HR Professionals: The World’s Most Hated People?

I don’t think this is news to you. Everyone in every organisation hates HR professionals. Maybe it’s not universally true, but it is generally so. And during times like these, when we have to play the broom, down-sizing, right-sizing and generally keep our organisations lean and mean by getting rid of employees, we have certainly been moving up the ‘hate-o-meter’.

All of us know that HR can be a thankless job. Do it well, and colleagues and bosses expect more of the same. Do it badly, and we are the scapegoat for anything that’s rotten in the organisation. When there are happy news to announce, we are but scriptwriters for CEOs and perhaps the PR-types. But when there’s a bad news to announce, we’re suddenly the official spokesperson of the organisation.

This hate tag is unlikely to go away anytime soon as well. By definition, our constituents are most unpredictable – ‘human being’. Unlike finance who deals with numbers, and production who deals with machines, we are faced everyday with emotions, irrationality, cultural differences, etc. On top of that, we have bosses and investors to deal with, and governments and unions to worry over. With so much juggling to do, we can’t really play the Mr. Good Guy role, can we?

HR – THE MOST LOVED PEOPLE IN ORGANISATIONS?

A lot of these hatred are misplaced, as you would know. In most cases, we are powerless to correct the perception. However, I would like to think that we can, if we want to. Through the 3Cs of communications, commitment and compassion.

If we learn to better communicate the reasons for many of our actions and decisions, our stakeholders will be better prepared to understand our roles, and hence, alleviate some of the misgivings. If we can show compassion in delivering the bad news (read Cassandra’s article on page 46) and in our everyday dealings with employees, perhaps we can become the most loved people in the organisations (like many HR professionals already are!). Remember how HR was once considered the ‘mother hen’ within organisations – the place to go to with your grievances, personal or work-related? Perhaps technology and the need to keep up with other organisational functions have dimmed this role – making HR the last place to go to! A lot of the perceived unfairness – that HR professionals are henchmen of financial controllers and CEOs can be corrected if we show stronger commitment to justice: if we uphold what is good for the organisation in the long term rather than immediate issues. Yes, easier said than done, I know. But we can’t continue being ‘the most hated department’ if we are to progress as a profession.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

Since this issue is about talent management, perhaps we should put first priority to managing talents within HR. We are expected to acquire and retain the best talents for the organisation. How about starting with our own departments? It’s time HR are staffed by the brightest of candidates. Not just future HR VPs, but future CEOs and captains of industry. That’s talent management. And a challenge worth taking up.

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This article appeared in the Editor's Note of HR Asia Vol 2. For more articles on HR across Asia, get a copy from your nearest bookstores - now available in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. If you are a senior HR professional - email chroclub@hrasiamedia.com for free subscription.