Calling HR people. AIBU?

[Pusheenicorn]

Currently working as an HR Coordinator in a very busy SME. Fell into this role by accident a year and a half ago.

I have had lots of experience in hiring, firing, grievance, disciplinary, engagement, metric reporting etc.

So I decided to do my CIPD level 5. Which I am plodding along with.

All of my research and reading keeps banging on about HR changing to become more "business-savvy", strategic, board level business oriented etc.

AIBU to not want that but still want to progress so far in the HR field? Is that even possible anymore?

I'm much more interested in the HUMAN aspect of human resources, but the more I study the more it seems that this is on its way out and it's becoming so much more business focused... and I'm not particularly business minded nor do I have too much desire to become so.

I understand the need to have business skills and an understanding of the business world but not to the extent that my course seems to be suggesting.

I am waffling. Do you work in HR? Is there still space for middle management in a "transactional" role?

Have you thought about an employee relations type role?

Most larger organisations are moving towards the strategy type HR now but there will always be a place for the softer people side.

In my current workplace we are strategy based, but still do all the 'human' stuff. Being business based just gives you a different way of working ime, I enjoy the human part the most and this is still a bit part of my role.

Some companies have an employee relations person who monitors staff satisfaction, engagement, rewards etc but they tend to be bigger companies.

The traditional hr department mainly exists now in smaller companies, often as part of an office manager role.

Yes I suppose that is what I am asking... Will there still be place for employee relations managers? I don't want to be an administrator for the rest of my days and do want to progress, just like you say up the softer side than the hard board room type business side.

I understand your dilemma. HR has become much more 'corporate' over the years. Nevertheless it is a very useful qualification to have, with that under your belt you can move onwards or sideways to something more to your taste. Good luck.

Am waffling now, sorry! You need to understand the needs of the business, how it runs, but not to a huge amount. This allows you to tailor hr services to the business, when the business needs it. E.g. If you know Christmas is a peak time, you know to start looking at recruitment a couple of months before then. It's a simple example but you get the idea!

I'm doing my degree part time in human resource management it's a cipd qualification. It's very much centred on the recruitment and selection of staff, disciplinary procedures, law, employee relations etc. There is also a HR course which sounds similar to yours just called Human Resources. I wonder if it's the case that you just need to find a similar course even if it starts at cert level only. Mines in Ireland other wise I would recommend it!

HRBPs have to balance the HR agenda with the people element. They’re usually senior enough roles to have enough influence and tend to have more potential for breadth into things like human factors and psychological elements. You’ll have to work through the more transactional roles first but the human part becomes more important as you get more senior, in my experience.

Becoming more business savvy, "next generation" HR is a good thing if you want the human stuff. It's about partnering with the business, not just 'pen-pushing' and firefighting from the ivory tower. Business savvy HR teams should be getting out into the business, being present in more meetings across the organisation, therefore giving you more interaction with the PEOPLE in your business.
I was HR coordinator in a charity who was very good at this. I then moved into a more senior HR role in local government and my goodness the HR team were so "traditional" it was basically backwards (silo working, resentment towards any change, no collaboration). I left that role and now work in transformation, where there are many transferable skills.

I also did the level 5 CIPD in HR management

HRBPs have to balance the HR agenda with the people element. They’re usually senior enough roles to have enough influence and tend to have more potential for breadth into things like human factors and psychological elements. You’ll have to work through the more transactional roles first but the human part becomes more important as you get more senior, in my experience.

That’s my experience too. I’m a senior HRBP and the “human”influences everything I do

An example of hr at our board meetings - present metrics, outline new plans and information such as gdpr, join discussion about business targets, help develop manpower plans in line with workflow. Our role is only helped by going to board meetings, I think it actually makes my role easier as I'm aware of how the company is doing and know about any challenges coming up. It makes hr part of the running of the business, highlights its value.

The business side is still a small proportion of my role. Most of my time is still the people side.

Thats all really helpful thanks. It has given me a different perspective.

Perhaps I'm not interested in the business side of my current organisation because the smt all seem to be very anti people most of the time and anti any positive HR moves even at minimal cost!

Maybe at an organisation that values it's people and the HR input I would feel differently.

HR is a fab career with a broad range of roles that will enable you to find an approach and area that appeals. Decisions made about reward, benefits, resourcing etc do need to be taken in a business context but that doesn't mean the 'human' side is not needed. The only time my heart sinks is when someone tells me they want to go into HR because they 'love people'. In HR you see people behaving badly and also have to make redundant the best people so definitely edgier than many people realise.

The previous message sounds dismissive.

For example, where I am currently "we have a 24% annual people turnover, with 76% of these made up of people in their first year of service. The cost to the business has been £X. Here are some initiatives we coukd try to increase loyalty and engagement with new starts" will be met with "no not bothered about that if people don't want to be here then I'm not interested in putting any effort towards them. We will find one who stays eventually".

