[Blog 38] Confessions of a HR Leader
Have you ever been caught in such situations in your job as a HR Leader?
- Buying gifts for management and colleagues to get into their good books
- Going the extra mile to do favours for management to get their buy-in for something you are going to propose
- Organising health related activities to fulfil the need to show that you are doing something for the benefit of the employees as nothing else is in your control
- You are aware that the head of department exercises favouritism in the team but lets it be
- Management exercises pay cuts and retrenches workers as the first step to cut costs and puts you in charge of this without asking your opinion from a HR perspective
- You propose for employees to be re-skilled to meet future business objectives, but management chooses to hire younger workers instead of investing in older ones
- To appear to be part of the strategic HR bandwagon, you invest in a HRIS and have no clue what sense to make out of the data given to present to the management
There are plenty more scenarios we can think of as we go on in our daily role in HR. The learning curve has been quite steep for HR Leaders after the wave of using strategic HR methods in organisations came about. In the past, HR professionals were seen more like a mediator or a postman between the management and employees. They did not have to display much ‘strategic thinking’ in their job and simply carried out instructions that were given by management.
However, in present times, HR Leaders are under tremendous pressure to perform in tasks which they have little or no experience in. If they are blessed and work in organisations that have budgets to spend, they approach HR Advisors, Independent Professionals or HR Consultants for help. And if they belong to an organisation that has limited budget to spare, then our dear HR Leaders end up using the only complimentary assistance tool they have – GOOGLE.
For HR Leaders to obtain a different outlook to your problem or to expand your network of connections, you should consider confiding in a HR Advisor or HR Guru. At some point or other, everyone needs a helping hand—and it does not mean that you are incapable of fending for yourself, because there are moments where some supervision and a touch of encouragement can help you to perform much better, even to your full potential. Finding the perfect HR Advisor may take some trial and error but once the right chemistry is found, you are truly set for an experience that is both personally and professional rewarding, one that will hopefully open doors to you that may have otherwise remained close.
Contact HRguru today to access our deep HR experience and learn more about our HRguru Advisory Services or connect with us at contactus@hrguru.com.sg. You must also check out our recently released book – Nothing Surprises Me, I work in HR for more insights on our Chief Guru Tommy Ng’s personal journey in HR. Definitely a book every HR Leaders should have!
