HR is not there to be your friend. It’s there to protect the company
November 9, 2017

When Susan Fowler found herself on the receiving end of inappropriate chats from her male manager, she documented the exchange and reported him to the company’s human resource department. Fowler, who was at the time an engineer at Uber, thought they would handle the situation. Instead, she was told to either find another team or remain in her current position and risk getting a negative performance review from that manager later on.


This was the first in a series of disappointing interactions that Fowler had with the company’s human resource department. After she left the company, Fowler wrote a widely shared blog about her experience, which triggered an internal investigation and eventually led to the firing of more than 20 employees. It also raised important questions about the way that human resources departments deal with issues like sexual harassment and discrimination. What role should HR play at a company? And why did Uber’s HR department do nothing to protect Fowler?


Turns out, the role of HR was never to protect employees. Their number one priority was always to protect the company. It just so happens that sometimes the two align.


From keeping unions out to being compliance cop

Human resources departments started in the early 1900s when companies were trying to figure out how to reduce turnover and maximize performance through new compensation systems. The HR staff would conduct exit interviews and collect grievances about issues that caused companies to lose employees or led to unionization efforts.


"By the 1930s human resources started to become and be seen as advocates for employees and the reason for that, frankly, was because companies were trying to keep unions out,” explained Peter Cappelli, professor of management at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Center for Human Resources. “The idea of being able to tell people at the top of the company: ‘Hey, the workers are unhappy about this’ really mattered because they cared whether workers were unhappy because they thought they might unionize otherwise. In that period, HR developed this kind of reputation as being the workers' advocate and that's probably true up to 1970.”


Then in the 1980s, union membership began to drop off and companies no longer wanted to hear about what people wanted. They had other things to worry about — like making sure that they were complying with all of the new worker protection laws that were being passed.


"By that period, HR's mandate kind of shifted to protecting the company,” said Cappelli. The main task for HR was — how do we stay out of trouble with the government? “In those periods, we started to see HR becoming much more of the compliance cop and trying to make people behave on issues of sexual harassment, discrimination, those sort of things," he explained.


And while the main mandate was to protect the company, sometimes that also meant protecting employees — like if they were being discriminated against by their line manager or harassed. In this case, HR would want to interfere to protect the employee from their manager in order to prevent a potential lawsuit.


This is also why a lot of the sexual harassment claims in the workplace end up being settled, instead of going to court. Typically, such settlements come with a non-disclosure agreement, which ends up protecting the company’s reputation.


Should you trust HR?

While employees should not think of HR as an employee advocate, there should be an expectation that HR would take employee complaints seriously, according to Cappelli.


“When someone is breaking the law, the expectation should be that they are not going to blow you off,” he said. "They are the company's representative. They are protecting the company. In some cases that means taking what you say really seriously."


However, not everyone trusts HR to handle these types of situations — especially not if they have had an experience similar to Fowler’s.


“I desperately wanted to not have to interact with HR ever again,” Fowler wrote in her blog.


While 61 percent of employees believe that trust between employees and management is important, just 33 percent are actually satisfied with their relationship, according to the 2017 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management.


Uber does not deny that its HR department failed in its handling of Fowler’s complaints.


“As I dug into several issues in Susan's blog, it was very clear to me that she wasn't well-served by the HR team,” Liane Hornsey, who joined Uber as chief human resources officer just weeks before Fowler’s blog was published, told the Associated Press.


Afterwards, Uber held 200 listening sessions with its employees. Yet most complaints that echoed Fowler’s did not come up during those. Instead, they were submitted over the anonymous “integrity” hotline set-up by the company.


Investors want robust HR ... to protect their investment

Hornsey told the AP that the HR team at Uber was “inadequate numerically” and that junior employees were “given too much to do without enough guidance.”


“What happens is in a startup that is super successful, that is absolutely the business end just growing, growing. Often the processes and the support functions get left behind,” she said.


Uber is an example of how not to do things when it comes to HR, said Raffaella Sadun, a professor at Harvard Business School who focuses on strategy, management and organizational change. According to her, many founders think they can do everything themselves and have a tendency not to delegate even as the company grows.


"Making that shift is not easy because it goes against the primal instinct of the founders, in majority of the cases," explained Sadun.


That might be why Uber did not hire its first official head of HR until 2014. By then, the company already had around 500 employees, according to Recode. Uber employees who spoke with Recode said that Travis Kalanick, the founder and then-CEO, believe HR’s job was “largely to recruit talent and also efficiently let go of personnel when needed.”


