It's Time For Companies To Fire Their Human Resource Departm

[Porker]

In an experiment that involved sending out more than 2,500 resumes either with or without photos of the applicant, economics researchers Bradley Ruffle at Ben-Gurion University and Ze’ev Shtudiner at Ariel University Centre sought to answer the question of whether being good looking could help you find a job. The answer surprised them: Not if you’re a woman. Pretty women faced an uphill struggle to get a chance at a job.

 

The economists hadn’t reckoned on the fact that 93 percent of the HR staffers deciding whether to call in someone for an interview were female. It turns out that HR women (who also tend to be young and single and hence still in the dating market for men) are eager to meet with handsome men. But they’re jealous of beautiful women. So your business is losing out on talented people (and wasting time with untalented ones) based on their looks.

 

Everybody has a Human Resources horror story, which is why, in the words of one writer, HR is widely thought of as “at best,a necessary evil — and at worst, a dark bureaucratic force that blindly enforces nonsensical rules, resists creativity, and impedes constructive change.” HR, goes the refrain, is too important to be left to HR. Here are a few of the reasons HR types are impossible:

 

They speak gibberish.

“Internal action learning.” “Being more planful in my approach.” “Human capital analytics.” “Result driven.” Even HR people realize their words are meaningless. Check out their B.S. bingo game.

 

They revel in red tape.

CEOs complain that HR seems to put compliance first, people afterwards. A survey of C-level executives in Europe found that 42 percent of respondents described their HR employees as too absorbed in process and heedless of the big picture. The blogger “Ask the Headhunter” notes that your HR department will never let you fire anyone because “who wants to risk a lawsuit?” Solution: fire the person anyway. And send the HR person who stonewalled you right out the door behind him.

 

They live in a bubble.

“As HR leaders we feel ourselves to be near the pinnacle of the organization,” wrote one HR exec.”The organization reports to us. It must meet our demands for information, documents, numbers.” Leaders? As is often the case with bureaucrats, servants are mistaking themselves for masters. They’re also clueless about the subject they pride themselves in knowing best, which is people. Eighty-three percent of HR folk believe their employees intend to stay on for another year, double the percentage of employees who said that. A similar number, 81 percent, of HR workers believe their employees would recommend the company to a friend. Only 38 percent of the employees agreed. These failures matter: Employee turnover costs businesses an estimated $11 billion a year, with recruiting costs standing at roughly 150 percent of the employee’s annual salary. A Dale Carnegie/MSW Research report warned that employee turnover could rise as high as 65 percent.

 

They aren’t really in your business.

HR places a disturbingly high premium on what it calls “communication skills” and what you and I call “talking.” A survey found that 83 percent of HR professionals cited training in communication skills (they spent their college years in Watercooler 101?) as important to getting a job in the field, while only two percent cited the importance of classes in finance. Actually knowing how the business runs doesn’t much register with HR. Using HR as talent spotters makes about as much sense as asking the florist for help filling out the roster on your basketball team.

The HR industry has noticed that (as CBS News once put it), “Everyone hates HR.” But its inclination is to what all failing industries do: dig in their heels. “The consensus in the industry,” wrote Times of London columnist Sathnam Sanghera, after reviewing some HR publications, “is that the only way to rescue HR is to elevate its importance.”

Fortunately, business is moving the other way, to reduce HR departments by outsourcing its paper-pushing functions; PriceWaterhouseCoopers, for instance, estimates it can shave 15 to 25 percent off your HR costs. These humans are simply not resourceful enough. We should be glad HR is going the way of acid-wash jeans.

[1fast1]

Human Resources should be fired so that we can get more Woman Resources.

[Porker]

I fully agree with the article. Never liked HR.

[Picnic06-Biante15]

Human Resources should be fired so that we can get more Woman Resources.

 

What if the women are of 'auntie' age ...

[Mustank]

haaaaizzzzzz, SG got problem with FT taking over HR

Angmo also got zealots taking over HR

Haaaizzzzzz

[The_Bear]

I fully agree with the article. Never liked HR.

Fully agree too. HR is something like a self-serving problem that has grown into a monster.

[1fast1]

What if the women are of 'auntie' age ...

I can handle that by setting up a special MILF taskforce. Those who don't qualify as either MILF or XMM are shown the door.

[Sp4wn]

I can handle that by setting up a special MILF taskforce. Those who don't qualify as either MILF or XMM are shown the door.

 

i can help with xmm vetting. i am still young.

 

this kind of taskforce needs a name .. The (s)expendables

[Kangadrool]

HR chou simi one?

 

My HR consolidate resumes and forward to me. With emails, you don't need it even; just set your outlook to do the job.

 

I wished I have the HR manager's job.

[Darryn]

One of the problems with HR depts is that all too often HR is not seen as a "profession" but rather some sort of beauty contest.

 

This is also a common problem for the PR industry - with people being hired more for their looks and presentation rather than their actual skills.

 

Another problem that I see with the HR dept is that it can tend to be the "catch all" for the family business - one half of a couple is the MD - the leader of the company, the other half, with no real skills but a wish to be a part of the company becomes the HR manager.

During the time when I was finishing university the basic guideline when preparing a resume was

a) Don't include a photo

b) Don't include marital status

 

When placing an ad, the HR dept was specifically told (i.e it was a formal guideline from the regulator) that photos should NOT be requested unless it was a genuine requirement of the job

[Kusje]

Source please! I would like to post this around.

 

Mind you, I was in HR for 2 years

[1fast1]

i can help with xmm vetting. i am still young.

 

this kind of taskforce needs a name .. The (s)expendables

I'll have an elite task force restricted to just 12 members.

 

We're "The Dirty Dozen".

[Porker]

Forbes

[Kb27]

[1fast1]

 

Love Catbert. But Dogbert is still the awesomest.

[Mockngbrd]

Nobody likes 2-headed snakes

[nazerath]

Hr is an asset in firing and negotiation for removal of staff.

 

Just like anybody can buy, it takes skill to sell at a profit.

[Nonpareil]

HR should not exist! Together with Creative Thinking!~