10 Reasons You Should Be Thankful for HR
Posted on Thursday, November 22, 2007 by Frank RocheIf you’re not in HR, here are 10 reasons you should be happy that you know your friendly human resources professional.
- Paychecks. You didn’t think that your pay was determined by little elves who then magically printed your check right month in and month out, did you?
- Fairness. Sure, you complain about HR, but who’s the first one you run to when things don’t seem fair? You know.
- Training. There are people you never even heard of in your company who work in Learning and Development. Know what they do? They design those training classes that help you advance your career.
- Benefits. They “owe” you benefits, right? I don’t think so. A lot of HR pros spend countless hours toiling to make sure that your benefits go for the greater good. And, surprise, they haggle with insurance companies on your behalf.
- Vacation. You might be surprised to find out that a company doesn’t have to offer vacation or pay you for it. HR pros work for you to make your time off policies be competitive, the best for you, and the most financially responsible for the company.
- Disability. Sure, there are government mandates for disability, but there’s also HR in your corner helping you through your disability. You don’t call your manager when you have to go on long-term disability, do you?
- Coworkers. Look left; look right. See those people working alongside you? Thank HR. They’re the ones who have to plan staffing and recruit candidates. Then they prepare the offer letter. Onboard the new people. Exit the bad ones.
- Reviews. I know, you hate performance reviews. I do too. But guess what? If HR weren’t there to move performance reviews along, that schmuck that you’d been working next to for the last three years would still be there. Keep the goods ones and dump the bad ones. Who do you call? HR.
- Increases. Sure, your manager makes decisions about your merit increase. But where did that money come from? HR compensation spends a lot of time making sure that money and headcount match. And they watch the market to make sure it’s fair. Result: More money in your pocket.
- Bonuses. Hello, Bonus. Hey, isn’t that the most beautiful of seasons? Here’s the broken record, but guess who’s behind that glorious bonus check? You know it. Your friends in HR, who are watching competitive pay practices across the world and are talking about the business effects with managers. (Those of you who got huge stock option grants in the late 1990s should hit your knees every day and be thankful.)
Well, it’s Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. If you’re working tomorrow, how about giving a little thanks to HR? They deserve it. They’re not all turkeys, no matter what you might think.
Scott McArthur
Nov 25th, 2007
Frank – you raise a really important point here.
As an HR professional, I’m get really tired of feeling like a target for the “boo boys”.
For years research surveys have demonstrated the shortcomings of the human resources profession. It’s getting to be really boring story,
HR needs to be more “strategic”;
HR is too focused on administrative minutiae;
HR needs to be more aligned with the company’s business goals;
HR must be more adept at change management;
HR wants a “seat at the table”
…but HR people generally don’t have the business savvy to get there; etc.
Here is a shock! There is yet another study showing how HR does not know what needs to be done in organisations to really be trusted, strategic and a business partner (I still struggle with this term). Vertitude’s, headline says it all, “Working Together, Working Apart: When It Comes to Workforce Planning, HR and Business Leaders Agree Their Working Relationship Needs Work.”
The highlights of the study are both familiar and depressing:
• Strategy—“Both business and HR leaders agree that talent acquisition and recruitment top the list of strategic business issues, but one in five business leaders see HR as only involved in “implementing” strategy, not participating in plan development. What’s more, a common perception is that HR is lacking adequate financial aptitude and therefore is not asked to contribute to strategy development because they do not speak the language of business.”
• A “Seat at the Table”—“Many business leaders indicate they do not have an established relationship with HR or it world not occur to them to include HR in implementing workforce plans. In general HR leaders agree that business leaders minimize the role that HR plays in workforce planning and don’t consider the full scope of HR’s ability and expertise.”
• Driving Change—“Business leaders perceive HR as ‘resource constrained’ and, as such, unable to effectively implement workforce plans. In turn, HR believes business leaders set unrealistic timeframes, lack an understanding of workforce issues, and are inconsistent in implementing initiatives.”
In reading the summary of the research study, it’s clear that Veritude has gone out of its way to be as positive in presenting these results, but it is also clear that the song remains the same, despite all the talk and anger over “Why We Hate HR,” nothing has really changed.
HR people need to develop their change management skills to be effective in today’s changing and busy business world. I can only wonder when the HR profession finally will find the means to fight back, rather than absorbing a new pummeling every few weeks.
Frank Roche
Nov 26th, 2007
Scott, something I really like about you — your comments are great posts in their own right. Fabulous!
I know I knock HR around a little bit, but I do think there’s too much zapping and not enough cheering. I thought our American Thanksgiving would be a good day to remind us of that. I’ll take my own advice from time to time as well.
Scott McArthur
Nov 26th, 2007
Sounds like we need to mobilise a campaign!? Then again I thought that was what our professional bodies did?
Frank Roche
Nov 26th, 2007
Scott, how about that? You and me…we could do it.
Scott McArthur
Nov 27th, 2007
Starter for 10 Frank!
http://mcarthursrant.blogspot.com/2007/11/appreciative-inquiry-into-hr.html
J.C. Carvill
Dec 6th, 2007
Basic motivation & drive are the true underlying approach even in HR Management, but general thankfulness for what you still have should help to bring up all those good perspectives & working moods.
J.C. Carvill
Email: support@cosmosing.com
URL: http://www.cosmosing.com/jeanclaudecarvill/index.php