Human Resources

Spooky HR Horror Stories

Exude Human Capital / October 25, 2022 October 25, 2022

Spooky season is here! What better way to get in the spirit of things than by reading HR Horror stories of the past to help your organization prevent these things from happening in the future.

1. Frightening Lack of Documentation- Just this month we were told a story about an HR professional who terminated an employee with no documentation. This can cost your company thousands of dollars, not to mention a huge headache. Be sure to document all performance issues. This could be in form of a written warning or verbal followed by email recap. Be sure to include dates, locations, and details of the performance issue.
2. Horror Video Meeting Debacles– In 2022 it is rare to go a week without a video meeting. This story is of an employee who was on a Zoom call for a board member meeting. The person’s significant other was unknowingly walking behind them in their underwear throughout the entire call. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard something like this happen, and as most organizations continue to work in a predominantly remote environment, it’s important to remind staff of protocols/guidelines when attending video calls. Consider providing company backgrounds or the blur background feature and encourage people to always be aware of their surroundings.
3. Chilly Reporting Protocols– An employee once made a claim about their manager. The HR department was slow to address the issue, and another claim was made about the same manager. Yet, another incident occurred but since the HR team took so long, the employee took this complaint to the EEOC. The moral of this story is the HR department must have a clear protocol for handling all claims and reports, and they need to follow it closely to avoid any further issues. These protocols will also show employees their organization cares about their issues.
4. Spooky Social Media Mishap– A manager once offered a job to a new hire. However, after the offer was made and accepted, the manager found inappropriate posts on the new employee’s social media accounts. The manager discovered these posts on their own time, and although the new hire had already given their current employer notice, the manager rescinded the job offer. There are two takeaways from this story: One, have a clear social media policy for all employees. Ensure they know the consequences and the procedures for breaking the guidelines. Second, have a clear hiring process in place to ensure that there aren’t any conflicts of interest. In this situation, the hiring should have been done by a separate manager if they had personal connections. In addition, inappropriately rescinding the offer means the employer could now be on the hook for compensating them.
5. Scary Email Etiquette– This error happens more often than one might think. An HR team was sending out paperwork for an employee who was going through a disciplinary process. Instead of sending it to the individual employee, they accidentally sent it to the entire company. The moral of this story is to remind employees of email etiquette and remind them to double-check your content before hitting send.

HR can be an overwhelming, sometimes frightening, task for many employers. If your organization is looking for additional support, contact Exude Human Capital today!