Kalanick is not the only one to think like this.


While investors are concerned about compliance with anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunity regulations, their main concern is whether the company they are investing in has the right talent to be competitive, said Bill Filip, who advises investors as a co-founder and managing director of Delancey Street Partners.


“If you do not have a strategic and thoughtful HR capability I think you're at much bigger risk of literally being uncompetitive or irrelevant in your market space,” he said. “I honestly think that the companies are winning today are winning because they understand that they have to have the best talent. I know that sounds really trite but it is absolutely true and there's so many great market examples of that.”


Investors should insist on robust HR departments at startups because many modern entrepreneurs have never worked for big companies and as a result “never learned this stuff,” said Cappelli.


"It's fair to say that the kind of people that start companies, typically are people who don't know much about management,” Cappelli said. "Then you start seeing companies like Uber where they think it's perfectly normal to fondle people in the office and do shots as part of company meetings," he added.


https://www.marketplace.org/2017/10/30/business/human-resources-protect-employee-employer

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How the Right Payroll Tech Simplifies W-2s and Tax Filing

April 15, 2025
It’s April 15—Tax Day in the U.S.—and if you’re a business owner or HR professional, chances are W-2s, filings, and compliance have been front and center for weeks (if not months). But here’s the thing: tax season doesn’t have to be stressful. The right payroll and HCM technology can turn what’s traditionally a time-consuming, error-prone scramble into a streamlined, accurate, and surprisingly painless process. From automatically balancing year-to-date totals to generating and distributing W-2s on time, a robust payroll system ensures nothing slips through the cracks. No more cross-checking data across platforms, no more last-minute tax filings, and no more anxiety about penalties or missed deadlines. At Simco, we get it—because we help businesses simplify this process every single day. The Challenges of Traditional Payroll Tax Management If you're still managing payroll taxes manually—or using disconnected software systems—it’s all too easy to fall behind. Some common issues employers face include: Human error : Tax calculations, forms, and deadlines are complex. A small mistake can lead to penalties or costly overpayments. Time-consuming manual work : Without automation, payroll processing can involve endless imports, exports, and reconciling data across multiple platforms. Compliance risk : With ever-changing tax laws at the federal, state, and local levels, staying compliant can become overwhelming without the right tools. How the Right Technology Can Make Tax Season a Breeze Today’s modern payroll and HCM systems are designed to simplify these challenges. Here’s how the right technology can help: 1. Automated Tax Filing and Payments: An integrated payroll system automates tax calculations, deductions, and filings. Forms like W-2s and W-3s are automatically generated, filed, and paid—without manual input. This reduces the risk of late filings, penalties, and missed deadlines, ensuring compliance with the IRS and state tax agencies. 2. Streamlined W-2 Management: W-2s can be a headache to manage—especially if you have complex tax scenarios like multi-state employment. With an automated system, W-2s are generated and distributed electronically, ensuring accuracy even in complex situations. Employees receive the correct form without you having to spend valuable time cross-checking or manually making corrections. 3. Self-Balancing Capabilities: A self-balancing payroll system ensures that your year-to-date totals and tax filings are accurate, eliminating the need for extensive manual reconciliation. By automatically matching figures in real-time, it streamlines year-end reporting, providing peace of mind when the filing deadline approaches. 4. Fewer Third-Party Imports and Exports: With everything integrated into a single platform, you won’t need to rely on third-party software or services for tax filing and reporting. This means fewer opportunities for errors, fewer manual imports and exports, and significant time saved during payroll processing. 5. Automated Adjustments and Updates: Tax laws and rates change frequently. With the right payroll system, you won’t have to worry about manually updating deductions or tax rates. The system automatically applies changes—whether it’s an update to federal tax rates or state-specific deductions—so your payroll is always up to date. 6. Expert Support When You Need It: Even with the best technology, tax season can present complex challenges. That’s why it’s important to have access to expert support. Whether you need help with multi-jurisdiction filings, audit preparation, or just have questions about tax return procedures, our team of HCM Specialists at Simco is here to provide guidance and ensure that you’re compliant every step of the way. Why Choose Simco for Smarter Payroll and Tax Management? As an isolved Network Partner, we offer a fully integrated payroll and tax management system that is built to handle the complexities of tax season—and beyond. We provide businesses with the tools they need to automate tax filings, ensure compliance, and streamline payroll processing. Here's how we do it: All-in-One Payroll & Tax Platform : From payroll processing to tax deposits and W-2 filings, everything happens within one system, reducing manual work and the risk of errors. Automatic Filing & Timely Accuracy : Federal, state, and local tax filings are completed automatically and on time, ensuring your employees receive only one accurate W-2 form—even in multi-state tax scenarios. Error-Free Tax Reporting : Our self-balancing ledger helps reduce errors and simplifies reconciliation, making tax reporting easier and faster. Expert Support : Whether it’s navigating multi-jurisdictional filings, preparing for an audit, or handling amendments, our team is always available to offer expert advice and assistance. Cost-Effective Solutions : We offer top-tier tech at competitive pricing, often matching or beating our competitors (learn about the Simco Price Match Commitment here !), while providing the personalized service that large providers can’t. Let’s Make Next Tax Season Easier, Starting Today It’s never too early to think about next year. With our unified payroll/HCM solution at Simco, you can save time, reduce stress, and ensure compliance all year long. It’s time to upgrade your payroll system to one that works smarter, not harder. Let’s chat and explore how we can help streamline your payroll and tax processes, so you can focus on growing your business with confidence.

