HR: IN OR OUT? DEBATE OF THE WEEK

-

HR: Needed vs. NOT Needed


©AR_HRComatrix_HRDebate
It is one the these things: you plan something and end up doing something else. My planned posting was inspired by a Millenial and was to be on Communication. And yesterday, I came across this big buzz generated by Best-Selling Author Bernard Marr,  in his LinkedIn posting on "Why We No Longer Need HR Departments." At the time on this writing, it has generated 4,645 readings and over 3,000 comments. Talk about a buzz!! It is interesting to see how people are passionate about HR.

 There are those who disagree, such as Josh Bersin, with Besin by Deloitte, and who spell out why HR is still quite relevant. The article, "Why We Do Need the HR Department"  is scooped by Andrée Laforge in "Mesurer le Capital Humain," and has culminated to 24,789 views at this precise time! Wow!! The power of communication!
 
And of course, there are those who think that HR is redundant. Those are mostly the people who have most probably met an "evil HR" person. And I say "person" vs. professional because HR is all too often, and unfortunately, staffed through internal promotion of people who have been in administration or in HR. Not that there is anything wrong with internal  promotion. It is only wrong if it makes you reach your Peter's principle, and you lack self- awareness, or the person who promoted you had a personal agenda. And that agenda wouldn't certainly be the organization's success, much less yours. Frankly, I had exchanges with many colleagues, HR professionals, who have said "I do not know why such people remain at their positions". Sadly those last at their positions, and are, unknowingly, one of the causes of this type of heated debate. Suzanne Lucas has been stating her opinion on what she calls  "The Evil HR" myth in her personal introduction in her blog!

Myth or not, the image of HR, throughout the world, has not always been brilliant, and often for good reasons. The shift from the old fashioned Personnel Department to that of Human Resource Management, HRM,  has not been seamless. It is unfortunate. Today, we talk about Human Capital Management, HCM. We finally admit that metrics/analytics is relevant to HR. None of these makes HR irrelevant, on the contrary. It is only a matter of understanding of what HR should be or is about. I believe that SHRM, formerly American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA),  is there to stay, whatever its name. And every organization has its own needs and means; the face of HR is going to vary from one organization to another.

I am not exaggerating when I say that it was decades ago that I made the argument on linkages between HR and metrics. Let's just say that it was not understood. Today, Bernard Marr argues that 1)  HRM is irrelevant and should be called otherwise, 2) Analytics and People Support are to be today's focus, and  3) "HR" administration should be outsourced.

HR is Evolving: Resistance is Futile!


My opinion? HR should be approached in a holistic fashion. There are several facets of HR that have been neglected. HR is an integral part of business management, such as Finances or Product. Very simply put, you need money and a product to do business. By the same token, you need people on both ends of the business - inflow and outflow-... unless you are going to have "borgs" do the work...

However, I do agree that we are evolving to the "Next Generation" of HR. And, yes, I have been championing for an integrated approach to HR. For HR to add full value, People, Communication, Research and Metrics are to be synched to contribute to business mission and goals. That's what HR is about.
Should we define HRM by what it is not? HRM is not administration, or compliance, or pure execution, or exclusively operations. It is that multifaceted quest for understanding of people - that is, all stakeholders - and business - i.e. internal and external environment -; and bringing all information, offering analysis, interpretation, and strategic and operational solutions as a contribution to business goals. And yes, there are different parts of that HR body; and changes will have to be made, slowly maybe but surely, as  I have already seen happening. "Traditional" HR is moving in and out of HR.

HR needs to have a vision. HR is evolving, and changing its name won't change the course. HR is to stay and evolve. It will remain People- and business-centric. Only the approach is evolving. We all need to embrace the change, no matter, and yes, Resistance is futile.

So, let's talk HR of the future, let's learn and partner.

En Synthèse...

 

En Synthèse...



