Many ways of erosion of 'HR' role

In Jan 1999 I had no intention of leaving Indian Oil Corporation. I was nearly six years into the place. Mr. MPC from Project Department was in HR as DGM(HR). An eminently unqualified person for HR I had a grouse against his attitude while in Projects. Projects being too far into the estate the redundant communication channels from Administration could have been easily enhanced by this man. Instead this man was at logger heads with the HR Department. Apart from the inefficiency developed in such a way, this time he himself was DGM in the HR department. It was sure that he would not be able to function without the support of people like me.

Everytime there was an issue I felt he was merely applying his Mechanical Enginering skills where people skills were needed. Things became unusually pendant.

It was at this time that the Chief wanted me to write a summary of the Seven habits for 'Parivartak' the newsletter. Having done that successfully, he marked the paper from JIM's 8M requesting articles and I promptly shot the following one and got it published in their journal.

Prakash Abraham my classmate and colleague saw the article and showed it to Bhalla at the HO. He said it was brilliant and Prakash replied that I have already left IOC. I had mentioned it when I was interviewed for the teaching post and showed the article. Prof. Pothuval who was on the board commented that it was negative and no one listened.It is not difficult to see why it was an adventure of a lone wolf.........

The many ways of erosion of 'HR' role.

A cursory analysis of organisations in the milieu can show that the role of Human Resource Departments is a rather precarious one. At times it has to talk on behalf of the Management to the rest of the organisation. At times it has to ensure enforcement of the company's policies and rules. The aspect of enforcement or administration puts HR at the risk of jealousy of the rest. While it plays its roles, it still retains the role of 'the administered' like the rest, since there can be no policy or rule, separate for HR.

A major role of HR is the advisory one. This is a bottom to top role calling for skills to assert, as the top management or the Chief Executive do not always find it palatable to receive advice. Quite often the top management incumbents fail to attribute its advisory rights to HR.

The danger is more when the top management/Chief Executive are of technical background than managerial. At times the HR is considered as doing mostly unpleasant jobs, like announcing a manpower reduction programme. In the absence of an assertive HR function, the top management conveniently pushes certain decisions downwards which may have human, manpower or cost implications.

One can see endless series of lectures on cost reduction followed by an HR campaign much against the spirit of cost reduction. In this case the perceptive HR man first thinks in terms of the HR man's role in such a seemingly innocuous situation and second in terms of the cost implications vis-a vis the benefits. Where there is a strong culture of budgeting, such an event may not take place without first getting the finance/budget concurrence.Where such practices are absent, the HR man's advisory role is all the more relevant.

This while the campaign in question has to be co-ordinated by the HR department, may gradually render it as an adjunct to the Chief Executive's Secretariat. In such a case HR could be manned by ordinary graduates.instead of HR professionals.

Examples are galore where the role of HR is eroded without anyone taking notice, except the very perceptive, who also observe the undercurrents.

The exit interview followed by some organisations ofers an example of where the behavioural angle is most valid. An exit interview is a unique tool of feedback which otherwise an employee finds constrained to give. By straight jacketing the same in a format, the very purpose of exit interview is undermined. The seriousness is aggravated when HR fails to convince the top management of the futility of such an exercise for fear of tilting the proverbial apple cart or since the company does not want to hear unpleasant truths about itself.

A dangerous practice that erodes the role of HR is the increasing tendency of assigning non-HR professionbals in key HR positions. The obvious thinking behind this practice is that HR is some funciton that can be handled by anyone. Nothing could be far form the truth. If indeed some function could be handled by anyone, the discipline of HR would have died out much earlier. Instead, as can be seen, it is one of the growing professions drawing its currents from such varied fields as Behavioural Sciences, Economics, law, Statistics, Research Methodology and not to mention Management. More importantly it is a profession requiring abundance of perceptiveness of human aspects, a capacity to withstand stress of the interpersonal variety and above all the belief in the human potential for development and the active application of such an attitude.

It is not difficult to see that an engineer trained in the behaviour of machines will be a sad comparison in HR unless he has also developed the capabilities mentioned above by inclination and striving.

-----------

Shelly Jose is Senior Personnel and Administration Officer, Indian OIl Corporation, Barauni Refinery, Begusarai(Bihar).