OK…now that I’ve recovered from my rant about the human resources profession, let’s discuss the people part…
I’ll start by pointing out the 800 lb elephant in the room. Are there crappy HR people in organizations? Yes. There – I said it. And, there may actually be a lot of them out there. Which is why magazines like Fast Company publish articles titled “Why We Hate HR?” But in order to change the perception of the profession, we have to start with ourselves.
Still not convinced? Okay, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that every person in the human resources profession was a total rock star. Everyone. Would we even be having these discussions? Of course not. It would be the best, most vibrant profession in any business and everyone would want to be part of it.
Regardless of your role and responsibility, the first thing you need to recognize is that every profession has both strategic and administrative tasks. And IMHO, in order to be successful, you gotta do both. So, I wouldn’t make the assumption that being administrative is bad. It’s how much time is spent on administration and the end results that determines the value of administrative work.
Let’s use one of my fave professions, a chef, as an example. If super-chef Norman Van Aken wants to make a classic Boeuf Bourguignon, he needs to quarter some onions. The fact that he has to quarter onions doesn’t make him less of a super-chef. But, if it takes him 20 minutes to quarter an onion (like it takes me) he’s probably not going to be super for very long.
The second thing HR Pros (or anyone for that matter) should do to change perceptions is consider differing viewpoints. Frank Roche over at Know HR recently wrote a post about this very subject. He called it getting out of the echo chamber. I had never heard the term ‘echo chamber’ before…but it’s so true. We easily fall into our comfort zones – the same groups of people, the same meetings, the same reading, blah, blah, blah.
Just ask yourself: When was the last time you talked business with someone outside of your profession? When was the last time you read a magazine or blog outside of your industry? Have you attended a professional association meeting or conference for anything other than human resources?
It’s an interesting notion, eh?
We need to figure out how to do the administration and do it well so we can quickly move to the real stuff, the strategic work. And, when we get those extra moments…use them to try new things, meet new people and discover new ideas. Then, we need to teach others in our companies and profession how to do the same.
That’s how we as individuals demonstrate our real value. That’s how we begin to change the perceptions of our profession. It starts with getting outside of our comfort zones and challenging ourselves.
P.S. Speaking of challenging ourselves and looking at different viewpoints, I hope you’ll check out Halogen Software’s HR Raging Debates. Halogen asked ten HR pros for their views on talent management, social media and the role of HR. I’m honored to have been included in the discussion. Be sure to join in the convo…
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Bryan Starbuck says
I completely agree. I’ve managed sales teams, marketing teams, and engineering teams. All professions have admin & strategic work.
For engineers, it is bug databases, commenting code, code reviews, architecture reviews, specs, etc. For sales teams, it is documenting progress on sales in SalesForce or their CRM software.
I think the goal is to SHRINK the admin side. This is the common skill across all A-Players — inside of recruiting and out.
TheHRD says
I always say to HR teams that if they want to play with the big boys, first they need to do the bread and butter jobs well. Then they need to listen, then they need to think, then they need to challenge. And before they know it they will be changing things and making an impact.
Saying you want to be strategic whilst the HR infrastructure collapses around your ears is a sure fire way of staying in the basement and not in the boardroom.
Lynn Dessert says
This is not a rant, it is a necessary wake up call for HR or other professions who get stuck thinking the status quo is enough.
It is easier to blame others than to take personal accountability for changing your situation.
In reference to the 800 lb elephant in the room – any size elephant is an opportunity for a discussion – my blog is dedicated to opening the dialogue. It’s great to see you doing the same.
Larry Wilson says
Thanks for including a link to HRcommons. You are so right when you say we have to model the ability to do the administrative tasks well AND the ability to then focus on strategic issues. That’s how we will change culture and behavior. Press on!
Deborah Exo says
Sharlyn, agreed that HR has rock stars and crappy performers and HR is responsible for dealing with that reality, which we haven’t been to date…we typically just pass the “problem” crappy performers on. Shame on us!
As to the remaking of HR, I believe administrative HR work can be outsourced TODAY yet we (HR) continue to “hang-on” to those pieces as if they were our lifeline. And strategic work in HR is too often defined with fancy HR-speak such as succession planning, human capital planning, competency planning, etc. yet when you pull the covers back, the work is mostly project management with a piece of administration.
I continue to believe that until we (HR) understand the businesses we are in, have a well-articulated (with insight) opinion with conviction and begin to re-imagine HR we will not be able to shake the strongly held, negative perceptions of HR.
This does NOT mean building on and/or making better the processes/systems/structures of today (or yesterday) but totally re-imagining HR as the driver of the business strategy of talent. We need to boldly experiment and deal with the consequences (good and bad) of our experimentation just like business does. We need to open up the feedback loop and talk a lot less with HR professionals (no matter how amazing they are) and talk a lot more with the CEO, CFO, and GMs in our businesses. We need to look at our schedules of daily meetings/activities and tell ourselves the truth…most of the day didn’t matter to the bottom line of the business AND then commit to changing that. We need to model courage, flexibility, and the ability to deal with LOTS of ambiguity as we create HR for the 21st century.
Mark A. Griffin says
I have challenged my HR colleagues and direct reports for years to first know the business before you can support the business. I remember a few years ago just fresh into my new assignment I called on one of my Managers that I supported and asked him if I could spend the day with him out in the field as he visited with staff, met with clients, managed the warehouses and met with technicians. He was flabbergasted that I would care to know his business. Although many years ago and several career progressions since then, he still keeps in contact. Thanks for taking the time in providing this well written article. I enjoyed reading this article. Thanks HR Bartender!
Fred says
You might even talk to the employees … you know, the human resources?