I chose to devote my career to Human Resources due to a passion for
business and an understanding of the value human capital brings to a
company.
I fear however, that many professionals choose to pursue a career in
HR to utilize their soft skills or the desire for a quick route to a
corporate job.
Whenever HR professionals gather – either in person, or in a
thought-based endeavor — there is always a debate about why
organizations seem to not value Human Resources enough, and, how to go
about fixing that.
How to avoid the HR status quo
Here’s what is wrong with Human Resources today and how I have avoided falling down into the status quo:
- I refuse to consider myself an administrative employee.
My job is not planning the company picnic, creating wacky “Sweater
Wednesday,” or — please don’t make me say it! — completing faxes for
anybody other than myself. I understand the importance of special events
and perks to keep employees satisfied, however, these tasks can easily
be spearheaded by administrative staff members (including receptionists
or office managers). HR needs to stay as far away from unnecessary
administrative duties as possible.
- Keeping a continuous focus on ensuring decisions and actions are strategic and beneficial to
the business as a whole. I prefer not to spend my time following
specific directions in favor of giving me more highly defined direction,
especially as it pertains to human capital. It’s important to prove to
your bosses that you need very little guidance and to gain their trust
in order to implement new processes and procedures that increase your
value as an individual employee — as well as the value of the company.
This is done by providing defined metrics on HR issues including, but
not limited to, employee retention, turnover, satisfaction, etc.
- If there is a payroll issue, direct it to accounting!
Accountants are very good with numbers while I am largely more
confident in other areas. Make an attempt to direct the majority of
compensation related issues to accounting; it will leave your schedule
open for other duties. HR’s time is much better spent on bigger picture
issues compared to the monotony of processing payroll. (Thank you
accounting!)
- Align yourself with the right people. When I first
started at my current company, I reported to a middle manager and helped
with administrative recruiting duties. Today is my one-year anniversary
and I now report directly to the CEO. I have consulted with the
business owners on numerous strategic decisions — including where and
how money is spent, leading the charge for employment decisions, and
presenting detailed information to other decision-makers. My advice:
make sure that you are aligned with the right people to make the largest
impact possible.
Obvious answers – but how many get them wrong?
All of these remedies may seem obvious, perhaps even simple-minded,
but take a moment to consider how many HR professionals get these few
things wrong.
A number of HR professionals, whether because of company history and
expectations or a lack of business knowledge and confidence, have
created and fostered the image HR has in the minds of so many today.
Over time, getting these few things wrong has allowed the value of
Human Resources to greatly decrease, and, has provided the largely
accepted concept of the HR department as being a necessary workplace
evil.
It’s time to turn that around.