Can HR have a work bestie?

They say having a ‘best friend’ at work can be one of the biggest retention methods for employees. However, for HR that can get tricky, meaning HR professionals can often feel isolated. Many HR professionals feel like getting close to employees would cross boundaries and compromise professionalism. Others feel comfortable making friendships in the workplace, knowing they cannot let work duties and personal relationships conflict. Leanne Boddy, Senior Consultant at Macmillan Davies investigates.

Having close personal relationships can lead to conflicts of interest and damage your credibility as an HR person. To strike a balance between being friendly and keeping up professional boundaries, every HR person needs to decide for themselves if and when they can have work friends.

“People have to be able to trust that they’ve been dealt with fairly and impartially. Even when you have the best of intentions it is hard to maintain and friendships could muddy the waters” says Leanne.

It’s all about the circumstances

We asked our network of HR professionals whether they felt comfortable being friends with employees. 37% said they did feel comfortable, whereas 19% said they didn’t, with the majority feeling it depended on the circumstances and situation.

The benefits of workplace friendships

Aside from retention which we have already mentioned, there are many other mutual benefits of HR and employee friendships:

• Friendships with employees can create a culture of honesty, trust, and openness.
• The HR department can benefit from knowing of any unwanted issues well in advance through their acquaintances among the employees.
• HR can often nip personal issues in the bud early by being the shoulder to vent upon – for example, workplace stress, conflict with staff members, and employees considering leaving the business.
• While communicating any important strategic decisions, HR can become influential amongst employees.

Setting boundaries

It’s clear from our poll that boundaries and setting limits are the key to workplace friendships for HR professionals. Even whilst being friends, a level of professionalism must be maintained. Our top tips for setting boundaries are:

• Avoid being too emotionally involved in a work friendship - this can blur the lines between work and friendship.
• View it through a HR lens - any HR decision should not be influenced by any biases towards a person whom you already know.
• Keep the HR wall – Don’t reveal any critical information to anyone and avoid getting involved in gossip. Remember, HR should be the one who sets an example of employee behaviour.

Get in touch

Should you wish to have a confidential chat with Leanne Boddy to discuss the current HR market and where we can help with inclusive recruitment or your search for work/recruiting into your team, please contact her directly at lboddy@mdhr.co.uk 

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