Look, I love a good policy binder as much as the next HR nerd (okay, maybe sometimes even more).

But here’s the thing no one wants to say out loud:

Sometimes the “right” answer on paper is actually the wrong move in real life. 🙃

In this episode, I sat down with Stephanie Schuler to talk about the messy, gray, can’t-Google-it moments where consistency, fairness, and actual human judgment all collide.

The easy answers may not always exist, but the better ones do!

0:02:34 - One Hard Truth About Work

0:04:37 - When Policies Aren’t Written for Edge Cases

0:06:13 - Does Law School Help with HR Practices?

0:07:48 - When Following a Policy Actually Causes Harm

0:11:21 - Who Should Have the Power to Override Policy?

0:15:13 - Consistency Vs Fairness

0:19:21 - Keeping Exceptions From Turning Into Favoritism

0:22:25 - What to Say to a CEO Who Only Wants Things “By the Book”

0:26:53 - Recovering From Broken Trust

0:31:08 - Is HR the Enforcer of Policy, or the Translator?

0:35:48 - Breaking Rules as an HR Manager

0:41:46 - One Policy Stephanie Wishes Never Existed

And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.

https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/

And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!

Follow Stephanie:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sdshuler/

Follow Hebba:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef

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