It’s almost time to celebrate 53 years of working (post full-time education) and most of that spent in or around (what is now known as) the People function.  This presents it’s own dilemmas.  Back in 1971 it was referred to as the Personnel Department or Staff Office and I was still called the Personnel Officer in the mid-1980s.  All that changed when I began to specialise in Resourcing, and I became an Adviser.

Much of this doesn’t really matter other than I wanted to write about the HR collective rather than the entire organisation of people!  I guess that one day there’ll be yet another iteration but for now, I hope that we are at least on the same page.

Isn’t it time to let technology take the strain of repetition leaving space for original thought across HR?  What scares HR most of all – the notion that their out-of-date processes will be discovered or the notion that technology could replace jobs?  Or maybe it’s their far from people-friendly policies.  Those endless policies which require people to behave like automatons when completing an application and stay silent when the computer says no.  Yes, this is where we need original thought!

Where’s the value in doing what you’ve always done if you’re not attracting talented people who love your brand and your values to join?  At my most disruptive I grab a blank canvas and rehearse my vision to get the fewest (yes, fewest) number of great people with diverse talents to want to join us.  Why spend hours wading through applications for non-swimmers for life guarding roles when swimming is a prerequisite?  Surely you can leave the system to ask an essential application question, “how far can you swim unaided” while you add value by designing a safe assessment?

I’ve a heightened sense of adventure (but no head for heights) although I recognise that others prefer the comfort of cosy slippers.  They’re not up for leading the charge in stilettos, although their organisations are all about innovation.  Just like olive oil and lemon juice, the two don’t mix.  So, to all the HR dinosaurs who try to change systems to replicate out of date processes (with disastrous consequences) trust me, simplicity is powerful.

It's time to have the conversation about what HR colleagues do best; what needs human input or judgement, and what needs a bot?

Recruitment should satisfy organisation needs and motivate people to join; easy to read, bias free adverts and JDs that tell it how it is.  Highly skilled people to provide personalised feedback to unsuccessful candidates.  Jobseekers don’t always feel comfortable logging onto a portal to discover that their application was unsuccessful.  They don’t want to chat to Ghosty your virtual recruitment assistant either, they want to talk to you as one of the organisation’s brand ambassadors.  They need feedback to help with their personal development.

Who wouldn’t want the success of a system that combines critical elements of jobs with team goals, then compares them with similar roles across the organisation?  But first we need talented people to create team goals and organisation values, right?  And we need to balance the tasks between thinking and doing.  Systems are great for replicating and cascading although it’s people who really understand the vision.

I didn’t enjoy paddling my canoe around the mountains of Norway (not my best VR experience) although I’d love to wear a headset and take a tour of a new organisation design.  Imagine the potential, less conversations about spans of control and more about visualizing resource deficits or potential surpluses.

Embracing technology can be scary.  Why not give your HR colleagues a virtual hug, recognise their potential, then brag about powerful people transactions and visible results?  What’s your vision?  It’s time for a conversation about what the people who work in the People team do best.  Let’s chat.