HR News >> Browse Articles >> HR News
HR News >> Browse Articles >> Career Advancement
5 Complaints About HR and How to Overcome Them
Douglas Hoffman, HRGuru
March 05, 2009
Complaint No. 4. HR people prefer talk to action and are non-committal and vague.
Yes, it’s true. We often don’t offer definitive answers to questions our clients ask us. Sometimes this is unavoidable. Often, we are privy to organizational or individual information that prevents us from committing to a certain outcome. The worst course of action would be to divulge confidential information to quell the ambiguity. Plus, we’re often dealing with legal issues, where the law itself may be ambiguous or open to widely varied interpretation. But where we do fall short is committing to getting an answer and following through in a reasonable period of time.
What you can do:
1. Share what you can share: Most line employees are not committed to hating HR just for the heck of it. You can help them understand the reason for your reticence by explaining all the factors at play and how they impact the information he/she needs.
2. Find out and close out: You have to be an HR person in a cave to not understand that speed is the name of the game in today’s economy. The pressure to do more, faster has pervaded all aspects of the business world, and HR must respond accordingly. Think about the plight of the line manager who has to launch a critical product to meet the year’s goals. Let’s say she is waiting on you to tell her whether or not she can hire a key employee as you go through the referral process. Understand the urgency and prioritize getting the solution to the manager’s problems. You’re a business partner – so partner.
Next page: HR is a tool of management
nycclaudia82
4 months ago
2 comments
Very informative, great article.
McArthur
5 months ago
14 comments
Yes all very good but we were writing the same sorts fo articles 20 years ago - why are we so slow???
southern
5 months ago
12 comments
Good article. A good HR Pro should read it.
ramon
5 months ago
6 comments
Good article. Out of 18 years in work force, I've only met 1 HR person out of 20 plus who knew what line employee daily task, and hardship they face and able to relate language wise. Most are rubber stampers of upper management decision and are afraid to give objective input from the employee's stand point why a policy or procedure might possibly not work or meet resistance. Instead they just run with THE PLAN knowing it will fail, wasting time, and money and ignore the grumblings of the masses. I think before a new HR person gets his/her cubicle they ought to spend a day working in the different trenches of the company so they would have a clue what their company and employee's do for a living.
ljhaft
5 months ago
4 comments
There is no excuse for HR NOT to understand the business. They need to understand the culture of the organization as well as that of individual groups. They need to understand the skill sets that need to be hired in or developed in order to maintain a competitive edge. Unless you understand the business, you will always be "tactical" and rarely "strategic". HR should also insist on being part of any competitor watch team as well.
subbujsree
8 months ago
2 comments
Great Article...
slucas1
8 months ago
2 comments
The reality here is that HR, everyone within HR, needs to act and be viewed as a business partner. Without the knowledge of the business and the initiative to help the business units thrive, HR will always be seen as the group that you go to for hiring, firing, and complaining.
The overall subject matter was great.
cjcaballer
8 months ago
24 comments
This is a very good article. The one I have most heard is that HR personnel do not know the business. But this has been said referring to the entire HR department. It is important that a HR VP, Manager or Director implements regular trainings within his/er department about business strategies as the article says; but it is crucial to create and implements trainings about the industry they are working for as well.
Another concept that HR personnel need to know and practice is Team Work, not only within the department, but with the entire company. At the end of the day, we are customer service and we are the ones that make not only the internal clients but the managers as well aware of the consequences of their actions
HRAspired
8 months ago
8 comments
I like the insights as well. It does give HR professionals a heads-up. I will always believe HR to be a major function to the company because it covers the betterment of the business and the employees and by the way COGS is a finance term Cost of Goods Sold.
Adwant
8 months ago
19456 comments
Great One..Liked It...
acandido
8 months ago
2 comments
great insights, I completely agree
ines
9 months ago
4 comments
Great article!
Marylou
about 1 year ago
2 comments
Great article. I think all HR people need to think 'why do they need us here?' and try to merit the trust and expense the organization puts into us.
Account Removed
about 1 year ago
For eleven years I have been unemployable in my field. I'm an older worker, and HR merely talks over my head as if I were a fifth grader. They expect me to genuflect, cower, and bleat just to get the opportunity to TALK to an employer. They want me servile, not intelligent. They want me to apply for jobs that will bore me to death and render me a wage-slave, when in fact I've written six books and run my own businesses. HR is the New World Order undifferentiated. It has gotten to the point I don't even talk about it anymore. I'll starve before I'll play your game.
kbrister
about 1 year ago
26 comments
Great perspective and useful information.