HR Leaders Must Explain, Not Assume, According to Expert Suzanne Lucas

In a recent LinkedIn post, HR expert Suzanne Lucas highlights the critical importance of clear communication and instruction from HR professionals to employees and managers, using a personal anecdote about a veterinary visit to illustrate her point. Lucas recounts a frustrating experience where her cat’s veterinarian lectured her for improperly collecting a urine sample, a task for which Lucas had received insufficient guidance.

Lucas shares the veterinarian’s expectation: ideally, a urine sample should be less than 20 minutes old and never refrigerated. Frustrated, Lucas responded, “I’m an HR expert, not a veterinarian, why would you expect me to know that?” This experience, she explains, provided a powerful lesson applicable to the HR field.

“What was super clear to the vet, because she is an expert in this area, was not clear to me. I’d never had to do a cat urinalysis before.”

The Vet’s Expectation vs. Employee Reality

Lucas draws a direct parallel between the veterinarian’s assumptions and common HR scenarios. She emphasizes that HR professionals, like the veterinarian, are experts in their domain, and their expectations may not be shared or understood by those outside their specialized knowledge base. The core issue, as identified by Lucas, is the failure to provide adequate instructions.

“It’s our obligation to explain,” Lucas argues. She points out that when HR professionals are frustrated because employees or managers are not performing tasks correctly, they should pause and consider the knowledge gap. The question to ask, according to Lucas, is: “how would they know this? They aren’t experts. I am.”

The Obligation to Educate

Lucas elaborates on the responsibility of HR to bridge this knowledge gap. She recounts how she explained to the veterinarian that her staff should provide explicit instructions, especially when special considerations are involved, such as the specific requirements for a cat urine sample. This led to the veterinarian conceding the point and refunding the cost of a second urinalysis that was needed due to the initial sample being compromised.

“Whenever we HR professionals find ourselves frustrated because employees and managers aren’t doing things right, we need to stop ourselves and ask, ‘how would they know this? They aren’t experts. I am.'”

This experience, Lucas suggests, underscores a fundamental principle in human resources: proactive and clear explanation is paramount. While employees and managers are ultimately responsible for their choices, HR professionals must first ensure they have been given the necessary information and context to make informed decisions.

Beyond Instruction: Accountability and Clarity

Lucas clarifies that this obligation to explain does not absolve employees of accountability entirely. “If we’ve explained and they still make bad choices, well, that’s on their heads,” she states. However, the prerequisite for such accountability is effective communication from the HR department.

“But we do need to explain.”

The post concludes with a lighthearted remark about her cat’s behavior, but the underlying message for business leaders and HR practitioners remains serious. By understanding and addressing the knowledge gap, HR can foster a more effective and less frustrating work environment. As Lucas succinctly puts it, the expectation that employees will intuitively understand complex HR processes or policies without clear guidance is unrealistic and counterproductive.