Human Resources is badly misunderstood in most companies. It’s a lot like the spleen. We know we need it. We just aren’t entirely sure why.

Part of the problem is that HR is ground zero of a company’s bureaucracy. From enforcing compliance to handling sensitive situations, HR sometimes feels more like the company’s rule enforcer than its champion for people. But here’s the truth: HR deals with the real world at its messiest. When things get complicated, HR is often the first line of defense. This is where IT comes in, providing essential support to make sure HR can do its job effectively.

Recently, I witnessed firsthand how crucial this partnership can be, and it hit close to home—literally. A loved one of mine was being cyber stalked.     The details are irrelevant, but to put a bit of background on the situation, the family member was stalked by a teammate who left a lot of unfortunate cyber evidence.

The stress and fear were overwhelming, but the way HR handled the situation was instructive. Here’s what HR did:

• Immediate Acknowledgment: As soon as HR became aware of the situation, it acted. There was no attempt to sweep it under the rug, even though it was deeply uncomfortable.
• Collaboration with IT: HR and IT collaborated to preserve the cyber evidence with IT’s help, relying on pre-established procedures to ensure the digital trail was intact and usable for further action.
• Thorough Investigation: HR brought in outside experts to assess the situation and risks. They documented everything and transparently shared the results with everyone involved—both the victim and the offender.
• Proactive Policy Making: Instead of overreacting with burdensome blanket policies, they used the lessons learned to craft targeted measures that protected both the staff and the business.

What was clear from this situation was that IT and HR had already built a strong working relationship before this crisis hit. IT, with its focus on technology and security, and HR, with its emphasis on people, risk management, and compliance, worked together seamlessly.

Key Takeaways:

• Build Trust Before a Crisis: When a crisis hits, it’s too late. Relationships between departments like IT and HR need to be strong and trusting beforehand. That isn’t just between departments. It’s between key staff members within each department.
• Anticipate High-likelihood, High-Impact Risks and Pre-define Mitigation Plans: Fail to plan and everyone involved will begin by arguing about what needs to be done. Plan for too many risks and nobody will buy into the published mitigation plan, and that’s assuming anyone remembers that there is one.
• Create Safe Work Environments: All of us are obliged to create open, safe work environments for our colleagues, whether we are in leadership or not. HR is at the heart of defining, understanding, and educating everyone about their roles in achieving this.
• Like it or not, HR owns Compliance: Compliance means keeping the company out of court and winning when it ends up there. Mostly, this means establishing consistent rules and guidelines and making sure everyone in the organization plays by them. When it’s about compliance, it isn’t the time to improvise.
• HR is part of the Bureaucracy. Bureaucracy means enforcing the consistent rules and guidelines. IT Can Help HR Improve it. It’s the spleen thing. Yes, spleens are important.  So are HR teams.    HR deals with the complexities of real life, and sometimes that means navigating very messy situations. IT’s role is to back up HR with the technical support needed to manage these situations effectively, helping HR make the best of the real world it finds itself in.