Survey Says: HR Still Doesn’t Get It

from www.workforce.com

If I were an HR professional, I’d get awfully tired of feeling like a punching bag.

Year after year, almost without exception, research and surveys come forth that show the shortcomings of the human resources profession. It’s getting to be an old story, but the elements are all the same (all within the past 18 months): HR needs to be more “strategic”; HR is too focused on administrative minutiae; HR needs to be more aligned with the company’s business goals; HR must be more adept at change management; HR wants a “seat at the table” but HR people generally don’t have the business savvy to get there; etc.

So it’s not surprising that today there is yet another study showing how HR is out of whack with what needs to be done to really be trusted, strategic and a business partner. It’s from Vertitude, a Boston-based company that provides a broad variety of services including consulting, staffing and recruitment process outsourcing. The headline on the survey should tell you all you need to know: “Working Together, Working Apart: When It Comes to Workforce Planning, HR and Business Leaders Agree Their Working Relationship Needs Work.”

The highlights of the study are both familiar and depressing:

• Strategy—“Both business and HR leaders agree that talent acquisition and recruitment top the list of strategic business issues, but one in five business leaders see HR as only involved in “implementing” strategy, not participating in plan development. What’s more, a common perception is that HR is lacking adequate financial aptitude and therefore is not asked to contribute to strategy development because they do not speak the language of business.”

• A “Seat at the Table”—“Many business leaders indicate they do not have an established relationship with HR or it world not occur to them to include HR in implementing workforce plans. In general HR leaders agree that business leaders minimize the role that HR plays in workforce planning and don’t consider the full scope of HR’s ability and expertise.”

• Driving Change—“Business leaders perceive HR as ‘resource constrained’ and, as such, unable to effectively implement workforce plans. In turn, HR believes business leaders set unrealistic timeframes, lack an understanding of workforce issues, and are inconsistent in implementing initiatives.”
In reading the summary of the research study, it’s clear to me that Veritude has gone out of its way to try to be as positive as possible in presenting these results, but it is equally clear that the message is still the same: Despite all the talk and anger over “Why We Hate HR,” nothing has really changed.

We’ve written here (on numerous occasions) about the change management skills HR people need to be effective in today’s fluid and frenetic business world. I can only wonder when the HR profession finally will find the means—and moxie—to fight back, rather than absorbing a new pummeling every few weeks.