HR: A 10 point agenda for change ? change-effect

January 7, 2013 by Neil

If you ever wanted proof of how dismally most people view the HR profession, then you need go no further than this piece from the Guardian online on Friday. What started as a question about working hours, turned in to a free for all regarding the standing of the HR profession. And by far the majority of comments were negative. Here are just some examples,

??in my company, it?s often the victims of HR that have to stay late to fill in even more paper work, to generate the paperwork that HR needs to dispel the rumor that they have nothing to do all day but generate pointless paper work.?

?Everyone else in your building hates HR for the ludicrous and pointless self-assessments we?re put through each year.

?HR is the weak link in every company; an industry whose only purpose is to justify its own pointless existence. ??Get out while you still can, or face an entire career of being sniggered at behind your back by your co-workers.?

?We all hate our HR department, they send out pointless memos about equality and diversity, and reminders to complete your appraisal/quarterly review etc, just so it looks like their jobs are essential.?

?People in HR departments exist to preserve their pointless jobs by creating work for others to do !?Does anyone know anything worthwhile that HR has done ??

?my experiences with Human Resources were neither humane nor resourceable. [sic]?

I could go on, but you get the gist. Everybody hates HR.

Now I could put up a stream of arguments that would point out the value of HR, indeed I and a few others did tentatively point this out, but in reality that is an utter waste of time and completely misses the point. It doesn?t matter what WE think, it matters what THEY think and if we are serious about our profession, then we need to take that in to account.

I admit that, in common with a number of other functions, we are in a situation where people don?t understand the value until they really need it and we are often associated with ?bad things? that happen in companies. But that is the fact of the matter, we can?t get away from that. We cannot deny reality, we need to tackle it face on.

1. We need to be resourceful in bringing the right mindset into the profession. We are not a policing function, we are not an administrative function, we are here to provide solutions and facilitate not provide problems and barriers. This mindset is more important that technical skills. If people don?t have it then don?t hire them.
2. We need to de-clutter our processes and procedures. Enough of the forms, the polices, the bureaucracy. 90% of it isn?t needed and 100% of it is hated, resented and not understood by employees and managers alike.
3. We need to stop saying ?no?. Our language, our communication to the business needs to be positive, not negative. We need to be owners of good news. Deal with problems individually, not by memo. Stop sending out dumb emails, if it isn?t positive, don?t send it.
4. We need to accept that you don?t get influence through control, you get influence through other people?s positive experience of you. Get influence through people wanting you involved not by telling them you have to be.
5. We need to cut down the initiatives. Every time we look at something we should clearly be able to articulate why we are doing it and why our organization (not our HR department) wants it. If we can?t, we shouldn?t be doing it.
6. We need to listen to our employees and our managers. We need to stop seeing them as being ?the problem? and start seeing them as being the people that we are here to help. They are the reason we have jobs, so stop moaning about them and start listening.
7. We need to stop focusing on alleged best practice and start focusing on ?best fit? solutions. If our organizations only need a simple solution, then just give it to them. This isn?t about winning prizes at the CIPD awards, or standing up at conferences, this is about making your organization better.
8. We need to be more human. We need to get out and talk, interact, spend time with people, we need to be empathetic and understanding, we need to feel. Sitting in the HR department bitching is not going to change anything.
9. We need to stop focusing on cost and start focusing on value. These two things are not the same. Even if cost reduction is on the agenda, look at the value you can get from the budget, the resources. Cheaper and faster do not equate to better.
10. We need to tell people who do not believe in this agenda that they have no place in the profession. They should find another career voluntarily or we should help them to find one involuntarily. There isn?t a choice to stay the same, there is only the choice to change.

Every single one of us has a responsibility for raising standards and calling others to account when they do not meet high enough standards. Those of us in leadership positions need to set the example. We need to be all over and we need to start now.

Category: General, HR, Organisation, Performance | Tags: agenda for change, HR, performance, professional standards. improvement, the guardian

Source: http://change-effect.com/2013/01/07/hr-a-10-point-agenda-for-change/

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