Ten years ago, Keith Hammonds wrote a 4,000-word first-person narrative that sent shockwaves through the people management community. Its title: “Why We Hate HR”. The piece still reverberates through HR today, and Workforce thought with the passage of a decade, which has seen two presidential election cycles, the worst recession since the Great Depression and the approval of sweeping healthcare legislation, that it would be a good time to revisit HR’s standing in the corporate world. So, to paraphrase Hammons, Do we still hate HR?
Upon the first read of Hammonds’ “shot heard ‘round the world” article, one would consider it to be a poignantly appropriate article that calls the polarizing function of Human Resources to the carpet. However, a second or third reading of the article, Hammonds’ extraordinary words begin to show their flaws. Given the subjective nature of HR, it wouldn’t be difficult to muster up some relevant anecdotes that support his argument. So let’s skip the fancy rhetoric and call Hammonds’ article for what it is, lazy; and here’s why.
It’s divisive
At no point in Hammonds’ piece does he offer a solution or a light at the end of the tunnel. Instead he chooses to appeal to his readers’ baseline emotions, frustrations, coupled with some confirmation bias and generalizations to strengthen his argument (sound like a political candidate we know?). On the surface, yes it’s easy to see why people aren’t thrilled with HR. That said, a poorly constructed HR
The HR department officials in most organizations perform as they should. In most cases, they also focus on achieving the right things. Human Resource departments focus organizing, controlling, and hiring employees in organizations. When organizations apply HR practices, the results are great client satisfaction, a good net margin, and reduced sickness absence (Richard and Johnson, 2001). Vermeeren et al. (2014) posit that there is a great relationship between performance and HRM. Most organizations use the human resource department to ensure that operations run smoothly.
Human Resource plays a key role in designing the performance management framework. Human Resource role is manifold and each of these roles well played can be highly beneficial to the organization. However, as it is now, the people in the department do not seem up to par. In the article, "Why We Hate HR," written by Keith H. Hammond, the author portrayed a negative stance on the department. He listed four reasons describing what is wrong with the Human Resource people. Based on those four main criticisms, three individual interviews were conducted to see either Hammond’s point of view is agreeable or not. The interviewees also have given their personal experiences and opinions when comparing their
The role of a Human Resource department is ever changing in today’s volatile business environment. Over the years HR have become strong strategic partners within an organization by providing functions such as recruitment,
Gómez-Mejía, L. R., Balkin, D. B., & Cardy, R. L. (2016). Managing human resources (7th ed.). Harlow: Pearson.
The role of a Human Resource department is ever changing in today’s volatile business environment. Over the years HR have become strong strategic partners within an
Human resource (HR) leadership has always been difficult in challenging times, but the unique stressors facing organizations throughout the world today call for a new approach to HR
Throughout our course in HR management, our professor Marie has always said that we should reverse our roles and to wear our HR hat to learn what HR was all about. And in this regard, our guest speaker AJ Henry brought forth an impactful speech that really gave me a strong ability to conceptualize what HR can do to facilitate and foster strong leaders. Not only was AJ effective in his examples and demonstrations, he amazed me how as a HR representative of a 70-billion-dollar company (Target), could be so funny, honest, and caring.
Brimley and Garfield (2012) proclaim, the expanded role of human resources is the administration of personnel: the skill of leading and managing people. They also assert, human resource administrators typically focus on the following areas: recruitment, salaries, benefits, certification, and retirement. As a result, the human resource team are people experts (Brimley and Garfield, 2012). “Notwithstanding the importance of personnel duties, the role is broadened to include improving the ambiance of the profession,” claim Brimley and Garfield (2012, para. 1, p. 367). Brimley and Garfield also claim, a human
The human resource frame is known to operate from drastically different paradigms. Bolman and Deal (2013, p. 113) state that opposing paradigms are identified when an individual asks which statement is true; 1.) “Our most important asset is our people”, or 2.) “Organizations exploit people --chew them up and spit them out” (Bolman & Deal, 2013, p. 113).
1a. Rio Tinto is a business that operates in many countries. When there was a global recession, Rio Tinto had to fire some of its employees so they could stay in business. Rio Tinto’s HR used their strategic role to revamp their HR, the HR addressed the needs of the company, and how human capital fits into these needs of the company (Mathis, Jackson, & Valentine, 2014, p. 16). Rio Tinto’s HR used a different approach then they would have used previously. Previously, the company used an approach that would analyze every business unit, then managers and HR directors would approach the reduction in force differently. The company adopted a coordinated approach to lay off its employees globally. This approach was an efficient and ethical way to downsize their workforce. The HR department recognized key leaders and managers in the organization and moved them internally, so they would be able to retain them. These leaders
The litany of HR-related laws and frameworks that have been enacted and enforced over the years have all been well-intentioned. Examples include the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the United States Department of Labor (DOL). There have been many examples of justice and good deeds that have been yielded from the existence and administration of such laws and frameworks. However, some bad things have happened as well and they need to be addressed and recognized.
Organizations need people for their energy, effort and talent. Individuals need organizations for the many rewards they offer. But the needs of the individual and the organization don’t always line up very well and when the fit between people and organizations is poor, one or both will suffer. Human resource frame evolved from early work of pioneers such as Mary Parker Follett (1918) and Elton Mayo (1933, 1945), who questioned a century old, deeply held assumption that workers had no rights beyond a paycheck. Their duty was to work hard and follow orders. Pioneers who laid the human resource frame’s foundation criticized this view on two grounds: it was unfair, and it was bad psychology. People's skills, attitudes, energy, and commitment are vital resources that can make or break an enterprise, they argued. One of the core assumptions of the human resource frame states that when the fit between individual and system is poor, one or both suffer. Individuals are exploited or exploit the organization or both become victims. The “fit” is a function of at least three different things: how well an organization responds to individual desires for useful work; how well jobs enable employees to express their skills and sense of self; and how well work fulfills individual financial and lifestyle needs (Cable and DeRue, 2002).
Whether an organization consists of five or 25,000 employees, human resources management is vital to the success of the organization. HR is important to all managers because it provides managers with the resources – the employees – necessary to produce the work for the managers and the organization. Beyond this role, HR is capable of becoming a strong strategic partner when it comes to “establishing the overall direction and objectives of key areas of human resource management in order to ensure that they not only are consistent with but also support the achievement of business goals.” (Massey, 1994, p. 27)
Take a glance at all the things that individuals are contending about in the realm of HR and you 'll discern interesting points to consider. For instance, Yahoo banned telecommuting a year ago which numerous felt was a stage in reverse for adaptable work strategies. At that point there 's the open deliberation on whether execution examinations are on their demise.
Human resource management has frequently been described as a concept with two distinct forms: soft and hard. These are diametrically opposed along a number of dimensions, and they have been used by many commentators as devices to categorize approaches to managing people according to developmental-humanist or utilitarian-instrumentalist principles (Legge 1995 b).