HR Got This So Wrong

HR got it all wrong. They mistakenly believe their power lies with their bosses, but that’s not the case. Their real power comes from their people. If the employees aren’t aligned with HR, that disconnect becomes HR’s biggest weakness—and no relationship with leadership can fix it.

When I bring this up, the responses I get from HR suggest a false dichotomy—either you’re for the company or for the employees. But it’s not either-or; it’s both. It has to be both because the one-sided view is exactly what got us into this mess.

This is why employees say, “HR is only there for the business,” and we all get frustrated hearing it. The truth is, they’re not wrong—and you know it. Your HR strategy proves them right.

Just take a look at your strategy. It likely says a lot about achieving business goals through workforce planning, but nowhere does it meaningfully address the needs and wants of your current or future employees. And no, I don’t mean your annual engagement survey ritual. I’m talking about actionable data on employees’ experiences—how they engage with your processes, systems, policies, leadership, and culture—so you can improve them. But that data is missing. What you do have is a plan to achieve business outcomes, but nothing about what you’ll do for the workforce in alignment with those outcomes.

The Gap HR Never Filled & The Mindset It Must Develop

HR missed a huge opportunity: stepping in where trade unions left off. Historically, HR didn’t need to protect or advocate for employees—that was the job of unions and labour laws.

Unions and early labour laws emerged during the Industrial Revolution to protect workers, long before HR existed as a function. In fact, the first iteration of HR appeared in the 1910s with “employment clerks,” who focused on hiring daily help, mainly in factories. For most of the 20th century (until recently), HR remained administrative—unions handled employee advocacy while HR handled paperwork.

But things started to change. In the 1980s and 90s, unions declined, leaving a massive gap in employee representation. Labour laws still provided basic protections, but employees no longer had a voice at the table. At that time, HR didn't have the power or the role to balance and advocate for both sides so the mentality of "HR is there for the business" wasn't a wrong one but a logical one. Functionally speaking, HR has always been there for the business and unions were there for both; employees and employers but through the representation of the workforce. Unions served both employers and employees by balancing workforce interests, but with unions fading, HR didn’t evolve fast enough to fill the void.

When HR Went Off Track

As HR began claiming strategic influence over the last 10-15 years, it had an opportunity to redefine its role. This was the moment to adopt a new mindset—one that balanced the needs of both employees and the business. Instead, HR clung to its administrative roots and found power in pleasing the management. Despite new titles like CHRO, CPO, and HR VP, the department failed to assume the critical role of workforce representation.

What HR needed—and still needs—is a union mindset: serving, protecting, and advocating for both employees and the business with the company’s goals in mind. The job isn’t to take sides. It’s to balance the interests of both parties and mediate when either one pushes too far—because they always will. Employers will squeeze as much productivity as possible from employees, and employees will sometimes make unrealistic demands that don’t align with business needs.

HR's role is to be in the middle and constantly balance both sides. It is extremely difficult, but that's the job. For that to happen, HR must change its mindset and start thinking like trade unions: listen to employees, understand the business, and reconcile the two in a way that ensures the business remains profitable and sustainable in the long term.

Good HR knows they must not compromise business success; otherwise, they risk the employment of everyone. However, they also understand that neglecting employees' needs and wants harms the future of the business.

There are no sides to take. What HR should be doing is acting like trade unions that saved organizations in the past by recognizing that the interests of the business and the employees are interconnected.

HR, your power lies with your people, and you’ve completely missed this! You can build the strongest alliance with leadership, but if you don’t have the people on your side, any initiative or policy you try to implement will be sabotaged. An alliance with leadership might secure your job, but it doesn’t guarantee success in your role. Success requires having the workforce on your side—they are the ones executing everything needed for that success. Ignore them at your peril.

As for the bosses of HR, if you expect HR to serve you and ignore the workforce, resign today! That is not their job! Unless you want them to be purely administrative. But then, don't waste your payroll on senior HR roles, an HR manager role will do. And if you want HR to be an admin function with a little bit of a party and pizza Fridays being thrown around I just want you to understand that you have decided to silence your workforce. Because now, there is nobody to represent them. Is this the message you want to convey? Think of the

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