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The Forum > Article Comments > Human resources - what do they actually do? > Comments

Human resources - what do they actually do? : Comments

By Malcolm King, published 25/5/2007

Ever wondered what the HR specialist does? Or where your job application disappears to? And what weasel words you must include in your application? Read on ...

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Have to agree with the author completely on this one. The world can easily do without HR. They are paper shufflers and spin doctors of the worst kind.
Posted by alzo, Friday, 25 May 2007 11:03:21 AM
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The author only sees a part of the picture.

There is absolutely no doubt that the people he describes exist, and that he has described them accurately in almost every respect.

However, there is a far more interesting tale behind it all, a rich and action-packed story of line management laziness, incompetence and fear.

HR, in any well-run organization (and I notice Mr King uses exclusively academic environments for his examples; 'nuff said) is the part of the business that supports management in its dealings with staff. It doesn't - it mustn't - replace any of their functions in dealing with that manager's team. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happens where there are incompetent managers running the business

Regrettably, we produce a highly inferior brand of manager in this country, one that is particularly under-educated in the art of managing people. Managers who will, at every opportunity, abdicate responsibility for dealing with the staff that work for them.

(Except of course where it involves shouting at people to work harder, which they do incessantly, believing that it is what management is supposed to do. Kick heads, pose and posture, take credit for success and pass on blame for anything that goes wrong. You've met them, I'm sure)

So these so-called line managers have over the years handed over all the difficult stuff, like hiring and (particularly) firing, training and developing etc., to the HR people. Who, not being responsible for the people involved, take a simplistic, administrative, procedure-driven and impersonal approach to the cattle that they are told to deal with.

Is it a disaster? You bet.

Who is to blame? Not HR. They are given the hospital pass by incompetent management, and settle into the rut of playing everything by a book of rules which was devised by control-freaks, for people who have no interest in outcome, only process.

In my experience, having a competent HR team supporting a responsible management team is a dream run.

But every word Mr King wrote about recruitment agencies - and many that he was too polite to include - is true.
Posted by Pericles, Friday, 25 May 2007 12:04:14 PM
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Ah, try any "Public Service" outfit in the country....their Human Resources do nothing to add to the "service" and they manage to manipulate both the workers and the bosses.
A true story told me by a Minister in a government was that of a problem which arose and the family involved was told by a PS that nothing could be done because "it was not the policy". Family said it was in that party's policy. No, no still could not be done it was not departmental policy. Family eventually went to the Minister's electorate office and an assistant recognised it was the policy of that party and advised the Minister. Minister hauled in a senior member of the department (the HR level) and asked what was going on.
Was told it was "not policy". This went on for some months but the Minister persisted. The Public Servants in the department were working on the policy documents of the previous government. That is what they wanted the policy to be and what the HR level was working on applying. The Minister had to end up using a Ministerial Directive to apply the policy of the Minister's party....
Posted by Communicat, Friday, 25 May 2007 12:23:02 PM
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One of the problems with HR for any employer is that the employment rules are so blasted complicated. HR are hired in larger businesses to be the expert on the rules (policies etc). Not that I agree with workchoices exactly, but if we made employment (and related taxation) rules a lot more simple, there would be a lot less need to the HR function.
Posted by Country Gal, Friday, 25 May 2007 12:47:42 PM
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I was a HR manager ending working for a State Education Dept. I was on the operational side of HR, always. The people who process, pay, record, advise and all the rest from recruitment to retirment.

That Education Department looked at HR as a place to dump teachers who couldn't teach. Why? Quals. Yes, but nothing to do with the work.

So yes I do agree that HR as it is known today is BS. That same State where I was the HR Manager refused to acknowledge the legislation in some circumstances which gave the lie to "working by the book". They don't. They work as told to. Anyone who doesn't "go along" gets the flick.

HR practice today falls down in one main area. That is people think you can study it at Uni and then do it. Wrong. Just like any "profession" you have to learn the work as well as the theory. They don't bother as Senior Management just don't get it.

If you care to look at any work stream you will find exactly the same thing. Ideal circumstances described and legislated for. But not actually practiced, only preached.

HR is simple stuff. It's customer service with allegiance to those you deal with, your staff and the organisation. It depends on how you decide which of those is first as to how your service is rated by all. If you choose organisation first then the service will be poor simply because you have already lost focus on why you are there. Which is to ensure people get what they are entitled to when it is due. No more no less.

Learning the mountain of legislation that goes with it takes years and changes every day. This is where the Uni appointees fail. They just don't know the work or how to deal with people as people.

That "people are our most valuable asset" rant really tells you all you need to know about theory doesn't it? You are assessed as being an asset, not a person. That's why it works the opposite way to the words.
Posted by pegasus, Friday, 25 May 2007 1:17:41 PM
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This article fails to take into account one very fundemental challenge to Human Resources and it's practitioners - the rest of the organisations management structure.

Human Resources, by it's nature, is all about trying to make sure that the working environment is as conducive to happy and productive as possible. Where it gets tripped up is by employee managers who can't manage, budgets which are unable to allow for productivity measures to be put in place, etc.

The biggest hurdle, tho, is executive management buy in. If the organisations executive aren't fully behind the concepts being suggested, then Human Resources may as well not even be there.

Take a look at Google (http://www.workforce.com/section/09/feature/23/41/03/index.html) where HR is taken seriously from the top down, and company morale is at an amazing level, there are plenty of perks and the place is run pretty well.

If there were more managers like this, who allowed HR to do it's job, HR would probably be viewed in a significantly more positive light.
Posted by BN, Friday, 25 May 2007 4:11:10 PM
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