Kick those ineffective Human Resource people out
Human Resource (HR) department IS the most important department in every company. No matter how much the “big boss” denies this fact….a fact is still a fact. Many companies have failed because they don’t have a good HR department. Worse, some don’t even have a HR department! Some, in order to save cost, combine the HR department with…say…Finance?
That’s very unhealthy for the company.
But what if the company DOES have a HR department……but it’s not effective at all? Give the HR folks warning……and if they don’t improve, it’s either the problem lies with the “big boss” or it’s time to kick them out.
During my 4 years of working in the IT industry, I’ve seen some very lousy HR policies and HR executives. And most of the time, the HR executives involved are pretty senior people who are not that easy to be disposed of.
There was this HR director who was very senior…….he behaved like someone who should not be in the HR industry – he gossiped a lot during his time as the HR executive. He talked about the employees’ personal life, their weaknesses, how they screwed up the project or why those employees didn’t get promotion …….. in the presence of other employees who are closer to him.
And there was this HR executive who knew nothing…..and well….just claimed he knew nothing. Hahhaa. Basically whenever the employees asked him some HR-related questions, he wouldn’t dare to say much. Maybe because he was afraid his boss might chop him off for revealing too much information?
Last but not least…….there was this HR recruiter who did a reference check on the job candidate by calling the candidate’s current company. =_= How unprofessional is that ?!?! The victim was my friend and he ended up in the director’s room to “explain” why he wanted to leave.
To be honest, if I were the “big boss”, I wouldn’t want to have such HR people around. HR is supposed to make the employees feel more comfortable and not to make their life more miserable.
p/s….. the “big boss” should also try not to interfere with the HR policies.
There are 2 types of HR practices. One is strategic, the other clerical. The first is about strategic talent management. They believe that people are the company’s greatest asset and that a company’s failing is due to failures in talent management. So in some decisions they can override the ceo. The 2nd type, clerical HR, is a bunch of clerks handling claims, leave, benefits, payroll, and occasionally calling up people for interviews.
I think 90% of our local companies have clerical HRs, where the HR General Manager would functionally be the Chief Clerk. Some behave like clerks too, as you observed.
It all depends on the person who configures the org structure. If he thinks that people are the greatest asset is just nonsense, he will relegate HR to a clerk’s level. If he appreciates the strategicness of manpower, then he will put it at the top level. Compare where HR is at Microsoft, Motorola, Shell, etc. to where Lim Ah Kow Sdn Bhd puts it and you will see the difference.
Damien Tan
22 Sep 08 at 10:24 am
@ Damien
I do agree with u that most companies in Malaysia have clerical HRs. haha. And by challenging them to become the strategic HR………you’re actually challenging the norm of the society. =_=”
How demotivating. But a company with a failing HR will always remain a failure.
Alvin Lim
23 Sep 08 at 9:50 am
Our HR manager is having an affair with one of his local staff! Everyone in the company knows about this including other HR staff but nobody dared to talked about it in front of others because they fear that they might lose their jobs. Gosh! This HR manager is also full of insecurities and jealousy to other managers and other people. That is why people do not believe in him anymore.
Production 2
14 Mar 09 at 8:49 am
@ Production 2
Mmm, the boss should be smart enough to know about this then. But if the mgr never do anything to harm the employees, why should u all care whether he is having an affair or not?
Alvin Lim
14 Mar 09 at 7:49 pm