A few years ago Fast Company’s Deputy Editor attended a SHRM conference, and then published an article entitled Why We Hate HR. Although the article a few valid points, Keith Hammonds, the author, showed a lot of ignorance. Speaking of “HR,” Hammonds says:

They are competent at the administrivia of pay, benefits, and retirement, but companies increasingly are farming those functions out to contractors who can handle such routine tasks at lower expense. What’s left is the more important strategic role of raising the reputational and intellectual capital of the company — but HR is, it turns out, uniquely unsuited for that.

If I may clarify, those things for which Hammonds compliments HR are the responsibilities of people working in Human Resource Management (HRM).  Those things he’s critical about are the responsibilities of those working in Human Resource Development (HRD).

It only makes sense that when attending an HRM conference one is not going to hear too many experts on HRD. And if people such as the deputy editor of Fast Company do not understand the differences between HRM and HRD, how in the world can he know to assign developmental and training tasks accordingly?

One of these days I plan on writing a counter piece to offer Fast Company (any bets on whether or not they’ll print it?), but until then I offer a few nuggets for C-level and senior-management crowd:

1. If senior managers want someone who understands how training aligns with strategy, they need HRD people at their table.

2. Senior managers continue to make decisions without HR’s input (neither M nor D), and then wonder why things never go the way they want. (Sorry—HR can’t always wave the magic wand and make trained personnel suddenly appear.)

3. It’s really easy to criticize HRM for not doing HRD’s job, but it’s not wise to be dissing them. Their work may not be as flashy as strategic planning, but it keeps the senior managers out of court.

Bottom line, HR can be a valuable ally, but it’s like anything else: Know the roles and responsibilities. I can have sympathy for people like Mr. Hammonds who are (unintentionally?) ignorant. But now that the differences have been identified, senior managers should capitalize on what they now know.

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Filed in Work, Business, Training, Motivation, Management, Leadership, Workplace