It’s very easy for us to believe that a firm’s HR department is this robotic, well oiled machine which is able to perform all of their tasks with almost perfect tenacity. Truth is, however, that they suffer from the same human weaknesses the rest of us do.  This is more pertinent for smaller businesses that don’t really have an experienced HR department to carry out their heavy lifting. Here are five reasons why;

1) The ever changing landscape of employment laws

While you’re not supposed to have an attorney’s level of expertise in labor laws, you are still supposed to be acquainted with the common ones in your state which are related to the hiring and firing process of employees. You are supposed to know about the minimum wage law, age discrimination and gender pay differences. Your job as the human resources department is to ensure that these laws are being followed at the office. Now, you’re not supposed to breathe down the employee’s neck when they violate a certain set of laws. Instead, give them a fair bit of warning while cutting them some slack.

2) Harassment

Everyone interprets harassment a bit differently. For some employees the mere fact that you sat 2 inches too close to them is considered sexual harassment, while others wouldn’t bat an eye if you complemented them on their looks. As HR, you are expected to understand the fine line between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable at the office.

Harassment cases can prove to be detrimental to your company’s overall image and lead to severe consequences (such as a fall in the stock price and stakeholders withdrawing from a project). Just look at Uber, the ride hailing giant, who’s CEO, Travis Kalanick was forced to resign because the company’s image was marred by sexual harassment cases and other employee grievances.

3) Management changes

When a business grows, so do the strategies and overall structure of how things are done on a daily basis. When changes start happening, some employees are unable to get the hang of these changes, especially when a business become home to a turbulent environment characterized by frequent organizational changes. As HR, you are supposed to offer consultancy to these grievous employees and give them another ‘on boarding’ briefing.  Be an agent of positive change.

4)  A fair distribution of work

Setting up deadlines and distributing work among employees according to their skills and abilities is a daunting task, especially when there is a lot of work coming in and not enough employees to handle the workload. In these cases, a massive backlog starts piling up and you’re unsure of the best practices to handle the increased workload. It can be challenging to find a way to properly distribute some of this workload between each employee without overburdening them.

5) Terminating an employee

The proper way of firing an employee without causing them too much emotional trauma is part and parcel of being an HR rep. Most employees can usually tell when they’re going to get laid off, because their managers frequently report to them of their work performances and constant feedback. However, it still is a tough job when you’re told to fire someone – and the first time is the hardest on everyone.