Un vrai débat en effet à juger par les diverses, devrais-je dire innombrables réponses sur le sujet. Visitez aussi Sandrine Théard. Il y a tant à dire sur la "gestion des RH", ce super hero. Peu importe la dénomination: la fonction évolue. Elle est en cours de redéfinition, face à la technologie et à la redéfinition du contexte du monde du business. A chaque entreprise ses besoins particuliers.
Et RH n'exclue certainement pas l'analytique. Le bilan social en est le grand-parent. Qui se souvient d'avoir travaillé sur un bilan social? En tous cas, je me souviens d'avoir compilé les data et d'avoir participé à l’interprétation. C’était bien dans notre département RH. 

Bien évidemment, les metrics RH à considérer aujourd'hui doivent être plus élaborés que ceux qui doivent être dans le bilan social. L'approche est différente.
Mais en fin de comptes, tout est dans la définition "personnelle" (one's understanding) de la "gestion des RH" et de la valeur des apports en la matière. Ceci dit, la SHRM et le CRHA ont certainement leurs raisons d'être. Et ma foi, les professionnels RH comprennent que RH n'est pas seulement synonyme d'administration ou de partenaires sociaux. Nous ne sommes plus a l’ère de la Révolution Industrielle...  

Si aux USA 80% des RH sont maintenant à la Présidence de la compagnie, l’interprétation des  résultats est encore bien floue dans bien des cas, d’où des décisions stratégiques qui sont souvent révisées en peu de temps (non qu'il y ait du mal à cela, mais enfin avoir une information cohérente au départ ne fait pas du mal non plus). Eh non, les data ne déshumanisent en rien les RH. Nous devons seulement apprendre à les manipuler, les interpréter, et les présenter pour pouvoir aider le Capital Humain à contribuer plus efficacement aux objectifs d'entreprise. 

RH: Une Vision Intégrée


La fonction RH est ici pour rester mais elle évolue. Pour survivre, nous devons nous adapter au changement inéluctable de la profession. J'ai toujours été une avocate d'une approche globalisante de la gestion des RH: Communication, RH, Recherche et Analytique. En somme, savoir interpréter les données internes et externes du business et apporter sa contribution aux objectifs d'entreprise. Les RH, ce n'est pas un monde à part; C'est partie intégrante de la gestion du business, avec focus sur les partenaires humains. Allons-y pour une vision intégrée des RH! Moi, j'y crois fermement depuis toujours. 

Alors, que vous soyez dans les RH ou à l’extérieur i.e dans une fonction autre que RH , vous feriez mieux de vous habituer à cette idée, parce que l’évolution de la gestion des RH avance lentement mais sûrement vers un partenariat. Incontournable. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNICATION, SAFETY & WORKPLACE: "Je suis Charlie"

-
Image
©AR_HRComatrix_SCharlie C ommunication is powerful, today more than ever, with social media . Frontiers are erased . Time elapses. Things and situations take a different dimension. Everything is "here and now ". This week, " Je suis Charlie " has been the most recent and poignant picture of the power of communication. All started and ended in the workplace . Chilling for HR and Safety people. P eople all the over the world spend most of their time at work . The typical workday is about six to eight hours in the the US with the new approach to the notion of full time job . In France it is typically eight hours, with often some flexibility, and despite the official 35 hours a week. . How can we protect workers against unexpected violence since they spend most of their time at work? H R is not about damage control ; it is about proactivity . Disturbingly enough, only 31% of workplaces in the US seem to be proactive in emergency preparedness, acco
Read more

CATCHING FIRE: WORDS of WISDOM ABOUT and FROM MILLENNIALS- LESSONS FROM MILLENNIALS Part II -

-
Image
A lot has been said about Millennials. There are you tube videos , articles , blogs , research and polls... Most of them trying to help us understand this new generation. They appear as aggressive, daring, intimidating,  careless, smart, fast, clueless, in sum "different," regardless on who sees them. They certainly have many faces. Turning a New Leaf With Millennials © 2013 AR_HRCom-Millennials Those of us who have been working side by side with them have most likely experienced mixed feelings. It is basically turning a new leaf. Let's move toward greener fields! These young  partners can be exuberant and very lively and their concerns about professional or personal life can feel overwhelming. Often times you get what you see and hear. Does it make your assessment easier? I doubt. To me the challenge in assessment comes from the necessity to distance oneself from the individual. The ability to intellectualize things in this matter is a real gift. I can dea
Read more

