Inner Department Drama [N/A]
Hi all! Partial vent & partial advice seeking.
I am an HR Generalist for a mid size company, and have been here for around 6 months. Love it here & am thriving here. Great relationship with my HR Manager & Director, and I recently received a decent salary increase based upon merit, which was so appreciated.
The issue I’m having is with our recruiter. She has been here for a while and does not seem to care for me too much. I hate to be presumptuous, but I think it has to do with the performance of my work and the accolades I’ve received for it. I have no interest in recruiting and have never expressed interest in recruiting. However, my director asked me a few months back to go with her to a hiring event and had me create promotional items & organize a bit, and I think this very much got under her skin. I still had her take charge of the event and asked her for input on all the tweaks or additions I made, as this is still very much her domain.
There have been a few times she’s gone to my boss (HR-M) or boss’s boss (HR-D) to “clarify” questions on work that I’ve done, and I really didn’t mind that. I would have rather her come straight to me, but I know that’s not everyone’s style. No big deal. Each time it’s happened, my boss(es) have cleared up with her that what I’m doing is correct and have came and spoke with my separately so I could advise the recruiter on my processes.
Which leads to this week. We are doing prorated vacation this year leading up to a switch next year. On Monday, she went straight to my director to tell her I was doing the vacation allotment section of the offer letters incorrectly. The director came to my office with the recruiter to question me on it. I explained the process, and the director reaffirmed to the recruiter in front of me that I was doing it correctly, and had me explain the process to the recruiter. We both confirmed with the recruiter that she understood. Again, would have loved for her to come straight to me, and really didn’t understand what the issue was as she has nothing to do with the offer letters or vacation time. I was very uncertain why she was even reviewing my work to see what I was putting, but figured someone may have questioned her on it. No big deal.
Today, I had an informal meeting with the recruiter and my HR manager about a separate topic. I informed them I’d be a few minutes late, as my director and I were speaking to a regional manager about an employee relations issue. When I walked into the meeting room, the recruiter was AGAIN saying I was doing the offer letters incorrectly regarding vacation time! Fortunately, my boss corrected her and we moved on, but this instance very much bothers me. She already had it cleared from two levels up that I was doing my job correctly. Why did she feel the need to try again with my direct supervisor to make it seem I was doing my job incorrectly?
I want to resolve this swiftly, but am struggling to find the appropriate avenue (which is ironic for a gal who does employee relations for a living). I don’t want this to be a whole blown up issue, but I also don’t want to feel like I have to look over my shoulder or defend myself when I’m not making any errors. I planned on discussing this with my boss in a non accusatory way, just to get her insight and input, but I also don’t want this to appear like I’m throwing the recruiter under the bus. I’ve attempted to talk with the recruiter previously about how she’s always welcome to come to me for things that I’m doing that don’t track, and she always denies having issues with my work, despite my bosses suggesting otherwise. I have to work with her daily. What would be your all’s suggestions on how to best address this?
Thank you all!
