HR is just a cost centre
I’m just out of a meeting with another set of Board and Management executives, who like others I’ve met before, were quick to tell me that they’ve met many “bad and/or average” HR professionals over the years and quizzing me on why this might be so.
But I gave them the same, unfortunately well rehearsed answer I’ve given others. Sometimes the fault lies heavily with the HR team. This saddens me. Sometimes though, a company will only get the calibre of HR that it deserves.
6 reasons why a company may have a perceived or actual issue with the HR department:
Lack of competence or experience: HR professionals may lack the necessary skills, training, or experience to effectively carry out their roles. HR requires a diverse skill set, including knowledge of employment laws, conflict resolution, employee engagement, and recruitment. If the HR team is inexperienced or inadequately trained, they may struggle to address management and employee concerns or provide effective guidance.
Poor communication: If the HR team fails to communicate effectively with employees or management, it can lead to misunderstandings, delayed responses, or inconsistent policies. Clear and transparent communication is essential for building trust and resolving issues in a timely manner.
Inconsistent policy enforcement: Dissatisfaction and perceptions of unfair treatment are sure to result when inconsistency of policy enforcement occurs due to biases, favoritism, or a lack of clear guidelines. Executives and employees should feel confident that HR will enforce policies and procedures impartially. Likewise, there needs to be an application of emotional intelligence to allow for policy exemptions that remain consistent to the original policy intent, but that accomodate extentuating individual circumstances or imperative business priorities.
Lack of trust, empathy or employee advocacy: HR teams are privvy to highly sensitive information, on both business plans and finances, and on staff members and executive teams. Any breach of that information, no matter how minor or unintended, has a high likelihood of permanently damaging the perception of the entire HR team. And if any member of the HR team demonstrates a lack of employee advocacy or empathy, fails to address employee concerns, doesn’t support the wellbeing of all members of the workforce, or dismisses their issues; it can quickly contribute to negative experiences and a poor perception of HR overall. Poor handling of redundancies and layoffs are classic examples of how HR can instantly be labelled as unfeeling, “two faced”, disrespectful and callous.
Understaffing or overwork: If the HR department is understaffed or overwhelmed with tasks, it can hinder their ability to provide effective support to all levels of employees and business leaders. Overworked HR professionals may struggle to respond promptly to inquiries or adequately address stakeholder needs, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction.
Lack of leadership: HR teams like all others within an organisation, need an inspiring, supportive, knowledgeable leader who ensures the team have the clarity of expectation, direction, frameworks, and capacity to deliver great service. I’ve encountered far too many dictatorial or bullying or vague minded HR leaders over the years, and can easily see how their HR teams get lost, disinfranchised, and unable to deliver to their own end client groups.
6 reasons why a company fosters bad and/or average HR:
Lack of financial committment: The old adage of “pay peants, get monkeys” certainly applies to HR. If a company insists on paying HR professionals less than market rates, and less than other corporate function peers, it is unlikely to attract or retain high calbre HR staff. LIkewise, it is well and good to require reams of data, instant market analysis, immediate hiring results and more. But without spending the money to provide the tools and manpower that can enable these demands, HR teams will waste hours attempting to define and manually create what could be done with better technology and experts who are specialists in the work to be done.
Understaffing or overwork: If the HR department is understaffed because the company will not invest in genuintely needed additional resource; or is overwhelmed with tasks that get lumped into the HR remit because they fall into the “too hard”/”can’t be bothered”/”pass the buck” agenda of other functions, it can hinder the ability for HR to deliver core services, leading to prickly frustrations from all parties.
Cultural or organizational issues: If the company's culture does not prioritize employee well-being, open communication, or a positive work environment; and if organisational structures inhibit transparency, fairness and a speed of decision making, it can impact HR's ability to create meaningful change or address concerns.
Lack of leadership support: HR requires support and collaboration from top-level management to effectively implement policies, address employee concerns, and drive positive change. If leadership does not prioritize HR or fails to provide the necessary resources and authority, it can hinder the department's effectiveness. And if you view HR as “just a necessary evil” and/or as a “cost centre”, you’re not exactly setting your HR team up for success to add value.
Competing agendas: Whilst HR departments should be protecting the interests of the company first, they shouldn’t exist to condone poor leadership behaviour, whether it be from bullying managers, unethical executives, or discrimminatory board members. HR should not be responsible for managing ongoing squabbling or the competing priorities and politics of leadership teams. HR should not be setup to enable or “cover up” for leadership mistakes, nor should it be responsible for handling every difficult conversation that business managers should be owning with their direct reports. Too often though, the leaders who hear “no” or a “this has to be fixed” message from their HR partners are quick to brand them as poor professionals.
Unrealistic expectations: HR teams can provide an array of specialist services and support. Hopefully as proactive and trusted expert advisors, and enablers of business success. But if they aren’t given access to key information as part of normal business conversations, they cannot plan and prepare effectively. If their counsel on risk management strategies is repeatedly ignored, companies must expect to pay the price of failures, be it for employment law disputes, failed hires, acquired company pension shortfalls, and such. Finally, HR teams are made up of people, and despite the best of will and intention, people are simply not perfect all of the time. Company executives need to ensure they are clear on what “success” and “high performance” and “quality” looks like for their HR teams, and judge them on those aspects fairly.
Of course, every company and its HR team situation is unique. And too frequently opinons are formed without substance from facts and data. But given the importance of HR skills for influencing, communicating and objectivity, and the ongoing improvements HR functions are making to anticipate business needs and improve service delivery, I hope that HR teams can “normalise” positive executive perceptions of the function. I look forward to the time when I’m never again quizzed on bad or average HR. That will make me happy indeed!
About the Author
Leanne Morris is well known as a both an outspoken advocate and critic of the HR profession. With long standing networks across all specialist areas of the function, and a multi- continent work history, she is a sought after subject matter expert on international HR hiring trends and HR hiring best practice.