Workforce management

Two days ago, UK journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera reported in leading British newspaper The Times that he does not "see the point" in HR departments.

According to Sanghera's argument, "the amount of fuss that HR makes about itself, the number of job adverts published each week for HR staff, the panoply of HR conferences arranged each year and the amount that HR directors are paid, seems to far outstrip their contribution to the world of work."

What's more, Sanghera goes on to argue this confusion seems to be shared by others - including the profession itself: "When those in the industry are not giving themselves awards, they are worrying about: a) the falling number of vacancies in HR; b) HR’s inability to demonstrate the contribution it makes in the way that finance, marketing, sales and logistics departments can do; and c) how many traditional HR administrative tasks are being outsourced, diminishing the status of HR in business."

In all honesty, Sanghera's report is something of a scathing attack on HR, even suggesting that the department doesn't even know what to call itself. "Recent suggestions vary from 'personnel' to 'human capital management', 'employee resources', 'organisational capability', 'talent management', 'performance management', 'organisational development' and 'human relations'," he writes.

But are Sanghera's arguments justified? By his own admission he has "never dealt with HR" himself; and he defines his understanding of human resources as believing "they [HR managers] are the 'people people' who ensure that companies adhere to minimum wage requirements, rules relating to diversity, gender, sexual orientation and so on."

Not to call Sanghera's journalistic reputation into questions, here: but surely that's a gross misjudgement of what HR really is about, isn't it?

In fact, by considerable contrast, modern day human resources actually covers a plethora of areas, stretching far beyond the boundaries of being, what Sanghera calls, "people people."

From recruitment and retention, to employee relations, to organizational development, to training, to associate information, to employee recognition programs, the role of HR embodies a significant portion of what makes a business successful.

In short, HR has now evolved from its day as a mere personnel administration function, to being a strategic and dynamic partner within the business. In other words, to suggest that HR has no point is essentially missing the entire point of business.

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