Whenever, I used to meet seniors in the field of HR, one question that always found a space in the conversation was why did you choose to pursue your career in Human Resource. Well, with a touch of humor I would say those folks at college duped me by that name personnel management. [For someone just out of college, every thing with management would mean its worth it ;)].
In school my academics were inclined towards pure science and not to everybody's expectation I chose not to become an engineer, but to my expectation almost all my friends were engineers and landed up in organizations which had a HR department of decent size. Whenever I used to have a word with them they would say that they hate the way HR functions. It is the 'Highly Reprimanded' department of the organization. They seem to nail down everyone with phrases like "we will get back to you" or "the position is on hold" or " we are waiting for the decision from the top" etc. In fact, sometimes it is embarrassing to see so many queries being constantly neglected.
But as a thumb rule, HR are the custodians of the processes within an organization.
Historically, as the organizations began to grow there was a gap that started to build up between the management and the employees. It was then that to bridge this gap that personnel department came into being. Thus as finance dealt with numbers, productions with machines, in came HR to deal with emotions, irrationality and the "human touche". HR was once considered the ‘mother hen’ within organizations – the place to go to with your grievances, personal or work-related? Perhaps technology and the need to keep up with other organizational functions have dimmed this role – making HR the last place to go to! HR generally acts as a punch-bag and thus turns out to be the most hated department in many organizations. When there is a happy news to announce, they ornate the scripts for CEOs and perhaps the PR-types. But when there’s a bad news to announce, they are suddenly the official spokesperson of the organization. Over a period of time as new concepts of management came into being there was need for a department to take up functions and responsibilities which no one else either wants or is capable of doing. From recruiting to orienting new employees, from writing job descriptions to tracking attendance, and from instituting and monitoring policies to monitoring benefits, there has been a need for someone to establish a structure and holding down costs of administration as the senior management took the lead in bringing in new management fundas. Thus HR is very administrative in nature and focuses a lot on processes. Bogged down with varying expectations of countless customers that they have to deal with day-in and day-out, it has come a long way in the last few decades to become an essential part of the organizations of the 21st century.
One of the major strengths of HR is connecting with the employees and effectively communicating the reason for their actions and develop a trusting relationship with the stakeholders. The most satisfied internal customers have been found to ve served by HR who are very transparent in their communication.To help with dealing all the ambiguities they face, formal policies and procedures manual are created keeping the fairness to employees and best interest of the company in mind. Where HR brings in a difference is, when they follow the processes not just as a formality but add a touch of personalization.
HR dept.s have constantly evolved to become more and more flexible to better meet the demands of a dynamic business environment. In the past decade or so this constant effort has paid off in beginning the drive to recognize HR as a strategic partner of the business, rather than just an administrative department.
HR has an information function that one should think through. Changes in policies, changes in benefits, even changes in laws must be communicated to all employees. Major changes may call for training such as in harassment a few years back. Major changes in medical insurance benefits have to be disseminated to all affected employees. Therefore, HR becomes a kind of pass-through in the information cycle.
My personal belief is that someone who chooses to be in HR has to have a different level of sensibility and motivation because it is essentially considered to be a thankless job.
No comments:
Post a Comment