Changing One Letter Could Get Us Back on Track

Let’s get the train back on track. How you ask?  I will be sharing ideas in the upcoming weeks however let's start with this one to try an make Human Resources a vital part of every company and organization again. These are my beliefs on how we can begin the change but before I start let me just say, I am not a Self Proclaimed Guru, JOATMAN (Jack of all trades master of none) I don’t claim to have all the answers just an opinion. If you are looking for all the people I said I am not I can introduce you to a few I found on some social networks. So here we go:

This week let’s start with:

TEAMWORK…Remember you can accomplish more as a team. Too many times HR is about the “ME” syndrome. The manager who is in charge and is never wrong, you know the one who believes that saying that goes “I may not always be right but I am never wrong”. The person who always has the best ideas and no one can ever change their minds. Is this beneficial to any company or organization? In my opinion highly unlikely but try to tell them that. Those people who are always promoting “ME” rather than “WE”.

Teamwork is one of the best ways to make a company or organization successful, when people work together for the same goals and interest. Granted there are times when flying solo is the only way to go to accomplish a certain task but that should not be the norm. I always enjoyed seeing the satisfaction of a group of people that came together to make something work rather than when I accomplished something on my own. Of late it just seems that everyone is in it for themselves and teamwork has been forgotten. Some even think “Team Building is for Suckers”. Sounds like the type of people I want in my company or representing my industry! Let’s start rebuilding a profession by turning over one letter and making “Me/We”.

What do you think feel free to share your thoughts?

Getting Back on Track

So what needs to be done to get Human Resources back on track? Some say not talk about it. How absurd is that when everywhere you look it is a topic of discussion at work, in journals, networking sites and the list goes on.

A couple of months ago I was listening to a Blog Talk Radio Show and actually heard the CIO of a major Human Resources Organization say, “The only people who talk about HR being dead are HR professionals and if we stop talking about it, it won’t be a problem (not sure it was the intelligent thing to say but this person did). Sweeping the issue under the rug or just putting a band-aid on something for today and not solving the issues for the long term is not a wise choice in my opinion.
Companies have downsized HR areas in a big way with the recession and have learned to work without many of the compartmentalized functions they once believed were imperative. They have either consolidated the function into another role or outsourced. If something is not done soon those jobs aren’t coming back!

The time has come to start speaking out about it if you are an industry professional. In the words of many a father , ”grow a pair” rather than sitting quietly by afraid that if you say something that is not in line with your manager’s beliefs or is politically incorrect it may cost you your job. Many movements and great causes came about because people refused to sit idly by when their beliefs were being shattered by a bunch of pompous self proclaimed asses that thought it was their way or no way.
If you are an HR professional and are lucky enough to still be employed, do you speak up when something is being said or done that you don’t believe is correct or do you swallow that sugar pill every morning and look the other way?

Human Resources is important and can again be vital but not in its current state of being.

So what are some of the solutions you believe will get HR back to being the productive respected department it once was? We want to hear from you!

The Fun Is About To Start

Human Resources has been the topic of many discussions lately. Many are asking questions like:
• Is the need for HR still as important as it was in the past?
• Will the way HR Professionals are viewed both by employees and employers ever be the same after the current recession and will they regain that seat at the table they so desperately seem to need to feel needed?

I will be blogging about these and other HR related issues in upcoming posts.
One thing is for sure, if you have the following tendencies you will just cringe at every post:
• A believer that everything is rosy and wonderful in the industry.
• You subscribe to the idea that HR Professionals are the only people talking about HR being dead and that if you stop talking about the problems they will go away.
• You are someone who feels putting a positive spin on everything is helping people (think again people can see right through the façade).
• You are a Self Proclaimed HR Guru who has been out of the industry since Bill Clinton was President.
• You use other people’s ideas to get yourself noticed.

So, if you fall into any of the above categories you can start cursing me out now because eventually a blog will be written that describes you.
But, you know what? I DON’T CARE. I believe the industry can be a vital part of every organization, but in order for it to thrive it needs to bring in new blood, new ideas and people who listen when others have an idea or comment. It needs to embrace people with differing opinions. If some of these things don’t start happening in HR it will be heading the way of the dinosaur.

Many will look at this blog post and say it is demeaning, putting HR in a bad light, not good for the industry, but I disagree. It is a wake-up call. People are not speaking nicely about the industry, they are questioning its necessity, it isn’t just HR professionals, it is employees, managers and upper management in companies asking. What is your purpose and why do I need you?

So stay tuned, the fun is about to start for those who know the industry is in need of a change. For those of you who think everything should remain status quo…WATCH OUT!