Who said HR is dead? Since decades people have been regularly announcing that HR is dead, will die or should have died a long time ago? In spite all of these bad tidings, HR is still alive. Even more, HR is more alive than ever.
And why is that? Because the execution of every strategy depends on the quality of people. The aim of HR is to make sure that people are willing and able to create value for customers, organizations and to create the conditions (context) needed for that.
And today HR people are sought after. Because they are scarce. In the past HR has been seen as a career cemetery. That is no longer the case. HR attracts people that see the strategic value of leading people. They see why it is important to have a long term view on people.
A different HR
But it’s a different HR than 25 years ago.
HR is no longer the fortress that defends rules and regulations. It is no longer the keeper of people systems nobody wants. It is no longer the unit that cleans up the mess afterwards.
And HR does not restrict itself to people on the payroll. HR focuses on talent in whatever form or fashion it presents itself.
HR is a flexible, proactive and strategic process within any organization. You read it right. The focus does not lie on the department, but on the process. And people doing HR should focus on the multiple roles they can play within an organization. I wrote an article about this a while ago, which you can find here.
And HR is more flexible. When there’s a need, there will be capacity. Where there’s a challenge, there can be an investment. Times are over when HR wanted to assume full responsibility for people. That lies with the leader. And HR specialists are there to provide the expertise leaders might lack to move on and execute their strategies.
Wishful thinking?
Wishful thinking? Perhaps. But this is the way I see and do HR. Other companies might have an other view. It’s not because not all HR people in all organizations are able to provide this at all times, that we should not strive to become better than we have been before.
HR is regaining its momentum in times that human skills become more critical than ever. In digital times, people make the difference. And strategies only fail or succeed because of the people. So HR as a flexible process is on the rise again.
Is there any evidence for that?
One piece of evidence lies in the evolution of the HR vacancies. They are on the rise. We see it on Linkedin, Stepstone. And we see it with our customers. Maybe it’s anecdotal evidence, but our customers are searching for HR Talent. If HR were dead, it’s a very peculiar death (I hear the jokes coming).
Original Post
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/who-said-hr-dead-david-ducheyne/
