Working Wounded: Improving Human Resources

Nov. 23, 2007 — -- Dear WOUNDED: After years of complaining about HR, I was recently transferred into the belly of the beast. Any advice?

ANSWER: The Commodore Hotel was a popular place for journalists to stay during the Beirut Civil War in Lebanon. However, checking in to this hotel in a war zone was different than hotels in the United States. Because the clerk didn't ask "smoking or non-smoking room;" in Beirut they'd always began by asking, "Shelling side or sniper side?"

Human Resources is a lot like the Commodore hotel. You often get shelled by top executives and regularly sniped by employees. Brokering the relationship between bosses and employees is one of the most dangerous, and important jobs today. And this isn't just for HR professionals. Anyone who wants to get ahead at work needs to have an HR game plan. I've included three Do's and one Don't for an effective HR department below. For more insight, see Max Messmer's book, "Human Resources Kit for Dummies" (Wiley, 2007).

DO Lead by example. Ever notice how Congress often passes laws about the workplace then exempts itself from having to follow these same laws? HR needs to be the anti-Congress, the place that leads the organization by always being the home for new pilot programs. I'm not just talking about upbeat and positive programs like increasing pay and vacation time. HR also needs to be the testing ground for the difficult stuff too, layoffs, benefit cuts, etc.

DO Be proactive. HR has a long history of focusing on compliance to laws, court cases and regulations. In fact, if you look in the dictionary under the word "reactive" today, chances are you'll find a picture of a HR director. But a strategic HR department needs to be on the cutting edge of change facing your organization, change coming from demographics, customers, competitors, blah, blah, blah. HR directors need to always be scanning the horizon for changes to the status quo.

DO Market, market, market. I'm amazed at how the most sophisticated marketing-driven businesses turn around and use blunt objects with their employees when trying to sell a program internally. Focus groups, interactive surveys, multimedia sales campaigns should all be part of the tool kit for HR today. In fact, the first meeting that I'd schedule as a newly minted HR director would be with your company's internal marketing department to learn what tools already exist within the organization.

DON'T Go just go with the latest fad. I can't tell you how many HR directors have complained to me about how their CEO reads the latest pop business book and then wants to do the same thing within their company. In fact, some people have told me that this happens to them almost monthly. Seek out the programs that have a track record of success and stick with them over a long period of time.

Follow these tips and you won't have to worry about people taking pot shots at HR any longer.

"There are incalculable resources in the human spirit, once it has been set free." -- Hubert H. Humphrey

TV hurts: Who are the worst bosses of prime time?

• Michael Scott -- The Office
• C. Montgomery Burns -- The Simpsons
• Wilhelmina Slater -- Ugly Betty

Source: Lasalle Network

Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. He'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic, especially if you have better ideas than he does. His books include "The Boss's Survival Guide" and "Gray Matters: The Workplace Survival Guide." Send your questions or comments to him via: bob@workingwounded.com.

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