Why would anyone want to work in HR?

[TheLurker]

They appear to be almost universally reviled.

No. Really. It's a serious question, prompted by posts elsewhere and my most recent experience of the whole redundancy pantomime.

I can't believe the salary is worth the venom and loathing directed at, and so richly deserved by, HR droidspeople.

Estate agency (ie flogging houses, not land management) and the like I can see has a straightforward, "money for old rope" motivation which, if not admirable, is at least comprehensible.  Likewise I can understand why someone would choose to do relatively poorly paid work such as nursing, social work, policing or even front line HM forces, but HR? No. I'm utterly, utterly baffled.

[nicknack]

It's ok. They'll revitalize/rehabilitate it by changing its name to something else, like "personnel".

[geraldc]

General rule of thumb is that after accounts, HR has the best looking female staff.

I think a lot of psychology students get funnelled to HR.

[Pancho]

General rule of thumb is that after accounts, HR has the best looking female staff.

They are also remarkably fecund judging by the % of HR originated emails along the lines of "so-and-so in HR is on maternity leave..."

[Bledlow]

It's where the senior male executives park their otherwise unemployable tottie. This explains everything, including why they never actually seem to do anything.

[clarion]

Actually, a lot of people work in HR because they want to help.

I've just been involved in a recruitment process, and, although difficult and rather stilted, it's actually very rewarding.  If HR is responsible for training & development, then they can help people extend their skills and be more effective.  In addition, there's the aspect of problem-solving and conflict resolution (my specialty), sorting out issues and making sure people are as happy as they can be in their work.

I suspect that one of the reasons that folk have such a negative view of HR is that most of their contact is in relation to disputes/disciplinaries/redundancies etc.

I'm not an HR specialist, but there sure is a lot of it in my work.

[Regulator]

General rule of thumb is that after accounts, HR has the best looking female staff.

They are also remarkably fecund judging by the % of HR originated emails along the lines of "so-and-so in HR is on maternity leave..."

Currently 70% of our HR dept (which they insist on referring to as the 'Deanery') is on maternity leave.   

[Tom M]

I don't really think it's fair to be judging a whole load of people on the bad stuff they may see or hear about. As is often the case, it's the good stuff that gets ignored generally. A fair comparison may be that of RLJ'ing, pavement riding types that the media is full of stories about. I suspect that in a tarring with the same brush way, many of the general public will therefore think we are all like that.

Anyway, my point being that there are good HR people. I shall lay my cards on the table and say my wife is a HR manager. A lot of what they do is down to the company culture, and the value they place on HR. I'm not saying all are great, but not all are awful either. She works a lot harder than me (University lecturer) at her job, which a lot of the time involves trying to clear up after various managers have ballsed things up. She does also get e-mails and calls of genuine thanks from people that she's helped out.

A bit of balance for Friday afternoon then perhaps.

[Thor]

Our HR people got first dibs on the office space - so they're on the top floor.  Their view of the Thames is almost reason enough to work in HR.  Almost.

[citoyen]

Our HR people got first dibs on the office space - so they're on the top floor.  Their view of the Thames is almost reason enough to work in HR.  Almost.

Hmm. Do you work in the same building as me?

d.

[mattc]

A useful thread: I've learned that Thor and Smudge work in the MI5 building, and Clarion is unemployable tottie.

I suspect HR people are like the police - you only notice them when things have gone badly wrong.

I can't remember the last time I worked somewhere large enough to have any fulltime HR staff.(Except a couple on a different continent at the current place).

[peliroja]

I'm in our 'HR function'.

[LEE]

I don't revile HR people.

The redundancy letters may come from HR but I doubt whether it was HR's decision to make people redundant.

Blaming HR for redundancies is like blaming Traffic Wardens for yellow lines.

They are, most likely, normal people, doing a job they never dreamt of doing as a child and, like many of us, have no real idea how they ended up doing such a job.  It pays the bills and doesn't involve going down a mineshaft for 18 hours a day I reckon.


Question to TheLurker.  What is your job/role?

[rogerzilla]

They're a necessary evil, protecting the majority from the whims of managers who haven't been laid for a while and are out to tear their minions a new one. 

