Plight of HR – Tragedy for Organization

In my corporate quest of adding value & impact to businesses through the function I have managed over the last 15+ years, I have often been struck with pangs of anxiety or say some elements of sadness to see how at times organizations & business leaders view the People function. Must say there have been some tipping points which compelled me to pen down my angst after seeing how some the heads of Organizations and few business leaders on perceive rather an indispensable department as one that is primarily responsible for pure transaction or on-boarding people at the best. Rest all that it does around Structure, Process and Culture is considered to be a peripheral responsibility to engage HR as a function.

I once heard a leader of the Organization – who would often call human resource representative and seek updates on hiring in front of other functions, the approach had a logical outcome where the responsibility of making a team in any function became the responsibility of HR. Even more humiliating is fact that the process of review for talent acquisition became a group activity. In my early corporate experience a Finance leader told me once, HR is nothing – it’s just recruiters – It left me wondering, what experiences would have made him come to this rather bizarre conclusion which was an indicator of some gross ignorance. Go no far – Look at the function he takes care of and you won’t be disappointed to see the reflection in his team. It seemed like a carved cult of fairly competent but actively disengaged employees, floating in the system; created through a structural intervention with acute precision to ensure none is a weak link when it comes to having toxicity in the functional environment. A strong foundation of dis alignment with the organisational vision, a belief that the task at hand is unachievable and commitment that without doubt is sub optimal was the undertone of the department’s culture.

This problem of undermining the role of the human resource which some business leaders take great pride in, has resulted in widespread cynicism and cultural misalignments in the organization. Look at the piece written by a woman employee in Google on how she was discriminated on account of her maternity – read it carefully and it highlights how human resource professionals in that organization failed to reinforce various good practices that Google is known for, which even Google sites. Read it more carefully and it is evident that powerful leaders of the organizations have just made human resource cite the great policies but not ensured its implementation in its spirit. Blame it on Human Resource as much as you want – that showing courage and fabric rests with human Resource itself etc – readers should trust me I agree with them on what should be done by human Resource to enhance its relevance, however when the decision reaches the top most level – exceptions against the policies impact less but exceptions that are against a philosophy – dent the warp and weft that weaves an organization and fosters mistrust and disbelief that is mother of all problems within the organization. Two things simultaneously happen there – first people of the organization immediately feel that leaders’ actions don’t match their words and philosophy is for PR and not a way of life internally. Second – it makes them believe that all internal Culture and Value driving interventions (Which Largely are driven by HR at implementation level) efforts are rather ludicrous and that their functional heads can take easy exceptions.

A design head of a conglomerate would take exceptions in all matters including the budgets of appraisal and bell curve. Leaders while proclaim their courage and commitment to policies and philosophies when discussing with human Resource heads but completely forget the instance when their direct reports push them. It is in this moment of not being able stick to mettle that the organizational stands are compromised.

The Paradox of Leaders being controlled by their immediate Subordinates

One difference that I have without exception seen among great leaders and not so great ones – is that as the hierarchy goes up – Managers don’t control their subordinates rather the other way round. By the time it reaches the topmost level – Leaders almost are controlled just a little short of being arm twisted by their subordinates. The Leaders find it extremely difficult to resist what their second line of leaders are saying that when the moment of trade-off comes they just cannot stand with Human Resources oblivious of the fact that HR was always driving an Agenda of building their Organization.

This fear of their subordinates is driven by various factors at various levels. The First things these immediate subordinates do is that they try to push the responsibility of any untoward consequence that may ensue on account of refusal to exception to their leaders. This by the way largely inflated in its degree and impact. Second they don’t want to upset their direct reports out of Care and Camaraderie and third they are driven by their own incompetence that should their direct report become disengaged their own work will take a tall and business will get it. This poor show of courage and inability to clearly articulate the importance of the organizational philosophy and logically pushing the accountability back on the subordinate has cost organization, nations and civilisation all that they valued in both short and long run. Amidst all this drama – Somewhere HR gets a cue that they need to manage the politics and environment and not drive the internal cultural and value agenda. They immediately take the route of approval politics – where they project any exception is possible if heads of the organizations / competent authority approves and take no effort to convince and put foot down on issues of great organization building importance. This is done to largely avoid any compromise of their position which is the result of fix they that they will be on account of knowing doing gap of their leaders. The minute such a shift in thought process comes the downhill journey of Organization starts and it slips into aristocratic culture that has no tenet of common philosophy just hierarchy based approval processes.

The Love for ’Playing God’

It won’t be unwise to presume and thus mention that most leaders have high propensity to play god and grant favours in form of exceptions. A leader of an otherwise frugal organization would spend a lot of time on how Human Resource should be upholder of people processes and policies related to them and how culture of exception dents the organization. However comes a situation when a functional heads – his direct reports approach him for any exception, he would feel an extreme sense of delight in granting the sought exception. Human Resource leaders and managers would await in patient expectation that those expectations would be shot down by someone in the system up the hierarchy but finally that “subordinates controlling their leaders” syndrome plays out and everything that Human Resource department was to stands for is put aside.

Now all of us may be forced to believe that it’s only on account of some business priorities these exceptions are given – make no mistake –“it’s only during crisis when the character emerges”. All great leaders have been able to find another way that diluting their values and what they stand for. Azim Premji’s example of how he no matter what wouldn’t pay any tip to roadways official no matter what and how he did for many years to ensure that everyone in establishment is clear that he won’t pay no matter what no matter the business need and no matter how small the amount is an inspiring example how the Values are built and driven in the organization.

Suboptimum Utilisation of Human Resource Function

Of all the issues that face the organization that challenge its ability and prospect to build a great culture where every one has shared Vision, Values and Goals, is its inability to utilise the Human Resource optimally. They begin with hiring and promoting a less leader into an HR leadership Role who wouldn’t challenge the CEO / MD and largely agree to what the business leaders say. Someone who would support their Idea of they “Playing god”. In one of the Organizations the business leader asked his HR head to help him with a glass of water – this happened in a very reputed conference in which all the Leaders participated to build the future strategy of the Organization. I pray don’t suggest “Nothing wrong in asking water” We all know that it is.

Many leaders believe that bringing in new people and structure fulfilment is the core role of HR, now here is where this is wrong. What kind of talent is coming on board is the result of what leaders are doing and what HR is doing apart from recruitment. The minute sourcing becomes a challenge it indicates something is amiss in the overall strategic set up of the organization. What we do for people to be retained and engaged with our Organization will heavily impact in the kind of people who would join the organization.

Conclusion

There is lot that Human Resources can and should do, but that doesn’t absolve the leaders of the organizations from their responsibilities of creating a world class culture while co-owning the task along with HR. First step is to build an HR team that is empowered and held accountable for right results. Else while they are creating HR as a function that largely manages internal environment and navigates its ways through the culture of exceptions, the core of the Organization would fast deplete, and plight of Human Resource would soon result into tragedy for Organization.