HR professionals are often accused of lacking strong opinions and 'sitting on the fence' when it comes to voicing an opinion. But a sharp attack on the HR profession is one sure-fire way to provoke a reaction, as Times columnist Sathnam Sanghera demonstrated last week through his deliberately goading piece 'HR departments: I've never understood the point of them'.
His comments prompted a range of spirited responses from the HR community with HR directors quick to hit back at criticism and share their thoughts with Personnel Today.
My favourite response is from Alan McGillivray, group HR director at housebuilder The Gladedale Group who quipped: "Many of Sanghera's observations would not be out of place in an episode of BBC 2's Mock the Week. However, like all good comedy, there is an underlying degree of uncomfortable truth in what he says." McGillivray's comments, along with others, make essential reading.
Even Personnel Today's very own Guru has got in on the act with his considered response to Sathnam's assertion 'You'll find more neurosis between the covers of your average edition of Personnel Today than your average edition of Cosmopolitan.'
We'd love to hear what the rest of you think. Join the debate by posting your comments in HR Space.
We're always keen for our readers to make their voices heard within the industry and influence its direction, so I'm excited to tell you about the forthcoming launch of a brand new initiative that encourages you to do just that - Personnel Today's HR industry opinion panel. More details to follow shortly.
Comments (2)
It's his opinion - half right, half wrong. Does it really warrant a response since he's a journalist and normally a very funny one at that?
Unfortunately, the over-sensitive and neurotic response by the HR community confirms Sanghera's observation that 'You'll find more neurosis between the covers of your average edition of Personnel Today than your average edition of Cosmopolitan.'
Hasn't HR got more important things on its plate right now? With this and the current outpouring of obsessiveness over Jackie O's bonus I would imagine that any independent observer may well concur with the comment 'navel gazing'.............
NJH
Posted by Nicholas J Higgins | October 12, 2009 10:36 AM
Posted on October 12, 2009 10:36
Having read the article and most of the comments I would like to say that on the whole I agree. HR has lost its way, it has forgotten what its core values are, it has forgotten what its actual position is. It has been so busy trying to get the God's of the business world to take notice of what it does that it has forgotten that people, the assets of every company are why there is an HR department.
It’s great to have money making departments but without the service departments such as, administration, secretarial, cleaning, HR, etc there would be no company. These service departments are as important as any sales, finance, business or marketing department and as such should be treated with the same respect.
As for HR, processes, policies and legislation are a small part of what they should do and to re-iterate what some of my esteemed colleagues have already said, HR should have business acumen that way they can make sure that the business has the right people in the right positions, make sure those people are developing within their roles and the business, make sure that all staff are given the chance to enhance themselves and their position so the company can grow and prosper.
We all know that as humans if we are happy and feel a part of something we will give our best if not our souls to keep that feeling alive - that is what the HR department does or should do, a happy team is a productive team and a productive team is a prosperous team and a prosperous team makes a prosperous company.
Henry Ford as well as being a CEO was also a great HR representative because he understood the value of people. In 1914, he solved the employee turnover problem by doubling pay, cutting shifts from nine hours to eight hours for a 5 day working week, he also institute hiring practices that identified the best people for the jobs, with these changes employee turnover plunged, productivity soared and sales increased. Wall Street criticized Ford's generous labour practices, but the company became one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. May be HR practitioners should concentrate on their core value and stop trying so hard to prove themselves.
Posted by Dominic Banting | October 14, 2009 4:39 PM
Posted on October 14, 2009 16:39