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Permalink Reply by Gareth Jones on September 12, 2011 at 12:15

Hi Simon

 

Good point, but i think the more we ponder things like our image, the worse it gets.  Im not sure about the Millwall approach!  But i dont think a makeover is the right answer - we have been trying that for years, the "HR" tag being the first significant attempt and now the Talent Management one being another.  Call it what you want, but it is what it is.  In my mind, the blog by Karin raised some interesting points but the key thing was picked out by john Bell - leadership.  For me, its about corporate leadership, not HR.  A company believes in people as core to success, or doesn't.  There is now enough impirical evidence to show the benefit of good people practices.  They say a company gets the HR function it deserves, maybe they are right?! ;)

 

Thanks for the thought provoking post!

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Permalink Reply by Julia Briggs on October 14, 2011 at 12:21

Ah.  This may set the tone for my membership of the group.  The CIPD is our professional body for gawd's sake - so we are working with a hand tied behind our back already. And a bit of lippy slapped on the face of HR as a makeover is never going to cut it.  

However, the solution is in our hands. We need to earn respect.

So, we need to understand the business far more - which means we should all have experience outside HR for credibility and insight.  

We need to get processes right so we don't have to spend a whole amount of time firefighting and hacking people off (and many HR departments don't take this seriously enough and insist on high standards).  There is no excuse at all. And HR is NOT understaffed in most organisations. 

We need to have the best leadership skills in the organisation - so that people aspire to be like us, and so that we can deliver the goods.

And we need to coach, facilitate, negotiate, mentor etc our client base.  Get them to do by showing.

Lastly and not leastly - we need to play hardball.  Lots of ideas around that ....as I am sure others have.

 

 

 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Julia Briggs on October 14, 2011 at 15:06

@Simon.  I meant to add (in answer to your question) that it does matter.  Of course it does.  If we are serious about our profession it has to be something we can take pride in. Otherwise it is just corrosive to our well-being as we know.  

And it is not hard for us to get it right.  But as ever it is the behaviours that mark us out in our work life.  There was an article about how rubbish most recruiters are (and that it is all HRs fault) posted today.  And basically the article came down to the behaviours that anyone who is excellent (or that tired old phrase - ' a rock star ') has.  Excellence can be innate, but it can also (to some extent) be encouraged.  It is up to HR to insist on excellence in our own teams and our own profession.

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Permalink Reply by Simon Jones on October 14, 2011 at 15:36

I was being a little tongue in cheek - I think that your views are right and that HR should lead by example. My point is that being effective in business doesn't equate with "popularity" - we should be doing what is right (as in being the best solution for our employer/client, while being professional, ethical and legal). If we do that then the image of our profession will improve.

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