Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

LettersHR practice

‘Rude’ HR must be tackled by CEOs

by Personnel Today 23 Jun 2009
by Personnel Today 23 Jun 2009

Star comment


I am writing to you with some thoughts about graduate recruitment, brought to mind by way of my second-hand experience as my son attempts to find suitable employment.


Like many of his fellow students, he has applied to quite a few large companies, many of them household names. Again, like many others, I am sure most of those applications have resulted in no reply whatsoever.


In today’s world of communication by e-mail, this seems to me to be unacceptably rude, and very lazy on the part of the HR department. I should make it clear that I am not in HR but I am a member of the senior management team. It really shouldn’t be beyond the ability of HR to reply to e-mail (or written) applications to say: ‘Thanks but no thanks’.


There is always talk of the HR team adding value to the business, so let’s have a quick look at how they have added value on this occasion: they have alienated a potential future employee; even worse, they have alienated a potential customer (and their family and friends); and they have, in my son’s case, increased the risk of an age-related discrimination tribunal hearing.


I think that the tribunal chair might be interested in the answers to the following questions: how many first-class honours graduates did you interview this year? How many of them were aged over 30? How many graduates with first-class honours degrees who were aged over 30 did you reject? My son returned to his degree at 28 and has just been awarded a first.


To any chief executives who might read this, is your HR team alienating dozens of potential employees and customers every year? This really is a board-level potential problem and should be addressed at that level.


A J Martin, details supplied

Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
CBI welcomes increased flexibility in recession
next post
Prosecutions for employing illegal migrants up over 500%

You may also like

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

Queen’s Speech: Exclusivity contracts for low-paid workers to...

9 May 2022

Are we happy now? New research Sugar-coats working...

6 May 2022

Alan Sugar calls PwC Friday afternoons off a...

6 May 2022

Bank holidays: six things employers need to know

20 Apr 2022

HR in the 21st century: Tracie Sponenberg talks...

1 Apr 2022

Work in the metaverse: what should HR prepare...

1 Apr 2022

How hybrid working boosts recruitment but not retention

18 Mar 2022

How should HR approach sabbatical requests?

21 Feb 2022

Storm Eunice forces millions to work from home

18 Feb 2022
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+