Punk Rock Human Resources

Etienne @ The Happy Employee recently asked me to envision the HR rapture. He asked, “What would happen in a world without HR?“

This got me thinking about a conversation with my father-in-law. Years ago, before I was married, my father-in-law asked me, “What is Human Resources? What do you do?”

I wanted to impress my father-in-law with my knowledge & importance, so I shared a very boring and über-jargony description of my HR roles & responsibilities.

I told him that I was responsible for partnering and educating my client groups; I help my clients ‘own’ the talent management process; I proactively address employee development needs; I meet with my clients to design and recommend training programs; and I coach leaders to address performance management issues in the earliest possible part of the employment life-cycle.

My father-in-law said, “I have no idea what that means, Laurie. What else do you do?”

I said, “I also lay people off.”

He said, “Oh, it’s just like the old Personnel Department.”

Huh? What? The personnel department? Are you kidding me? I’m so different than the old ladies who used to work in Personnel — the spinsters with the thick glasses and bad sweater vests — except, wait, I’m not.

• I’m still called upon to mediate conflict regarding office space;
• I’m always asked to intervene in benefits issues that I can’t control;
• and I’m requested to coordinate team building activities that I’m not allowed to participate in because I’m not really an employee — I’m in Human Resources.

Papa Ruettimann is right. Human Resources is just like the old Personnel department, which brings me back to the original question: what would happen in a world without HR?

The only answer that speaks to me is simple: the sun would continue to rise in the east and set in the west. The world would not end. The sky wouldn’t fall and the donuts in the break room would still be greasy and sugary without the existence of Human-freakin’-Resources.

• Without HR, most employees would manage to get paid on time, good managers would find a way to lead, and great bosses would act like teachers;
• however, crappy employees would hire lawyers, bad managers would still discriminate against women & minorities, and most union/management conflicts would be resolved through unnecessary labor actions & lawsuits.

On the whole, the HR rapture wouldn’t be a big deal. If anything, the sudden removal of your HR department might shake-up your company’s outdated & bloated infrastructure. Human Resources exists because most companies fail at managing people. It is a department created in reaction to employee litigation, management inefficiencies, and an inability for senior management to clearly articulate a cohesive message to its employees and shareholders.

At its best, HR ought to be working itself out of a job and becoming a consultative partner. HR will only provide true relevancy when our generalists are talent management consultants instead of liberal arts majors (like me) with good typing skills.

At it’s worst (& most common), Human Resources is a a ‘bureaucratic mess of a department’ that is written about in Fast Company. Who needs it?

Bring on the HR rapture, Etienne! I think it would be very interesting.