Corporate Social Responsibility

I am so scared of reading the newspaper these days. Everyday brings in a bigger bad news than the previous day and it just does not seem to be stopping.

Todays news about Jet Airways asking hundreds of people to leave without giving prior notice, information or explanation just made things worse.

I think job cuts are inevitable, given the market situation there will probably be lots of them, but do we have to do the job cuts the way they are being done. Suddenly one finds all the HR people, who used to proclaim their 'love for people' being the sole reason for joining HR, have forgotten the basic courtesy of giving bad news softly.

The news says Jet just couriered discharge letters to its employees a day prior to asking them to leave and no cabs came to pick people who were ready to come to office the next day, now given the state of our media, there could be lots of exaggeration here, but lets assume most part of this is true.

As an HR professional, I find this completely unacceptable on part of the HR function of the company to have done something as nasty and cowardly as what has been done here. In the past too I have seen other companies doing similar things. The worst part about this is the statements made by the Chairman of the company saying 'employees are our family'. If this is how he treats family, then God save his friends and foes.

My simple thought for HR folks, since you all love people, learn the basic courtesy of giving bad news softly. Don't just try to comply to the minimal legal requirements and understand the plight of people who will find themselves without jobs one sudden day, counsel them, talk to them, show empathy, maybe create opportunities for people to find alternate jobs or anything else that you would expect anyone else throwing you out to do for you, remember if all others will lose jobs, someday the HR guy also has to.....