SMART Goals: The Key to Crushing Your Business Objectives

April 4, 2025
New month, fresh start! But let’s be real—how many times have you set a goal, only to watch it fizzle out? Maybe it was too vague, too ambitious, or just got buried under the daily chaos. If you’re tired of spinning your wheels, it’s time to take a smarter approach—literally. Enter SMART goals —your secret weapon for turning ideas into reality. Whether you’re looking to improve employee retention, streamline operations, or boost revenue, this framework ensures your goals don’t just sound good but actually get done . The SMART Formula for Success Specific – Get laser-focused. A goal like “improve employee morale” is too broad. Instead, ask yourself: What does success look like? Are you reducing turnover? Increasing engagement scores? Define it. Measurable – Numbers don’t lie. How will you know if you’ve succeeded? Instead of saying, “increase engagement,” set a target: “Boost employee engagement scores by 5%.” Tracking progress keeps you accountable. Achievable – Dream big, but stay realistic. Sure, we’d all love zero employee turnover, but is it feasible? Probably not. However, reducing turnover by 15%? Now that’s a goal within reach. Relevant – Align with the bigger picture. Every goal should move your business forward. If your focus is employee retention, then prioritizing revenue growth over culture initiatives might not be the best move. Keep your goals aligned. Time-Bound – Set the clock. “Improve retention” is a nice thought, but without a deadline, it’s just wishful thinking. Instead, say, “Increase retention by 5% by the end of the year.” A firm timeline drives action. Track It or Lose It A goal without tracking is just a wish. You wouldn’t set out on a road trip without checking the map, so why leave your goals to chance? Regular progress check-ins—whether through weekly reports, monthly reviews, or real-time dashboards—help keep you on course. Tracking not only highlights wins but also flags roadblocks early, giving you the chance to pivot before it’s too late. And here’s the key: don’t just track for the sake of tracking—use the data to refine your approach. For example, imagine you're aiming to improve employee engagement scores by 5% by the end of the year. After tracking progress for a few months, you notice that engagement is lagging in one department. Instead of waiting until the year-end review, you dig deeper. Perhaps it’s due to lack of recognition or unclear communication—adjustments are made, and suddenly, the department starts seeing improvement. Tracking allows you to course-correct in real-time, ensuring that you hit your target rather than missing the mark. The most successful businesses aren’t the ones that never face setbacks—they’re the ones that track, adapt, and push forward. How We Use SMART Goals to Stay Ahead At Simco, we don’t just talk about SMART goals—we live by them. Our team follows the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) , which helps us stay focused, aligned, and results-driven. A big part of EOS is setting Rocks —key priorities for the next 90 days. And guess what? Every Rock follows the SMART framework: Clearly defined objectives Measurable success markers Challenging yet attainable goals Aligned with our company vision Locked in with a firm 90-day deadline This system keeps us accountable, making sure we’re always moving the needle in the right direction. Your Turn: Take Action Today No more “someday” goals— today is the day to take control. Whether you’re aiming to increase revenue, refine your processes, or boost employee satisfaction, the SMART approach ensures you’re not just busy—you’re making real progress. Need help aligning your HR, payroll, or benefits strategy with your business goals? Simco is here to help . Let’s make this your most productive quarter yet!

