Loving to Hate Human Resources

What is our problem anyway? You would think HR would get it after three decades continually bombarded, battered and bruised by the business media, blogger, top executives and ever-growing legions of employees who love to hate human resources. Fast Company, for example, has been more than happy to keep HR bloggers on virtual defensive by proffering to the world  Why We Hate HR. It is a terrific piece that captures the many common sins associated with our profession.  It explains that some HR people of are less than business savvy, tend to focus on people policing and spend far too much time measuring activity rather than results.  It also assails that people who get into the HR profession are not necessarily the brightest bulbs. Ouch.

I believe the precise accusation was that we in HR are “not the sharpest tacks in the box.”  No need to be personal, snapped the retort, and that comment alone sent many in the profession into a fume.   Originally written in 2005 and published online by Fast Company in December, 2007, the author, Keith H. Hammonds, has ever since been slammed across the internet by the HR-offended, accusing Hammond of gross generalization and no understanding.   Touchy, touchy.

But wait, if HR readers can set aside the silly name calling part and descend from high horse, they would at least concede that Hammond’s astute criticisms are by no means new.  Come on HR-readers, we know the charges. We’ve heard them a few-thousand non valued added times before. Fast Company simply makes a particularly good case of it here. And if you have not yet Switched HR, it is good information.  It hits the HR nerve because it turns on the attic light.  I am one of thousands of HR professionals who know the blatant truth of Hammond’s blistering appeal. I’ve experienced it. That’s why the article is required reading for my team and I recommend it to our clients.  It is, on balance, correct. Sharp tacks excluded.

And you know the article hits home with a sting when it gets recirculated and newly broadcast across the web, usually evoking a large number of blog comments from a lot of supporters and, yep, a lot of defensive irate HR people.  I recently cruised across it again on bNET; this one from October, 2008 entitled Re-examining Why We Hate HR with a nice summary, explaining Why we STILL hate HR with speed and simplicity!  The bNet version is worth a look, if nothing else, to peruse reader comments. Fully 100 opinions last time I checked that show our HR- true colors, good, bad and ugly. I can’t do it justice, but let’s just say that most opposing readers confirm the statement by their own testimony on the problems that plague our profession.

Twenty five year old versions of this passion-string by commentators of a different era are no doubt dutifully filed in business archives somewhere. Google it or give it a Bing. I bet you find a few articles, decades old, that slap around our dear profession with the same vigor and accuracy as Fast Company. Not a lot has changed.

Loving to Hate in Whole New Light

As reason prevails, Hammond does point to HR success stories and gives a few kudos to business savvy HR leaders, who are so quoted to take critical smack at their own for not following in their HR-guru foot steps. My take on the controversy is to agree with no wonder why so many people hate HR. As much as I might want to defend my good colleagues, my contribution to the debate takes it up a notch against them.  My post on Business Value of People, for example,  shines light on all the unkind things that traditional HR types actually do to affront the precious workforce whom we boast to love–This betrayal of word and deed  is reason enough to hate our HR-guts with great vigor.

But no one is perfect including Mr. Hammond and his interview quotes of HR-business tough guys  did take unnecessary focus off an otherwise top-notch report. The name-calling part about sharp tacks and boxes was silly putty either way and it amused me more than offended.  But  I do promise some time soon to do critical battle with the chest-pounding assertions about why folks like me entered the field of HR in the first place.  I started in the “HR dance” for noble reasons like so many of my good colleagues and my thinking was idealistic, passionate and true–service to others and desire to “work with people” is why I am in the game.  I am proud of that and never looked back. Indeed it is  this very passion that drives my aforementioned concerns about how traditional HR tends to put down  those very souls we purport to lift up.   In any case, one  bully-boy comment in an otherwise terrific article really pissed me off and I shall counter  in due course because  I love people without apology and generally think Employees are Wonderful. That’s a very effective business concept by the way.   So see you next time loving to hate Human Resources in a whole new light.