Why WE are Proud to be HR Firefighters !

On a regular basis, articles and posts appear, criticizing HR people who fight fires as though they were the lowest of the low – those who cannot do intelligent things put out fires! They say we have to stop fighting fires and do stuff to prevent fires, but do not clearly explain how. Our first thought is that if there is a fire, the HR person able to deal with and resolve the “fire” is the HR person who will gain credibility, not the HR person somewhere off in the distance thinking about it.

In many respects, we believe that the ability to fight fires is a crowning skill of the true HR professional. The highly effective HR firefighter would, we assume, be very knowledgeable and experienced in HR matters and in addition have highly developed [instant] analytical skills, people skills and negotiating skills and be a leader in every respect. 

The HR firefighter (you may say trouble-shooter) understands the issues - not only how to put out the fire but to strategically, when appropriate, steer a resolution that has long term benefits for the company. we are particularly familiar with this in a union environment, but it equally applies in many circumstances when our HR firefighter can take a superficially transactional situation and make it transformational – often contributing to a longer-term, conventionally challenging company goal. 

We also have concerns that those who are disdainful of HR people fighting fires are not respectful of true Firefighters. Do they imagine that Firefighters just slide down a pole, rush to a fire and aim water on the fire from their hose and most of the time the fire goes out? Fire fighters are highly skilled, VERY brave and VERY strategic. The Firefighters checklist must be extremely long, for example: What type of fire is it? What is burning? What other risks (to other property, trapped people etc.) are involved? How is the fire affected by weather conditions? The best way to put the fire out i.e. not always with water! 

The professional Firefighter has to make instant decisions, choices on which lives may depend and I believe they deserve our respect at the highest level - not used as a negative comparator describing HR people who resolve problems!

Do non-HR functions abhor firefighting? Of course not! They are all fighting fires daily. If Sales is about to lose a major account or has a pricing or inventory crisis affecting a product, firefighting is the priority. After any fires are put out, in our community or in business, then we can set up committees or study groups to prevent recurrence. Our HR firefighters are likely to have a strong presence on many of those committees.

How does firefighting fit into corporate culture? Putting out fires is integral to all our functions – a necessity. It may not be a dominant factor, in most roles, but a critical aspect when the need arises. In most organizations, top HR would have to be an excellent firefighter and all levels of HR should be prepared to deal with their own “fires”, whether resulting from a payroll error, a lost medical claim, cockroaches observed in the cafeteria, theft or violence in the workplace etc. etc.. Whatever the issue, it has to be handled very skilfully – almost a prerequisite for a true HR professional.

In my experience as an executive and member of executive teams, we know the CEO and our peers count on us (HR) to quickly and efficiently deal with problems. They count on us to resolve challenges and safeguard company interests. No matter how smart the top HR person is, if he/she cannot put out fires, there will be little respect or credibility. Only if we can effectively handle today, can we be trusted with tomorrow. In other words, the way we handle fires on an ongoing basis gives credibility (or otherwise) when we try to impress people with our theories and recommendations. Effective firefighting is not our total function, but a very important integral part. Do you agree?

The fires will continue and we will have to put them out! How essential do you think it is that HR people are superb firefighters? Do you think that the way competent HR firefighters handle a fire should help reduce the number of fires in the future? If you do not think HR firefighting is important, how do you think the non-firefighting HR person will excel and gain trust, respect and acceptance?

Thank you for your interest. We look forward to any thoughts and comments you may have.

Nicolas Spindelb?ck