Human resources
The HR role still strives for legitimacy in many organisations, where managers and employees doubt that HR adds any significant value. The doubt is often justifiable, as HR practitioners frequently take a narrow view of their role, focusing solely on technical administrative issues. HR similarly can find themselves confined by executives to the role of advising on such things as leave entitlements and the jurisdictional limits on unfair dismissal claims. To be more influential, HR needs to address the broader agenda of organisational culture.
It is an irony that HR has gained sufficient profile in ordinary parlance for it to be the butt of jokes in movies and television shows. HR has been characterised as the “velvet ghetto”, as the refugee camp for employees who are ineffectual, and as the kingdom of petty rule-mongers who walk around with clipboards looking for infractions of organisational policy.
HR's advisory role may be complemented by a reactive response to complaints about such things as discrimination or bullying. While these functions are necessary and important aspects of HR, they do not address deeper organisational issues such as high turnover, productivity, morale and skills shortages.
The alternative for HR is to take on the project of building a positive organisational culture, which will get at the causes of many organisational problems. The ambition of HR should be to play an active role in building a workplace climate where energy is high, the passion for achievement is high, and ethical standards are strong. In this way the HR role adds value.
How do we take stock of the factors that HR practitioners have to consider if they are to play an effective, value-adding role in their organisation?
A good HR practitioner transforms energy
We could start by asking what is a good manager, in any field? A good manager is someone who is aware of the multitude of pressures and expectations upon them, and who can resolve those pressures in the most constructive way. In comparison, a poor manager merely transmits pressure, without transforming it in any way. For example, if their boss tells them to increase production, they simply impose the new requirement on their team, without examining how it is going to be possible, or what difficulties it might cause. Such a manager adds very little value to the organisation.
Good HR managers are likewise conscious of the need to add value in their role. They can do this by understanding who all the stakeholders are, and the variety of pressures at play. A constructive course of action is one that takes into account all of the pressures that bear upon the situation and seeks to transform those pressures. The goal is to create an organisational environment that is both productive and sustainable.
The HR perspective is systems-based. It says that an action in one area has effects elsewhere in the system. For example, if an employer cuts employees' pay and conditions in order to cut costs, the HR practitioner asks, what effects is this likely to have, apart from lower direct payroll costs? Will profits really be boosted? Given a knowledge of people and their motivations, the HR practitioner might say that the outcome is much more likely to be negative.
The systems view tells the HR practitioner that there are many factors at work in the workplace, and actions anywhere in the system (pay cuts, forced redundancies) have multiple effects that can show up in places that seem remote from the aspect that was targeted.
The effect of the pay cuts may be increased staff turnover, higher absenteeism, lower productivity and quality, and lower sales. The concept of sustainability is tied to the systems view – it says that if an organisation wants to survive and prosper, it must understand how its “system” works.
At the heart of any organisation as a system are three major areas: (1) people and their motivations, (2) the business (production, marketing, finances) and (3) legal, industrial and social constraints (involving compliance and reputation). It is increasingly being accepted among HR practitioners that if they are serious about their role, they must learn about the business and understand its drivers. But nor should they forget that their forte is knowledge of the other two aspects.