The Do’s and Don’ts of Office Pranks

April 1, 2025
April Fools' Day is often the perfect opportunity for some lighthearted fun at the office. Whether it's a harmless prank, a funny email, or a playful desk setup, these moments of levity can help break up the monotony of the workday and bring smiles to your team. However, as many HR professionals know, it’s essential to strike a balance between fun and professionalism. While the intention behind pranks is typically harmless, they can sometimes cross boundaries and lead to uncomfortable situations, or worse, legal risks. Recently, an example came to light where one employee thought it would be funny to place a suggestive image on a coworker's desk. The issue arose when another employee saw the image and was offended, leading to a formal complaint. This scenario highlights the importance of knowing where to draw the line between lighthearted fun and inappropriate behavior. A Fine Line: When Fun Turns into Harassment Even if a prank isn't directly targeted at the offended person, it can still create a hostile work environment, especially if it makes someone uncomfortable. As an employer, it's crucial to ensure that your workplace remains respectful and free from harassment. If a prank results in a complaint, it's essential to follow your company's policies to investigate and address the situation. Proper documentation of your investigation and the actions taken is vital to demonstrate that you've fulfilled your obligations as an employer and to protect the organization in case of any future disputes. Setting Clear Expectations To avoid similar issues in the future, it's a good idea to review and clarify your company's stance on pranks and personal conduct in the workplace. Setting expectations starts with having a clear written policy that outlines what is and isn’t acceptable behavior, especially regarding pranks. Consider creating a set of guidelines that all employees can refer to, and be sure these expectations are communicated effectively to everyone. Here are a few tips to guide you: Establish a Formal Policy: Clearly define the boundaries of acceptable humor in your workplace. The policy should cover both pranks and jokes, specifying that while fun is encouraged, it should not come at the expense of respect, inclusion, or professionalism. Communicate Expectations Clearly: Include these guidelines in your employee handbooks or conduct policies, and ensure they’re reviewed during onboarding. Hold periodic team meetings to remind everyone about the importance of maintaining a respectful environment and reinforcing your stance on pranks. Set the Tone from Leadership: Managers and leaders should set an example when it comes to humor in the workplace. They should demonstrate the type of jokes or pranks that are acceptable and ensure their actions align with company policy. Employees are more likely to follow suit when they see their leaders taking these matters seriously. Encourage Open Communication: Foster a culture where employees feel comfortable speaking up if they feel a joke or prank crosses the line. Providing a safe outlet to discuss concerns without fear of retribution will help create an open, transparent environment where everyone feels heard. Categories of Pranks and Jokes That Cross the Line While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, there are certain categories of pranks and jokes that should generally be off limits in the workplace . These pranks have the potential to cause harm, create discomfort, or violate company policies. By categorizing these behaviors, you can help employees better understand where to draw the line. Sexual or Gender-Based Humor : Avoid pranks with suggestive content, gestures, or language that can create a hostile work environment or be considered harassment. Discriminatory Jokes : Refrain from jokes targeting someone's race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics, as they can be harmful and illegal.  Invasive Pranks : Don’t tamper with personal belongings or invade others' personal space, as this undermines comfort and respect. Work Disruptions : Pranks that interfere with productivity or damage equipment should be avoided, as they can hurt overall efficiency. Aggressive or Harmful Pranks : Any prank that causes physical harm or emotional distress, including pranks involving physical touch or intimidation, is off-limits. Creating a Culture of Respect and Fun The key to managing pranks and other fun activities is to cultivate a workplace culture where employees feel comfortable, respected, and empowered. Rather than banning all pranks, focus on fostering a professional environment where employees understand the line between harmless fun and actions that could potentially harm or offend others. Encourage employees to engage in team-building activities and moments of levity that unite them in a positive and inclusive way, without crossing into territory that could lead to complaints or workplace tensions. As April Fools' Day passes, it’s important to remember that while pranks can provide a bit of comic relief, they should never come at the expense of respect or professionalism. By setting clear boundaries, encouraging open communication, and ensuring all employees understand your policies, you can create a workplace where everyone feels comfortable—whether they're laughing at a harmless joke or focusing on their next big project. Have fun in the workplace—but always ensure that a good laugh never comes at the expense of respect or professionalism!

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