July 24th, 2008
The visibility of human
resources resembles that of a little child: trying hard to be like one
of the big boys of highschool when it's still stuck in elementary school.
People clamour to be in
the top spot or a member of a specific group at least once in their
lives. It's being part of a group and belonging within that group that
gives us joy, purpose and a reason for being. But what happens if we
can't get into that group, no matter how hard we try?
Many individuals often find
themselves being excluded from a prestigious group or without a place
to call their own. Some fret over it. Others cope. But the issue here
is how you build yourself up after each refusal in order to get back
on your feet and make yourself known be it through association or through
individuality.
At the corporate table,
there are spots up there that many people strive to become a part of;
the remarkable thing is that this table does not always carry a fair
representation of fields and professions as opposed to people.
This is where the field
of Human Resources finds itself most of the time. Like the small yappy
kid trying to fit in with the big boys, it is always shut out of the
"exclusive club" of the older kids due to its age, maturity
or viewpoint on life. Like many in this scenario, the "little kids"
feel left out and ultimately lost as they feel that the only way to
have identity is to mingle with the big boys. But is that really the
case?
Human resources has gone
through many stages in its lifetime, though it's still far from reaching
puberty. "Expert" writers on the subject have tried time and
time again to find its niche and give it a false sense of hope in order
to give it a chance to fit in at the big boys' table at the corporate
table.
They've coined a new term
and claimed that HR 2.0 "to be the new era of effective human resource
thinking by aligning itself to the corporation's goals". Yet to
this day, has anything drastic happened to warrant HR its covetted spot
at the corporate table?
Oh how the morale and confidence
of this fragile field has suffered. For nearly 30 years it's still seen
as the liability, one that does not have an open purpose nor a solid
foundation to warrant its place, nor the 30 seconds to make that vital
first impression most receive when pitching a new idea.
If HR is to be successful,
it needs to return to its grassroots purpose: as a builder of organizational
talent and recentre itself on the development of people. When it has
established itself as this, then the rest of the road will be laid out,
and the designated goal of being like one of the big boys won't be an
issue. Even with the squeeky, pre-pubescent voice.
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