has better things to do and should go do them.
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Perception issue

posted at 2/24/2011 9:07 AM EST
Posts: 2442
First: 2/12/2000
Last: 9/14/2011
HRPro's response is spot on. We should not worry about the things we cannot control and someone else's perception of a relationship is one of those things.........
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Perception issue

posted at 2/24/2011 9:53 AM EST
Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004
Last: 9/13/2011
It's entirely possible for professionals to respect those boundaries, it doesn't sound like you have any evidence that they are not.

You may not be able to control perceptions, but you can ask for clarity if you are troubled about something.
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Perception issue

posted at 2/24/2011 9:57 AM EST
Posts: 1771
First: 10/24/2002
Last: 9/14/2011
I agree with the other responders.
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Perception issue

posted at 2/24/2011 10:03 AM EST
Posts: 2442
First: 2/12/2000
Last: 9/14/2011
deltac- but what can they clarify? It is already public knowledge that they are good friends and apparently there are no specific items that can be pointed to as an issue.

So what would you have them do?
Remind them of the confidentiality policy?
Are we concerned about pillow talk?
What about all the other relationships that are occurring that they do not see?
Guilty till proven innocent?

Feels like a slippery slope to me...
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Perception issue

posted at 2/24/2011 12:05 PM EST
Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004
Last: 9/13/2011
I'm just saying if something is troubling someone, they should just talk about it instead of speculating. If they don't know who to ask or if they are uncomfortable asking, that means it is probably none of their business.
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Perception issue

posted at 3/1/2011 4:44 AM EST
Posts: 11
First: 4/27/2010
Last: 8/16/2011
The concern about perception is only valid in the presence of facts suggesting that these parties are unprofessional, indiscrete and/or otherwise inappropriate in their sharing of business information. In the absence of any such facts, it's just workplace paranoia gone wild.
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Perception issue

posted at 3/1/2011 8:02 AM EST
Posts: 4
First: 2/27/2007
Last: 3/16/2011
How is this an issue? How do people know it's not a meeting to discuss how management issues are affecting HR and vice versa? In many organizations, there is too wide of a gulf between HR and management/supervision for both to be fully effective.
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Perception issue

posted at 3/1/2011 11:32 AM EST
Posts: 11
First: 3/27/2008
Last: 3/1/2011
I'm not sure what your role is in this (are you the supervisor of the HR person) but it might be something that you should not get involved with. I'm one of those HR people who don't really socialize with employees because I prefer to avoid issues of perception or perhaps, more accurately, misperceptions.
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