Holistic HR - Part II: Socially Distant and Staying Relevant

-
Image
Ted_HRComtx_HolisticHR © Carving a Path for 2021 I t is said that silence is death, and that no news is good news. I have to say that I have been like many of us: affected in one way of another by Covid, being socially distant within relevancy. New resolutions? At least, carving a new path... in this icy cold world full of hot topics. It is not easy: it takes daring and willingness.   T he new year - already not feeling so new by now - has to be better in many ways, because it is practically a call to duty. What the pandemic has brought to us is not isolation but the exposure to a global environment that could reveal itself to be highly toxic , as well as the possibility of exacerbation of some situations of at-risk people . As we advance into 2021 we see the emergence of Wellbeing vs. Wellness verbiage because if anything last year has brought to light, it is the awareness of the importance of mental health .  This is more than ever a reason to understand and embrace that the whol
Read more

Holistic HR - Part I: Is Mental Wellness Relevant?

-
Image
Ad_HRComtx_1_620 © A s we are navigating the new ways of work, one aftermath of the pandemic for many of us is the unpleasant discovery of unvisited or neglected matters: our mental wellness. More than ever HR has to embrace its evolving approach to its core responsibility: HR is about "the whole person". T he pandemic has brought to the surface so many elements that neither HR nor the people had thought about, although always existing. To me, the two major concerns about mental wellness are depression and domestic violence. I have to admit that I never seriously thought about it until I lost sleep myself and couldn't understand why I was so inexplicably restless and unfocused. Quite a few people I talked to shared similar occurrences. This can only be exacerbated by the sense of isolation from familiar working environment as we work from home or are still transitioning to go back to work. If any of this happened to you, you are quite normal in highly abnormal ti
Read more

WORK LIFE / BALANCE DEBATE - Part I: A BUSINESS, A HR, OR PERSONAL CHOICE?

-
Image
W ork/Life balance exists and is possible for privileged functions. It is undeniably  accessible at both ends of the spectrum: high- and low-end positions, and globally, to a certain extent. The difference is in income stability and real choices . Is work/life balance just empty words or an intellectual speech for some of us? In a SHRM article, it is defined as a myth . So true, it is a matter of priorities. ACC Report- 2014 (on In-House Counsels) TOUCH: THREE ASPECTS OF WORK/LIFE BALANCE   Until you know first hand through one way or another about a specific subject, it is just talk, intellectualized talk. If you have ever been in a French environment, you would know about dwelling into that intellectual talk . Somehow inexplicably satisfying.  So, flexibility, let's talk about it, really: you have to touch and feel it. Then you would be able to say that you know it, from an individual standpoint. There are three major faces of Work/Life Balance. 1- Work/Life Balan
Read more

HEALTHCARE BENEFITS & ACA REQUIREMENTS SNAPSHOT

-
Image
© 2014 AR_HRCom-Ad_Healthcare Here we are stepping into January 2014, and the healthcare subject is of a major concern to employees and employers alike. Until now, decisions on eligibility for voluntary benefits has been the employer's prerogative. Health benefits were by essence not a mandated benefit. The landscape of healthcare regulations has dramatically changed with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Nothing seems to be really firmly set yet. One thing appears to be certain: the cost is skyrocketing at all levels . By now, large employers have already rolled out their programs and made necessary addition to their benefits staff. Individuals who wanted coverage to start with the new year have already filed their applications. It is somewhat different for smaller employers since their mandate on Healthcare coverage requirements is being delayed. In any event, here are a few key points as a reminder or a reference for those of us who still need it. QUICK RE
Read more