Why HR chooses to remain a feel-good function, placating fancy practices or trends!

Thank you TV Rao sir for telling or reminding us that the CEO is actually a Super CHRO! Especially when, all things tech, investment and infrastructure are common, we finally compete on talent. This is what Larry Bossidy, then CEO of Honeywell said.

Recently (2014) Management Guru Ram Charan in his HBR article reproduced the idea of HR and the role of the CEO.
You may have read in this article 'Time to Split HR', (available online) that HR shall not be a department but a function! And the split shall be called HR Ops/Admin and HR Leadership Organization (HR-LO)! For HR-LO, he asked this function to report to the CEO and work under his leadership intent and strategy for this function, while HR-Admin shall report to the CFO!
We remember, Ram's view didn't go well with HR people and Josh Bersin had to write a rebuttal article in Forbes I guess to assuage hurt feelings of the HR folks... While Josh didn't agree with what Ram proposed, he agreed that HR needs a split or redesign!
If now, we agree, HR is a function as you also agree, this must be tagged to and built as part of the company's strategy that CEO (not CHRO) builds and presents to the board for approval!
In absence of above action by the CEO and also the board not giving this function that strategic importance, HR remains a feel-good function, placating fancy practices or trends!

How many of us know that a CA who worked for 19 years of her initial career with BEL is today the Chief Happiness Officer of Deloitte India...
Do we know what exclusive and strategic actions, this Partner level position might be doing, when she has a CHRO, a Chief Talent Officer and a very empathetic CEO around her, all for people?

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Reflections: the stoic way!

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