The Human Resources department is the biggest target in the sights of every employer and every employee. It carries the can for everything that goes wrong: Redundancy, Sickness absence, poor Performance, and toxic Culture. It also picks up every crappy job that will prove its value.

Much blame is, in truth, laid at the wrong doors, but Human Resources inadvertently take the rap because they pride themselves on being the 'heart and soul' of the organisation. Hence a treadmill of headlines in the industry press: "Inflation: What HR must do" or "Employees unhappy: HR must act now".

My decades of working in HR and observation of many HR departments led me to conclude that:

It means something different to every organisation
HR's current activities are extensive in scope
many HR departments do things that add little or no value in real terms.

I've heard and read many opinions on HR's purpose from people inside and outside the profession, and I have drawn heavily to these to show how things stand. The extracts shown are not definitive but are meant to give a flavour of what's discussed. What they do have in common is that they are almost always inaccurate, although, like most fallacies, they contain more than a grain of truth.

These pages certainly aren't meant as some quick 'blueprint for success' but rather to define what I call 'the true mission of HR', which needs to be distilled from the tangle of activities that comprise it at present and instead aligned far more closely with the business and its aims. As you read through, you will notice that I have quoted extensively from sources where I agree with their way of looking at things and dealing with them. I've never been in the business of 're-inventing the wheel', and those sources are more knowledgeable than I am in their specific areas. If I can help some HR colleagues whack through the weeds that are choking the garden of our profession, then mission accomplished.

If I appear over-critical of the function, this is not intentional, but we need to face up to things as they are, or we'll never change them for the better.

The world of HR is fascinating. This, together with my involvement with the HR technology industry, has permitted me to meet and work with some exemplary HR and broader business community members who remain trusted friends and colleagues to this day. Their contribution to this work is immeasurable.

I would also like to thank the extraordinary quartet of my peers who gave their valuable time to read through the drafts and provide vital commentary and encouragement.

About the Author

Denis Barnard has been a recognised HR & payroll software specialist for over 25 years.

After a long stint in corporate life, he went independent in 2000, co-founding the niche HRmeansbusiness consultancy. In 2009 they launched the HR comparison website to compare HR, Payroll and Time & Attendance software, which was the first of its kind in the UK.

In 2017 he published "Selecting and Implementing HR & Payroll Software" (updated 2019) as a practitioner's guide to the whole process.

As well as his consulting practice, he is actively producing educational podcasts, webinars, and written material for HR & payroll professionals under the GreenRiver Technology World banner.

Since 2020, he has been a judge for the Personnel Today Annual Awards HR technology portion.

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