What's the Point of HR?

Written by Nick Jefferson, Director, Couraud.

I laughed when Jon told me he was the other blogger who had almost instantly responded to Matthew Gwyther's piece in Management Today, 'What's the Point of HR?'.

I could equally have cried.

What is it with those of us in this world? Why are we making such a poor case of our chosen area of work, that we regularly get it in the neck like this? Luke Johnson wrote a not dissimilar piece in the FT not so long ago also.

We all know that there are lots of frankly low grade HR people kicking around, who couldn't articulate how HR adds value if their lives depended on it.

But we're not all that bad. I've met some truly fantastic, quality practitioners in my time.

Why aren't we standing up and being counted? It reminds me of the moderate muslims who for whatever reason don't get up and stay - 'STOP!, enough is enough'. We have a duty to fight for what we believe in - that if people matter, HR must matter.

It is time to take the fight to the cynics, and not simply react to next, inevitable 'why do these guys exist?' piece.

And let us begin today.