What Should HR STOP Doing?
Stop being “Policy First, People Second” because we honestly could stop the summary with this statement alone. The days of HR leading with policy first should disappear. It’s antiquated and has never been effective. This isn’t a call for policies to not exist. You need structure and parameters for people. They just shouldn’t be the leading factor for you when you’re in the midst of employee situations.
Stop fearing external partners because vendors and HR exist in the same space. We can either approach this as adversaries or partners. That is true for both HR and vendors. The more we realize that we complement each other, the more effective we can be for both our organization and our vendor’s company. We need to work on how this looks as mutual partners and stop approaching it as a product/purchase interaction.
Stop being the company police because we have to realize that people want to perform and do well. We should assume positive intent instead of thinking we control others. Control is a myth. Just think how HR would be viewed if the expectation is to help people thrive and perform versus all of our time being spent on confinement and following rules.
Stop talking about people and start talking TO people. Gossip and idle conversations about people are destructive. You may not be doing this as HR (and I hope you aren’t), but we also allow it to occur at all levels of the company. If there are concerns about someone, then do this. Listen to everyone involved, assess the situation and then address folks directly.
Stop talking around situations and people. It’s never worked. Stop keeping HR inside HR — HR shouldn’t be a department that exists on the fringes of an organization that is only used when and if it’s needed. You don’t want to keep being the people that are only sought after in dire emergencies or dumpster fires. It’s another example of being irrelevant as a function personally, professionally and organizationally. HR needs to be present, visible and fully integrated throughout every nook and cranny of a company!