Why We Hate HR

Headnote

You're great at administrivia and wasteful.

IN A KNOWLEDGE economy, companies with the best talent win. And finding, nurturing, and developing that talent should be one of the most important tasks. So, why does human resources (HR) do such a bad job-and how can we fix it? After 20 years of hopeful rhetoric about becoming "strategic partners" with a "seat at the table," most HR professionals still have no seat. They are neither strategic nor leaders.

Most HR professionals are perceived, at best, as a necessary evil-and at worst, a dark bureaucratic force that blindly enforces nonsensical rules, resists creativity, and impedes constructive change. HR is the function with the greatest potential-the key driver, in theory, of performance-but also consistent underdelivers.

Why are annual performance appraisals so time-consuming-and useless? Why is HR so often a henchman for the CFO, finding ever-more ways to cut benefits and hack at payroll? Why do its communications often flout reality? Why are so many people processes duplicative and wasteful? And why does HR insist on sameness as a proxy for equity?

It's no wonder that we hate HR. Just 40 percent of employees commend their companies for retaining high-quality workers and think that performance evaluations are fair. Only 58 percent rate their job training as favorable. Few see opportunities for advancement. Only half believe their companies take a genuine interest in their well-being.

Since companies that have the best talent win,...