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February 01, 2006
HR, do you know what your job is?
I'm often impressed by how much HR professionals know about the organizations they work for. I'm often surprised at how often they align with the organizations they work for. But recently, I've become depressed by how many HR professionals seem to have forgotten that they work in HR.
It's downright essential to know what the business you work in does to make money and to understand how your role--whatever it is--contributes to the organization's success. But if you're an HR professional you've got another calling: to develop and deliver value to the business through the practice of effective HR strategy and administration.
If you're too caught up in immitating the way your organization's key talent walks, talks, thinks or acts to remember that your real job isn't building widgets, but supporting the people who do (or the people who manage the people who do), you're asleep on the job.
Period.
Now, I know HR's been the punch line of many Dilbert cartoons; I know saying you work in HR won't do much for your love life or your self-esteem. But you know what? That's okay. The same thing could be said for many incredibly useful occupations.
What it means to work in HR has everything to do with how you live your role. And that's entirely up to you. You don't need to act like an engineer to get respect in an engineering firm; you don't need to dress like a supermodel to make it in a textiles firm: that's what lemmings do, and it's a bad strategy.
Want respect? Add value. It's so much easier!
Posted by davidkippen at February 1, 2006 02:20 AM