Over the years I’ve been in HR, it’s been interesting to hear other people’s comments about how HR fits within a company. I’ve met executives with large company experience who feel HR is “the dreaded HR entity” that exists simply to make it impossible for them to do business. I’ve met small business owners who have no awareness of HR at all. These are the extremes.
The dreaded HR entity is the box. That HR is blindly doing it’s own thing by enforcing rules, nitpicking, and ignoring the rest of the business. Sadly, this really was HR for years and years. And, in many companies, it still is their HR style. It’s this very reputation that has made it so hard for HR to prove its usefulness in helping companies save money by making better hires, increasing productivity, and reducing lawsuits and claims.
I’m not a fan of the box. Let me share my thoughts about HR in general. HR represents everything employee-related within a company and, as such, is considered a complete department regardless of the number of HR people in the department. HR strives to find a balance between the needs of the employees and the company’s ability and willingness to meet those needs. The ultimate goal is to have an effective and efficient workforce that helps the company achieve its goals.
HR flows downhill. The behaviors, goals, and ethics of your company’s senior management team dictate how employees behave at work. HR is unable to successfully create or enforce policies that are not in synch with senior management’s actions.
Your HR should grow in accordance with your company’s needs. Initially, HR comes in the form of a consultant when your company is small and doesn’t yet have a need for an experienced HR person on staff. Eventually, as your company’s needs grow, an HR person is hired and steps into the HR role created by the consultant. Depending upon the knowledge and experience of the person hired, the consultant may continue the relationship with your company by providing training and oversight to the HR person that was hired and higher level HR advice to the management team.
I believe HR should slide easily into a slot within your company, just like accounting does. You don’t consider letting a department do whatever it wants without considering the financial side of the picture, do you? Well, anything that involves employees should have you considering the HR side of the picture. And, since employees are often found throughout a company, there is very little that goes on within your company that does affect the employees in some way.
Adjusting your perception of HR so you see it as an integrated part of doing business will make being an employer much easier. Done correctly, HR does its job and helps everyone else do their jobs even better.
It’s important to remember that developing an effective HR department, along with appropriate practices and policies, requires significant knowledge and experience. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your accountant, insurance broker, or admin person is able to provide you with sufficient HR advice … you’re taking a huge risk with your company’s future if you really believe that.
