Wait, what? I’m sure that title got your attention. Twenty years ago, one article caused quite a stir in the human resources community. The article “Why We Hate HR” was written by Keith Hammond and published in Fast Company Magazine. Since then, hundreds of articles, presentations, and even books have surfaced in response.
And all my 40-and-younger HR professionals said, “Huh, why would anyone hate HR?” And the rest of you angrily quipped, “Why is he bringing this mess up again—haven’t we graduated beyond this nonsense?” Well, that is my question today. Let’s revisit this outrageous article and compare its findings to where the typical HR department finds itself today. Are we better off, the same, or worse? You decide!
OK, back to the article that I DIDN’T WRITE (my commentary in italics). The premise is that in a knowledge economy, companies with the best talent win. However, per Hammond, most HR professionals are ill-equipped and/or uninterested in driving talent initiatives, instead focusing on administrative operations and enforcing rules.
Hammond goes on that HR is “a necessary evil — and at worst, a dark bureaucratic force that blindly enforces nonsensical rules, resists creativity, and impedes constructive change. HR is the corporate function with the greatest potential — the key driver, in theory, of business performance [i.e., the owner of talent] — and also the one that most consistently underdelivers.”
Some specific examples as to why HE hates HR include:
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The annual performance appraisal is time-consuming, routinely useless, and only done to form a paper trail to indict talent.
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So many people processes being duplicative and wasteful, creating a forest of paperwork for every minor transaction.
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HR insisting on sameness and consistency as a proxy for equity. “[HR] pursues standardization and uniformity in the face of a workforce that is heterogeneous and complex.” They preach consistency when, in fact, “making exceptions should be exactly what human resources does, all the time — not because it’s nice for employees, but because it drives the business. Employers keep their best people by acknowledging and rewarding their distinctive performance, not by treating them the same as everyone else.” Let that quote really lean on you, particularly in today’s changing world – what do our actions tell employees we value?
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HR wants a seat at the executive table and wants to be a strategic business partner. However, HR people consistently aren’t businesspeople. They don’t understand the business, its customers, competitors, challenges, and opportunities. Many behave more like social workers. When asked about key skills needed to be successful in HR, they prioritize interpersonal communications, employment law, and ethics. Strategic management and finance rank last. The author states that if HR is really the talent driver, it must understand how people accomplish corporate objectives. “HR isn’t about being a do-gooder. It’s about how you get [and keep] the best and brightest people and raise the value of the firm.”
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According to the author, the HR department’s perceived value is best told by where the HR Leader reports. Anything other than to the CEO is a clear signal that the corner office doesn’t get or value HR. It’s hard to have the ear of top management when you’re buried in finance or operations or even I.T. The unfortunate reality is that despite a growing sophistication among HR professionals, many business leaders can’t shake their legacy ideas of HR as picnic planner and corporate cop, or so says known HR thought leader Dr. David Ulrich.
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And finally, Hammond notes that growing levels of HR outsourcing are revealing the large strategic HR skill gap at many companies. “Outsourcing the administrative minutiae, after all, would allow HR professionals to focus on more important stuff that’s central to the business [i.e., strategic partners]. The problem, if you’re an HR person, is this: The tasks companies are outsourcing — the administrivia — tend to be what you’re good at.” HR is in a unique position to discover things through the lens of people and talent and use them to improve company performance. Unfortunately, they don’t seize this opportunity.
OK, wow, that’s dark, controversial, inflammatory, <insert your own adjective here>. Again, I didn’t write any of that material, so please don’t send me any hate mail. If you want more punishment, read the entire article here. The subject matter is hard to hear, and I’m sure it makes your blood pressure rise as much as it did for HR professionals back then. Especially if you’re a serious HR professional working hard to attract and retain talent, build culture, and manage change at your organization.
I know many of you think that over the last twenty years, the HR profession has put to bed these archaic ideas of HR’s value. That the majority of companies get HR’s value. Do they? The survey data is very mixed. Sapient Insights Group’s 26th annual HR Systems survey, as reported by HR Executive magazine, found that less than half of HR professionals believe HR is perceived as contributing strategic value in the respondent’s company. Other surveys of non-HR executives point to a lack of perceived value from HR. Many other surveys of CEOs paint very mixed results, some positive and some negative, mainly based on company size, with larger companies seeing more value from CHROs.
So then, maybe we have work to do? Laying aside your initial visceral reactions for the moment, how much of the findings in this old, outdated article are still true today in your world? For your HR team? For you as an HR Professional? What areas do you need to work on to elevate HR’s perceived value as a business partner at your company? Is your HR team appropriately staffed, and if not, what are you doing about that? Lastly, where are you spending quality time – driving talent and culture initiatives or enforcing compliance and managing FMLA? All need to be done, but what are your highest value-added activities?
I would love to hear your comments below about your success in driving strategic HR initiatives and elevating HR priorities to the executive team. Central to our mission of making workplaces more effective and employees more successful is equipping HR professionals with the advice, tools, and assistance they need to carry that mission forward. So, as always, if we can help you build an HR team or drive workplace initiatives that move your company forward, don’t hesitate to reach out.