Navigating Issues of Privacy in the HR Industry

The nature of the human resources industry requires the handling of somewhat delicate information. Considering the fact that privacy is an increasingly prevalent topic of conversation across all areas of industry, how can you navigate issues of privacy as a HR professional?

Working as a professional in the HP department is a unique position. Considering that the crux of the vocation requires employee interaction and the handling of information and data that is restricted to other departments, certain discretion is required from those involved in these activities.

Private information is passed to HR individuals as a matter of course; it’s necessary to ensure employee payment, safety, accessibility etc. However in the wrong hands this information can be abused. This leaves any HR employee in this position vulnerable; this is after all their area of responsibility.

Therefore it is crucial if you ever hope to cultivate a sustained career in this sector that you familiarise yourself over issues of privacy in the handling of sensitive information and data. What are you allowed access to, what are you allowed to share etc. to ensure that you are never left in a vulnerable position.

A certain employee confidentiality is critical to the maintenance of a position in HR. This means that not only are you required to protect the rights of the employee from the employee, but often from other employees as a matter of course.

Take the matter of the termination of a contract, for example. The reasons for termination could be varied; dismissal, the natural end of a contract, inappropriate conduct etc. the matter of employee confidentiality comes into play. It is your obligation, both to the employee and to the company, to keep the matter of the issue in a question discrete.

This in itself creates an issue we should address; employee inquiries on sensitive subjects. This is because in a case such as dismissal, a culture of fear often arises in the office and as liaison between employee and employer; it’s often you they turn to for answers.

In this case, firstly employee confidentiality would obligate you to refuse to provide an answer concerning the termination. Secondly in this case you would remind the employee that any issue concerning job performance and termination would be brought up by the manager.

This analogy signals both the importance of employee confidentiality and the role of communicator in the HR industry. Employee confidentiality is sacred and should always be upheld in matters of privacy. However this should be mitigated by a communication strategy that defuses the problem at hand.

HR in some ways is the medium of compromise. You have to balance matters of privacy with the facilitation of a productive work environment and this task often involves sensitivity and common sense.

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Frank Kelly, Dublin City