J.C. Carvill
Email: support@cosmosing.com
URL: http://www.cosmosing.com/jeanclaudecarvill/index.php

http://mcarthursrant.blogspot.com/2007/11/appreciative-inquiry-into-hr.html

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.

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.