I have been having a debate with myself. It’s becoming both annoying and non-productive. So I thought I would invite you all into the dialogue.
As I speak and write about how HR can become a business accelerator, one of the biggest obstacles is time. HR has such a full plate, that we just run out of time.
While the work of talent development, organizational dynamics and change and solving real business problems related to human behaviors is exactly what will position human resources as a business accelerator, there is too much other work that zaps the available time.
2 roles that don’t accelerate the business
So I think about what roles HR plays that really don’t accelerate business, and come up with two:
- Employee relations; and,
- Employee benefits.
Employee relations is non-negotiable; there is too much risk involved, and it truly is a leadership and people issue. Where HR can shift to business acceleration is in developing leaders that inspire commitment rather than demand compliance. That would free up a lot of time in “discipline,” but that’s a topic for another day.
Here’s my internal debate: Are employee benefits really appropriately assigned to HR, or would benefits be better as a finance role?
WorldatWork will probably consider this a blasphemous question, but I think it does merit discussion. Benefits, in particular, is (in my experience) 20 percent strategic and 80 percent administrative and financial — and that 80 percent takes a lot of time.
continue reading… TLNT