HR’s do not work – Myths Busted

• Are you a HR professional?
• Have you ever been to a gathering or a party where you need to socialize?
• Have you ever over heard someone saying ‘HR’s do not work’?
• What happens when you meet someone new and they ask you about your job?

Let’s give an insight…

“Stranger: Hi, What do you do?
Me: Hi. I am a HR
Stranger (Giggling): No. Seriously what do you do?
Me: err… I work as a HR
Stranger: But HRs don’t work… (Falling in fits of laughter)
Me: ….”

This awkward conversation has taken place umpteen number of times with most of the HR’s. I know, I know, whenever these conversations happen you feel like throwing your drink on the hypothetical stranger’s face and bask in glee inside or just want to punch their face into pulp. But let’s be civilized here. People / Employees who think all that HRs do, is sit and while away time and get paid are ignorant and needs enlightening.

Let us see a different version of the above conversation:

These are just a few examples. Many a people think all HR’s do is hire and fire people or work on their paychecks. While these are a part of HR function, this is not all what a HR does. With the increasing time, need for human capital has increased and with increased human capital, came the need of professionals who can manage them efficiently and prove to be beneficial for both the organization and the individuals.

HR’s are actually a group of professionals at the pulse of the organization. Life of an employee will be far worse without the involvement of a HR. Let us take an example:

What would you do in this scenario?
Did HR come to your mind?

Congratulations!! You are correct.

On a serious note, HR’s are involved in the following:

• HR’s ensure that the place you spend majority of your time is not monotonous and boring.
• HR’s ensure that there is no bias and if there is, they get involved to make your, Yes sir YOUR life easy. This is where ‘Employee relations’ part of HR function comes into play.
• HR Business Partners (No, they are not actually owners of the org), connect with employees on a regular basis to understand their pulse. They analyze if a particular employee is happy with his role or team or manager etc. and if not, what can be done to resolve it.
• HR department make sure that every employee in the organization is following the policies of the Organization irrespective of their position / designation.

Now the question would arise, who are the people writing these policies?

Policies are critical for the growth of the Org. and are written by ‘HR, Strategy’. They come up with the policies after a lot of crucial thinking, data analyzing and research. These strategies are then functional once the MD or the CEO gives a go ahead. Policies include anything from ‘Policy against harassment’ to ‘Transport’ to ‘Relocation’ or ‘Performance appraisal’.

Other aspects of HR are:

• ‘Succession Planning’, where the career graph of an employee is designed right from the day they join till the end of their career in the organization, according to their talent / potential to fill the future leadership roles
• ‘Talent Management’, where the main motive is to recruit new talents and develop the talents available in the organization internally, to fulfill future vacancies and growth opportunities.
• HRBPs also take care of employee engagement activities like, team outings, events at work etc.

All that mentioned above is just the tip of the ice berg. HR as a function is huge and very critical for an Org. to work smoothly. I can go on and on, but you get the gist.

If you are an HR and next time someone is as ignorant as the strangers above just be patient and explain. If they still don’t get it, just walk away. HR is a profession with little appreciation but lot of Satisfaction. It is after all not everyone’s cup of tea. And if you are an employee then think twice before thinking that HR’s do not work or do not have any work. You never know what they have in mind…