Can HR be Trusted?

I don’t trust overweight fitness instructors, broke financial planners, or 20-something life coaches.

And I don’t trust HR when it comes to DEI.?

Why?

Credibility.

All too often, HR professionals are the purveyors of groupthink, the lords of illusion, and the masters of Borg-like assimilation. And they have been the poorest example of DEI concepts since the higher education crowd.

HR consistently strongarms other departments into a check-box mindset of diversity with practices and programs that overtly place a thumb on the selection scale while simultaneously shielding themselves from true diversity of thought.

Forcing pronoun selections, crafting job ads that read, “LGBTQ candidates and other historically marginalized voices are strongly encouraged to apply,” and then peppering applicants with demographic questions that “do not influence hiring decisions” (wink wink) don’t foster inclusion. It sends a signal as to who is unwelcome.

Mirror Mirror

It’s time HR professionals shed their assumptions of marginalization and look in the mirror.

Objectively, HR is a female-dominated profession, and most practitioners lean left. When you combine their unconscious bias with an overt call for one demographic over another, many candidates perceive that the fix is in and opt out of applying.?

Perhaps left-handed Liberian lesbians are indeed a seldom-heard voice in the nuclear energy industry’s project management ranks. Fair enough. Endeavor to open doors. But it’s also true that you’d have better luck spotting a Jewish Leprechaun delivering Christmas presents on Halloween than finding a conservative, straight, white male in many HR departments.

In that profession, such candidates are the minority. And they routinely suffer gatekeepers who judge them against profile pictures and “non-diverse” demographics rather than their skills and experience.?I’m not na?ve enough to think they will ever be “encouraged to apply,” but I imagine they’re tired of being turned away at the door for weak rationales that smell an awful lot like isms.

A Wake-up Call To Action

In many cases, the one-sided, overzealous diversity practices of HR teams serve only to reduce inclusion and limit dialogue. Ultimately, this creates a backlash that causes many reasonable DEI efforts to appear DOA.

And so, to the woke, I offer the following wake-up?call.?When you evaluate someone based on anything other than their expertise, you’re worse than unconsciously biased; you’re blatantly discriminating. You’re also shrinking your talent pool and thus harming the organization.?

And to those in HR who think I’m making too much of?this, I invite you to audit the diversity in your profession. Still all in on equality?

If so, dare to align your practice with actual organizational metrics and be the change you want to see. Pen an HR job ad that reads, “Straight, white males are strongly encouraged to apply.” Then check your conscience and your inbox. Chances are both will be noisy, and rightfully so.

A Path to Trust

The easiest way to earn trust is by being trustworthy. HR can do that by driving process excellence in every stage of the employee lifecycle – by letting go of the force-fit diversity practices and focusing exclusively on skills demonstrated and results earned.

Hiring, compensation, promotions, and succession must exist outside the influence of demographic data. Being female isn’t a skill. Neither is being male. Only when we realize that every person is an N of one “diversity” candidate will we inch closer to actual equity.

Remember, inclusion only works if everyone is included. Playing favorites only erodes trust. HR is quickly losing mine. And that’s a shame because I’m a fan of the profession and the people.

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About: Tim Toterhi is not your typical CHRO. He’s an author, TEDx speaker, and contrarian who approaches life with a playful smile and an eyebrow up.? Other articles include:

· How to Coach in 60 Seconds

· 13 Things Every Man Needs to Hear

· Leadership Lessons from a Dead Fitbit

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Photo by Sydney Sang via Pexels

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