9 Things HR Sections Continue To Do Badly

I love Human Resources.

I hate Human Resources.

Both of these comments serve as end points of a continuum I find myself constantly moving up and down. Some days I sit back, in magnificent awe of the contribution and progress of a group of dedicated HR practitioners... And then other days see me thinking, in no uncertain terms, that an organisation would be significantly better off if they wiped out their entire HR section.

So what are the differences between the HR departments that do a fantastic job, and the ones who justify their existence? Well, to get it started, how about we look at the 9 common mistakes HR makes.

1. It's all in the title

Human resources. I am sorry, but humans aren’t a resource and any department that treats them like one have sold their soul to the highest paycheck. Today’s modern workforce need people to turn up showing the very best of themselves. Their innovation, creativity and artistry are the skills we really need to see. But if people feel treated like a number, they will reciprocate... Numbers such as 30% staff engagement, 70% turnover rates... These are the numbers you will see in return. HR departments should be renamed RH departments. Resourcing Humans... That’s actually the true essence of any high performing HR practitioner’s role.

2. They don't walk their talk

I’d love a dollar for every time I see a HR department not having it’s yearly reviews completed on time, exhibiting really poor people skills, or placing emphasis on the spreadsheet in front of the person. Modeling is such a powerful tool to use, and yet many HR units model the very behaviour they wish to avoid. HR should adopt the persona of the ‘cool class nerd’ - first to finish everything; back this up with exceptionally well communicated policies and procedures, and exemplary customer service. Unfortunately there are more than a few do as I say not as I do type of operators in the HR industry. HR should always be a do as I say...because we truly believe in it too.

3. Their R.O.I s.u.c.k.s

If some HR departments were valued as a business, they would be sent into liquidation and receivership overnight. HR, like any other department within an organisation should be accountable for clear outcomes and should be measured against it. Grievance procedures that last months if not years, performance reviews that are underperforming, and diabolical return to work practices that see people sent to some work-enforced purgatory... If you’re selling these, then I have news for you; no-one’s buying! Return on investment for the performance for the HR department should be measured across more than data that can be manufactured. Hands down the best measures, as in any business, are; word of mouth and return business. How do your internal and external customers view your HR unit? Have you built relationships with people that see them use your services constantly rather than desperately? And the big question; what is your value proposition to your organisation?

HR sections should be lean, agile and ‘profitable’... Interestingly, high performing organisations don’t spend a greater percentage of their budget on HR, they spend less than poorer performing organisations.  

4. They use out-of-date tools on a 2011 workforce

As human behaviour shifts and evolves at such a rapid rate, you would think our methods and processes would change with it too... You’d think. But it is sad how often we see the same old systems and processes being wheeled out. Don’t get me wrong, some of the old theory is as strong today as it has always been, but large parts of it look like a hypercolour t-shirt or a flock of seagulls haircut; some things will never come back into fashion (hopefully!). The biggest culprit: old-fashioned performance incentives, that worked for 1930‘s depression factory workers, provide no incentive at all. Human resources staff should be continually educating themselves not just about process, but about emerging behavioural trends.

5. Right fighters are rarely happy

There is an old saying in behavioural sciences, “you can choose to be right, or you can choose to be happy”. Many relationship breakdowns, conflicts and general roadblocks between two parties are when both are ‘right’. I have seen my fair share of ‘right fighters’ in the HR profession. They defend underperforming systems like a dog with a bone, and wonder why their boss, their staff and their workforce aren’t happy. Be humble and admit when something isn’t working... You might just end up happy.

6. Their reputation economy is bankrupt

“They don’t respect the work we do here” cries a HR professional, distraught his/her work is not valued by the wider organisation. Yet at no time has thought been put into ‘selling’ the products or services they offer to the buyers/customers/clients. The truth is HR as an industry tends to market themselves poorly. 

How do you get greater buy in? 

How do you get more recognition at a board or executive level? 

Answer: Have a great reputation.

If you’ve done something great as a unit, you should use it to build a strong reputation. You have to blow your own trumpet... There’s no music if you don’t.

7. They’re like the angel of death

It breaks my heart, but too many HR professionals see their entire job as ‘putting out fires’. They only turn up for the bad stuff. Plenty of workforces recognise if HR are in the room, then it must be really serious. 

What about all the good stuff? Having a strong presence in the wins and successes of the organisation is critical to be seen in a good light. If all you do is work on problems, then how do you not become a problem yourself?

8. Bring in business, don’t turn it away.

Too many HR units try not to attract attention. It’s like they are almost hiding under their desk, petrified the phone will ring or, God forbid, someone will walk in the door! It is tied to the last problem of constantly ‘turning up for the bad stuff’. Because the work is mostly problematic rather than positive, some HR professionals slip into a pattern of dreading the next point of contact because it is going to be ‘the bad stuff’. The high performing HR practitioners are constantly buzzing around and organisation, they know the names of the high performers as well as they do the people who cause grief. 

9. Engagement is supposed to be a happy place

For a great many HR units within organisations, one of their primary objectives is to put into place practices to achieve greater levels of staff engagement. Yet sadly you walk into the office and are greeted by a group of uninspired, clock-watchers who seem to think engagement is simply the process you go through before you enter a boring marriage.

To inspire people you yourself have to be inspired. To get people engaged, you too must be engaged! Ben Zander calls it ‘sparkly eyes’. Look around your office right now; how many sparkly eyes do you see? A recent report shows Australian Employees Among the Most Disengaged in the World. The good thing? The turnaround may as well start in the HR department; it’s as good a place as any.

So there are 9 major roadblocks for success for HR units. You could do a lot worse than print off this blogpost and discuss at your next team meeting. Are you avoiding these traps? Or are you right in the middle of the muck? We'd love to get your feedback and commentary. Send it around to your peers... Do they agree or disagree? 

One thing is for certain, there are countless sensational HR practitioners out there with a desire to do even better. That fact alone is the reason why I constantly gravitate back to the high end of the continuum I spoke about at the start of this column; I love Human Resources (or as I prefer, Resourcing Humans!)

Warm wishes,

Darren and Alison

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