Maybe in an environment where the HR side was valued I woukd feel more passionate about the business aspects.

Sorry for typos and grammar my phone is on a go slow!!!!

Any good organisation values it's staff. If yours doesn't then have a look around, your qualification will open a lot of doors.

My team is valued from the CEO to entry level staff. It's taken a lot of work, but having input into how things are run, and being respected, makes it worthwhile. My company has around 200 staff and I know most of them by name!

Depends what you mean by 'human' I guess. tbh I don't think there's much mileage in the 'I just want to help people' approach but if it's a matter of wanting a generalist/casework role then there are loads of those around.

Personally I don't particularly enjoy working in a Corporate environment but love getting my teeth into the complex casework. I did find that my CIPD (old Graduate status) really helped me see the strategic context which is useful for informing a generalist role.

I am a HR Manager and my role is all about supporting our main operations in getting the product out the door. I need to understand some aspects of the business to provide an effective service to them. An important part is also how I can help with reducing costs.

With the skills shortage in the UK the people element is very much at the core of what my work is now focusing on in terms of attraction and retention.

I did the Level 5 last year. Tbh I don't use much of it everyday as my boss looks after all the strategy stuff and top line stuff. However for my next role (whatever that might be) am glad I did it.

You will still focus on the human element; but from a different angle.

An HRBP needs to understand how best to support an organization’s business objectives in terms of people.

The focus should shift from supporting individuals to supporting line managers. Doesn’t mean you’re loosing the human touch, just thinking of it from a different viewpoint.

Interestingly, as an aside... HR aren't very well liked within my organisation as much as we try. Any "bad" letters, emails etc e.g. redundancy, pay cuts, nagging about trainers on a Friday, toilet cleanliness reminders(!) Come from HR. "Good" letters/emails e.g. thanks for your hard work, social events, bonus, pay rises etc come from the relevant senior manager (although the initiative usually prompted by HR and the letter written by us! and the bad ones generally come from the managers I.e. can you issue a letter of concern for x) which adds to my frustration but as identified earlier thanks to you lot I think it might just be my organisation and its not very good business practices!!!

I'm stuck there for now as they are kindly funding my training but helpful to see how it might work elsewhere

The only time my heart sinks is when someone tells me they want to go into HR because they 'love people'. In HR you see people behaving badly and also have to make redundant the best people so definitely edgier than many people realise.

Pink and fluffy it ain’t!

Yes I have found that to be very true but I really love the gritty investigations . Although I found it tough, and the actual doing it was really hard (and I did have a cry afterwards to myself) I also enjoyed the redundancy selection process (the PROCESS NOT THE MAKING PEOPLE REDUNDANT I am not a moster) I wish I had become a lawyer specialising in employment law to be honest. My guilt habit is reading tribunal case transcripts when I'm meant to be doing other stuff like ironing or hoovering.

met with "no not bothered about that if people don't want to be here then I'm not interested in putting any effort towards them. We will find one who stays eventually".

This is the precise reason they're not interested in anything you say that could improve the situation: they don't care about people, they just want little minions that'll do as they're told and be grateful to be employed.

Re-reading your op, is this your first HR position? I ask because I hail from the other side of the fence to you, and work in a business advisory role. It comes across like this is your first experience in being involved with the operations of a business in this capacity?

A good business values the "people stuff" and would value the kind of approach you were trying to put forward in the example you gave. The better you understand the business side, and the business in which your HR function exists, the more value you can add and the more meaningful your role as HR.

I've worked in and with lots of different businesses, and the ones that are most successful and have the most fulfilled staff are most definitely not the ones with the attitude yours holds. There are plenty of the good ones out there - the attitude you describe is actually really shit from a business perspective too. It's poor business and poor finance; operating like that is expensive and inefficient, among other things.

Take what you can from this role - the training but also the experience of being part of an SME and seeing the detrimental impact of the attitudes you find so frustrating - and use it in your next one. There will be ample organisations out there better suited to you, and you will be able to bring all you've learned with you.

Often, seeing firsthand how not to do things and the consequences, makes us much better at doing them brilliantly when we finally get the chance.

(As in, their view towards you is "if you don't like how we do things here, you can get lost too". Just re read and my starting point wasn't as clear as I was aiming for!)

Your scenario ref retention our business had exactly the same attitude until 2 years ago then I produced some actual business data which showed the impact. Not just cost in recruitment etc, but the impact on business performance.

I worked with the Finance team who measure efficiencies and showed the real business cost, and I suspect bonus cost, suddenly it clicked.

I also find the net gain/loss of actual people quite a powerful message. Last year despite constantly recruiting I had a net loss of 8 people, same period this year we have a gain of 20. Actual numbers rather than % seemed to have more impact at my work for some reason.

It depends on the company as to what sort of HR they have - but you'll never go wrong by having excellent qualifications!