Sad to hear about you Dear HR

Why is HR in most places getting so casual? What is troubling them? Is there a systemic failure or it is a design/conspiracy against HR? Why HR is running HR like their fiefdom? Why they think no one is watching them for their being so whimsical, casual, careless?

I see most HR guys seriously stressed despite their high levels of commitment, they perform much below expectations. One HR President wrote on LinkedIn post: HR IS DEAD, LONG LIVE HR. Reasons are many but the biggest , some suggest are the following: Culture and profile mis-fit for many who are parked or harbored in HR. No wonder Richard Rekhi , MD, KPMG India chose a non-HR background/education (read degree/certificate) person to head India HR.

Many found the most arrogant and selfish folks in HR, Most incompetent often land in there as it is thought as an easy job, ‘coz, decisions are actually made by others in business. Hiring decisions to promotions to training to bonuses to transfers are all dictated by business. It is their business and cost center, HR is allowed in their territory to listen to them and keep all their bookish HR jargons for HR –HR talks only. It is a support function, who hardly has proven their business worth. Business tells them where to hire from, what skills to look for, who to promote, transfer, to reward. Challenge me if you have a different view.

For fun, read this comic-

Very senior lady HR person form a global jeans apparel brand, posts job on Linked in for Sr.HR Manager and Santa applied and she responds over email asking for phone interview date and time for 4 days later/over Friday. Santa responded with time.

No call comes till Friday. On interview day/Friday, Santa called after 45 mins of time of interview missed, and she says, (watch the fun) “She is looking into the interview schedule and she does not find Santa’s name. Santa still has his response to her mail in his sent folder.

" But out of her sheer professionalism she says, "Since you called me let me give you a time for Monday at 1400 hrs and she just does not stop there, she even sends Santa an invite from her outlook calendar without courtesy mail, though she had missed my mail. Pls. clap for this modern day professionalism exhibited by such senior HR folks. 

Santa responds back confirming her invite. Monday, here comes the time and date of phone interview (remember 1400 hrs), it is already 98 mins past the scheduled time of 1400 hrs and no call no SMS. Can you expect a bigger fun than this? Oh, his bad and update was there in his mail box at 1.35 pm (Santa did check it later), which was just a rude changed invite with change in date, now it was for the next day. No mail, no sorry, no professional courtesy.

Santa decided to write to her my questions before he gets the interview call and she did reply to some of them very professionally. She called Santa as on the scheduled time and did give him whole lot of information about her company and Santa appreciated her for her passion and knowledge of her business. Her talk lasted for 30 mins and then she told, she will carry on the round-2 discussion and will send Santa the time. That did not happen for a week and Santa reminded her on mail. She responded, "She did not get time to talk to Santa and will keep him posted." Santa is waiting for her mail for closure or pre-closure months have passed. Long live Peter Principle. Save HR from terrible folks!