Interesting R4 programme “Is HR Out of Control”

[crumpet]

On The Bottom Line (started just after noon today). Quite a good discussion with representatives talking about HR overreach, telling people how to think etc. Obviously dissenting views are also included!

If this floats your boat I highly recommend the podcast by Tanya de Grunwald called This Isn’t Working. She’s an HR professional and has had a number of great guests on to discuss things such as HR overreach, misogyny in HR etc. I highly recommend it (and I’m not even in HR!)

Yes - I think there's episode with KJK that was excellent.

@TaraMySalata Good call - I like those podcasts too. They cover quite a few topics around workplace culture and DEI. There is a good one with Helen Joyce from a few months back.

HR as in 'Human Resources'?

in what way?

I have nothing to do with HR and listen to TDG podcast. It's fascinating and really thought provoking.

I'm also a fan of This Isn’t Working. I watch it on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@This-Isnt-Working

Thanks for the other suggestions. I was just struck by the fact that radio 4 permitted such an open discussion - expectations burnt too many times by woman’s hour!

Happened to catch this on my way to the dentist and I’m glad you started a thread, @crumpet. I thought it was very interesting. The two older - I think - HR professionals had a much more sensible approach and were openly critical of 'groupthink and ideology' - one even said that when she worked in the Cabinet Office the Chief People Officer (🙄) had written a blog about using his pronouns. She rejected this as 'not an appropriate thing for someone to say on the departmental intranet'. I’m not generally a fan of HR but I was pleasantly surprised by those two guests. The other seemed keener on taking a very 'playing by the book' line and talked a lot about risks of tribunals 🤔

It might have been interesting to see Evan Davis's facial expressions as various heresies were aired…

Well yes that was the other surprise, listening to Evan letting it unfold - he made a few half hearted attempts to drag it back to the other contributor who was still quite full of zeal, but was nowhere close to mentioning bigotry!

Same here.

Evan Davies did mention a conflict between trans rights and women's rights, so perhaps he has belatedly realised that there is indeed a conflict, and it's not just women being mean.

One of the guests, Neil Morrison, has been on the This isn't working podcast. He seems sensible.

I think lots of people are fed up of pronouns in signatures, or being pressurised to include them. And now it's obviously safe enough to express this view on R4. I'm not on LinkedIn, but apparently GC views have been getting more traction there too.

If Evan 'nothing to see here silly girls, shove up and beee kiiind' Davis is admitting there's an issue, the wind has really changed.

I think Evan Davis is willing to go in whichever way the wind is blowing. When gender was the one ideology to rule all then he supported that, but now with it looking somewhat tatty he's shifting position to edge his bets.

Ha! I cross-posted with you over Davis simply responding to the wind changing.

thank you for the signpost to these podcasts. They are now on my list.

Bear in mind that I haven’t listened yet, so I could easily be off here. Straight out of uni, I was very keen to get a corporate role. Imagine my surprise when the first piece of advice shared with our intake as part of the induction was that the HR director was ex-SBS so we were all advised to avoid taking him by surprise because he would put out our eyes out as an instinctive reaction to any surprise

now it makes me laugh out Louth. Then, not so much

Surprising episode for the BBC. I was amazed that Evan was open to the discussion.

I wonder if the BBC producer/researchers have been listening to Tanya de Grunwald's "This isn't Working" as Pamela Dow also featured in an earlier episode of the podcast. It's remarkably coincidental that out of all the HR managers in the UK, the BBC would happen upon two willing to challenge prevailing norms.

https://thisisntworkingpodcast.co.uk/is-hr-allergic-to-criticism-and-what-isnt-working-in-the-civil-service-ft-pamela-dow/

Another recommend from me for This isn't Working podcast. I'm nothing to do with HR but find the discussions fascinating. Tanya is a really good presenter.

HR get a lot of the blame for stuff that often isn't their decision - it just gets stuck under the HR umbrella for communication and implementation. If Boards of directors/trustees/SLTs make a policy choice, it's going to happen.

Im in HR and had never heard of this podcast - just started listening and really enjoying it. Thanks for the recommendation

Thanks for the rec. I’m another fan of the This Isn’t Working podcast. The comments on YouTube are often other people saying they can’t believe they’re listening/watching to a podcast about HR! It’s so interesting though.

Interesting day to air this on R4, which is, according to the ‘People’s Services’ department of the medical based charity I work for, Pronouns Day! The announcement was accompanied by several paragraphs telling staff why we should have them, how inclusive and kind it is to have them, how easy it is to add them and what rotters we are if we choose not to have them.
*This may have been yesterday, but I was too busy getting on with my job, which involves knowing the different acceptable levels for various markers which vary hugely by the sex of the patient, to check my emails!
Ps also a TdG fan, excellent podcast and interesting guests.

I love This Isn’t Working. Another podcast I like is Fearless Diversity with Simon Fanshaw and Rachel (?) Cashman. They are not afraid to tackle thorny subjects