the 5 attributes of a great human resources department

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by Laurie Ruettimann on Jan 3, 2013, 9:14 AM | 17 Comments

Lots of talk about bad and ineffective HR.

Some say that the antidote to bad HR is to create some hyper-

vigilant, technology-driven department of super nerds who

obsess about big data and organizational psychology.

I hate that.

And its not realistic.

So I wanted to throw out some ideas for what defines a good Human Resources department.

People get paid on time. Anybody ever worked under the table for cash? Food service.

Construction. Baby sitting. Landscaping. We know what happens without an accountable

payroll department.

1.

Civil and human rights are protected. If your company had its way, safety and security

would be negotiable. The free market would determine whether or not you were hurt or

harassed at work. And if you didnt like it, you could quit.

2.

Accountability is enforced. The best HR departments balance compliance with

accountability. If management decides it wants to take a risk whether its with your

personal safety or with the financial solvency of the company HR isnt there to police the

decision. But HR is there to make sure that the authorities know who to blame when the

poop hits the fan.

3.

Theres something in it for you. Beyond getting paid and making sure youre not killed in

a freak accident, work has to have some meaning. Whether its paid holidays or Taco

4.

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The 5 Attributes of a Great Human Resources Department http://www.tlnt.com/2013/01/03/the-5-attributes-of-a-great-human-res...

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Tags: HR basics, HR blog, HR management, HR values, Management | More

Tuesday, the best HR departments remind management that employees are not robots and

need more than food, water and a paycheck.

Fairness has a seat at the table. HR doesnt guarantee that you will work in a

meritocracy; however, fairness should have a fighting chance when HR is around.

5.

I always tell my HR audiences there is nothing wrong with administrative work if you make a

difference in the world and make the trains run on time.

Paying people. Ensuring safety and security. Demanding accountability. Finding balance in the

world. Those are awesome aspects of Human Resources.

Not everyone gets to work with the CEO. Very few people have responsibilities for budgets and

headcount. But everyone in HR can be responsible for Taco Tuesday.

Thats a pretty sweet thing.

This was originally published on Laurie Ruettimanns The Cynical Girl blog.

Laurie Ruettimann is a former HR leader turned influential speaker, writer, and social media

strategist. You may know her as the creator of The Cynical Girl and Punk Rock HR, which Forbes

named as a top 100 website for women. Laurie is a contributing editor for The Conference Board

Review; a contributor to the TalentSpace blog and Business Insider; an advisor to SmartBrief on

Workforce; and her advice has been featured in a wide variety of publications. Laurie is also

recognized as one of the Top 5 career advisors by CareerBuilder and CNN.

17 CommentsRECENT COMMENTS

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2 of 4 9/8/2014 11:36 PM

17 Comments 1

TNoebel

If I might offer a proverbial "cut to the chase", here, my take is that Laurie is saying

great HR departments get the basic stuff, the fundamentals, right. The other notions,

concepts, practices, philosophies and such being bandied about are wonderful. But

absent getting the fundamentals done well, there is no way you can, with a straight

face, engage in the other work.

Try this conversation with your CEO - "Hey, I know we missed getting payroll out, but

we have a killer succession plan."

Jon Porter

From my perspective and based on my experience from both North America and the

UK; truly great HR balances administrative efficiency (e.g. paying people right each

time and every time), with a close understanding of the business needs and the

ability to design, develop and deliver tailored corporate-wide programs or policies

that require in-depth functional expertise and subject matter expertise. The so-called

three leg stool of HR Services, HR Client Services and HR Centres of Excellence.

Fundamental to each aspect is being very clear about what 'value' is to the

organization, whether that be better patient care, shareholder dividend or more

effective use of taxes.

To Laurie's points above:

1) An accountable and efficient Payroll department is important, but they will only

pay according to the informatiion that they receive. So at a deeper level, the

organization has a duty to ensure that all of it's processes are optimized, efficient

and understood. managers have to be equally accountable for the information they

provide to Payroll, not just those in Payroll.

2) Given the generational attitudes of younger workers, the growth of the Corporate

Social Responsibility agenda and legislation, those companies that sanctioned

unlawful or illegal activity would soon find it impossible to operate. Operating inside

Jason Jarrell

This has to be the worst article every written on what a Great HR dept does. Clearly

you should not be running HR. HR does not pay people, they hire talent (talent

aquistion). They should manage benefit packages, inform employees of options they

have. You talk about reducing training cost, actually that should not be your goal, it

should be to provide training to employees to make the better leaders in the

company. Wow - you have no clue...hahahaha....epic failure on your part, please

don't write or lead by example.

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