“Sometimes we are so damn determined to be heard, seen, liked, right, or to win a conversation that we fail to listen to each other. In doing so, we create chasms when what we really need is to create connections!” ~Joe Contrera
For years, I have had the opportunity to observe both the pleasures and the occasional pains of watching the interactions between Human Resource (HR) Departments and the business at organizations ranging in size from $1 million to over $125 billion in revenue.
That said, I have also interacted with facilitated programs, workshops, and retreats for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) as well as these organizations The only reason I point this out is to say I am speaking from my experience and not some made up, what I think it should be, or an opinion that is based on emotion, hearsay, or untruths.
The Question?
The question I continually hear from HR professionals is this, “Why do we still not have a seat at the table?” Referring to the perception that HR is not valuable, seen as a constant obstacle to business, and therefore should not be represented at the C-Suite table alongside finance, production, sales, operations, etc.
The question I consistently hear from the business, “Why does HR keep placing obstacles in our path and making it so hard to do business, do they not understand what we do?” Referring to what they experience when interacting with the HR and thinking that HR is so disconnected from the reality of the business and more interested in compliance, rules, regulations, and coloring inside the lines
The Truth?
We can debate about who is right here, people have been arguing about the truth since the beginning of time.
Proverbs 18:17 says, “The person who tells one side of a story seems right, until someone else comes and asks questions.”
Author, Robert Evans, said, “There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each differently.”
Lastly, author Taylor Jenkins Reid said, “The truth often lies, unclaimed, in the middle.”
The truth as I see it, does actually lie in the middle, that said, as with all things each side needs to be willing to go beyond their near-sighted and far-sighted perspectives and meet somewhere in the middle!
A Few Examples
Example 1 – Recently, a client was being pursued internally for a new position. They were the only internal candidate for the position and their past experience made them an ideal fit for the position. The position came with a tremendous amount more responsibility and pressure.
- Mistake #1 – The first contact with HR was some junior HR person who did not know the candidate, their background, or their level of experience and asked uninformed questions of this veteran treating them like a recent college graduate interviewing for their first job.
- Mistake #2 – The offer they made was actually a decrease in pay, so much so that the hiring manager was embarrassed to present it. Obviously, the candidate turned down the job. Now according to SHRM, HR will spend what could be somewhere between $5K and what could be over $100K to find, interview, hire, onboard, and educate an external candidate before they produce a single dollar of revenue.
Example 2 – A former client wanted to fire an employee for insubordination. The leader never filled out any paperwork, never used the formal process instituted by HR to supply both verbal and written documentation for the dismissal process. One thing led to another and the leader verbally fired the employee against the direction of HR. HR tried cleaning up the mess and the employee filed an unlawful termination lawsuit stating they were discriminated against and won. Costing the company $35,000.
- Mistake #1 – The leader ignored the standard disciplinary process. They swept the behavior under the carpet until they had enough and then erupted on the employee.
- Mistake #2 – The leader went against what was advised by their HR department and ended up costing the company a great deal of money. This doesn’t include the hard and soft costs of having to replace that employee and start the hiring process.
A Solution
Like many solutions the answer is usually simple but not always easy to execute. Is it me or does it seem that the majority of solutions almost always come down to the same thing? Communication! Really??
American Psychologist, Carl Rogers said, “Man’s inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively.” Which means the majority of our problems stem from our inability to effectively listen, hear, and understand the other person’s perspective.
Why?” Because “Sometimes we are so damn determined to be heard, seen, liked, right, or to win, that we fail to listen to each other, and in doing so, we create chasms when what we really need is to create connections!”
A Few Ideas to Connect HR & the Business
Here are just a few suggestions you both might want to consider:
- HR what if you got out of the office and indoctrinated yourself in the dailyness of the business? What if you spent more time in the field understanding the business and what your people are bumping up against on a daily basis?
- HR what if sometimes you colored just outside the lines and stopped getting hung up in rules, bands, and beliefs that are irrelevant in today’s workplace. What if you went beyond what a situation ‘is’ and looked at what it could be, especially when it comes to talent?
- HR what if you had a seat at the table based on the value you provided to the business. What if you were a partner who saved time, reduced waste, increased productivity, reduced stress, and you did it by helping hire, develop, and retain good people?.
- Business, what if you stopped treating HR like they are the enemy or a second-rate citizen? What if you saw them as helping to keep your butt out’ve lawsuits and other liabilities?
- Business, what if you looked for ways to bring HR into your business, invited them to spend a day in the field with your people? Maybe they can’t help you as much as you want because they don’t understand the business and what you do!
- Business what if you follow the processes HR has put into place and if something doesn’t make sense help them understand why. What if you don’t just ignore them?
- Business and HR what if you remembered you are on the same team and that you have to work together if you want to achieve Extraordinary Results?
- Business and HR what if you stopped letting your ego’s and your own departmental perspectives get in the way of each other’s success? What if you both saw the bigger picture which included each other’s perspectives and views?
- HR and Business, as with all things that are disconnected, closing the gap requires a genuine desire to understand each other’s challenges, pain points, and goals. What if you did that?
- Business and HR what if you both stopped thinking you’re right and the other group was wrong? Remember this isn’t a contest to see who wins, it is a partnership to see how you can help each other overcome your challenges!
In closing, let me just say, HR and Business, if you really want to change the dynamic between yourselves, you must learn to trust, respect, listen and most importantly, realize the value that each of you brings to the party. And it starts when you start looking for what’s right with each other, instead of what’s wrong.
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Till Next Time…