HR does seem to be a centre of mediocrity in most organisations, though, and usually suffers from excessive use of the weaselly passive voice in communications ("it has been decided that...").

[Jaded]

The last time I had a proper HR department they were amazing. In fact I'd go as far as saying that the Personnel Director had at least as much influence on the success of the company as the CE or Sales Director.

I have kept a lot of what I learned working there in my head. There have been many times when things I learned back then have surprised people 10, 20 years later. They are astonished that their 'new' working practices etc. are not new at all.

It all went wrong in the 1980s, when it became de-rigeur to strip out management levels. Levels that were stepping stones that allowed people to develop and grow whilst not being under pressure. HR departments then stopped being guardians of the human resource and morphed into guardians of a companys reputation.

[citoyen]

A useful thread: I've learned that Thor and Smudge work in the MI5 building

I'm afraid that now you know that, I'm going to have to kill you. And everyone else who has read this thread.

Damn.

d.

[Andrij]

A useful thread: I've learned that Thor and Smudge work in the MI5 building

I'm afraid that now you know that, I'm going to have to kill you. And everyone else who has read this thread.

Damn.

d.

Good thing I haven't been reading this thread.

[Adam]

-1

[IanDG]

My wife works in HR - Yes some of the staff in the department are crap and have been 'pushed' in that direction, but some are very helpful and knowledgeable on things that I need to know (employment law, terms and conditions and conflict resolution for example) as a manager so that I can ensure staff are treated fairly and also don't take advantage of me.

As a small organisation HR also provide a training function for issues like development reviews and sickness management. They are also the driving force behind staff having the chance to participate in development reviews and are the department that fights for funds for staff education and training within the organisation - if it wasn't for HR all the money would be chanelled to doctors and nurses leaving other staff groups with nothing.

With 4 kids I suppose Mrs W. has proved her fecundity by Pancho's interpretation, but I'd say she's fecund in a creative intellectual way too - and if any one would like to visit and suggest she's 'executives unemployable tottie' feel free - roll on the ritual castration and wicker burning  

[Greenbank]

They appear to be almost universally reviled.

No. Really. It's a serious question, prompted by posts elsewhere and my most recent experience of the whole redundancy pantomime.

There are plenty of good HR people.

I've heard so many stories, that is seems their main job is often to stop mis-management by fuckwit heads of other departments and to protect the employees:-

"What do you mean I can't just sack that person on the spot? I don't like them and want them out of a job. What do you mean they have rights?"
"Can't I just performance manage them out of a job? They've been crap for years. What do you mean that's hard to do when I've been giving them 100% of their bonus and 10/10 in their review for the last 8 quarters? I've only been doing that to be nice."
"What do you mean that would constitute constructive dismissal and I'd be hauled up in front of a tribunal? Can't we just pay them some money to go away?"
"Can you cancel the offer letter we sent to this internal candidate as I've decided that a friend of mine is the best person for the job, oh and can you pay them £15k/p.a. more than we offered the other person. What do you mean I can't do this?"
etc, etc.

I may be biased though, our company (before takeover) had a really nice head of HR, so much so that I married her.

[Jaded]

I'm sure HR are often hidden behind by poor managers.

[TheLurker]

There are plenty of good HR people.

I've heard so many stories, that is seems their main job is often to stop mis-management by fuckwit heads of other departments and to protect the employees:-

I daresay you're right, but you so rarely hear people praising HR that actively choosing a job/career that appears to be designed to attract the ire of your colleagues rather than their praise still seems like a baffling, almost masochistic, choice to me or perhaps one driven solely by economic necessity.  Mind you; I write software for a living using Microsoft's tools so who am I to talk about masochism?

[Cudzoziemiec]

In addition, there's the aspect of problem-solving and conflict resolution (my specialty), sorting out issues and making sure people are as happy as they can be in their work.

Your HR is not like all HR, unfortunately.

[Cudzoziemiec]

A useful thread: I've learned that Thor and Smudge work in the MI5 building, and Clarion is unemployable tottie.

Oh, I'm assured he's been most effectively employed by the more select forumites.