The Shoemaker's Children Travel Barefoot

Kevin has been an entry-level HR generalist in a service organization for about three years. He enjoys what he is doing and has made a commitment to Human Resources as a career. While he enjoys his work, he senses differences between himself and his counterparts in other functional groups. Sometimes he feels a bit uncomfortable in their presence and senses the feeling might be mutual. Their departments seem to have more financial latitude and employees there seem to get ahead faster. Kevin is about to plan his next career step. What does he need to understand about the evolution of Human Resources in order to do this?

How Is Human Resources Different?

Professionals in sales, marketing, operations, IT, finance, and other corporate groups receive direction and guidance on how to steer their careers partly as a result of corporate programs, which are established by their employers and implemented by their supervisors and the HR professionals who service them. In addition to formal career development and mentoring programs, informal networks sprung up in their organizations that provided the rudder to keep their careers on course.

In many cases, these clients would reach out to us for advice as they hit certain career benchmarks or experienced career issues. In addition to responding to their requests, as dedicated HR professionals, we proactively monitored the careers of these individuals to ensure that they received the proper training and development, and consideration for promotions or other jobs which would advance their careers. We also ensured that they were well represented in terms of race and gender. When disappointments in their careers had to be faced, and when they didn't get the nod for a coveted position, we provided the safety net and the perspective to help them recover and continue to "fight the (career) fight."

However, while the HR professionals were cheerleading their clients on to greater heights, who was guiding Human Resources? This is not to say that HR functions conceptually don't want to groom and develop their own, or shouldn't take on the accountability to do so. While the motivation is there in many cases (under the best of circumstances), how often does it happen? As HR professionals, we are often so busy helping others — because that is our self -image and the perceived expectation — that our own careers often take a back seat.

This is the classic example of the shoemaker's children having no shoes. To explore the origins of this situation, how would you respond to the following questions?

• If organizations are going to look to Human Resources to provide career guidance and direction to their employees, shouldn't we "set the standard" by practicing it ourselves?

• How can we drive career development programs for others when our own house is not in order?

• If we do not practice these techniques for our own careers, are we providing the best advice and counsel to our clients?

• Does Human Resources deserve the same career focus as the clients it serves?

• Do the universal concerns about retaining the "best and the brightest" and building a career pipeline not apply to the HR community?

• Why is Human Resources an attraction for so many?

Mike D'Ambrose, senior vice president of Human Resources at Archer Daniels Midland, sums it up nicely:

The true gift of HR is its ability to inspire people to believe in themselves; to passionately seek the gold in every single person; and help each person find, develop and celebrate that gold. Every single person has something unique and wonderful to contribute. It is my job to ask our people, 'what are the things that you do great? How do we help you become this wonderful, unique contributor — not only to the company but also to yourself?1

The Evolution of Human Resources

The differences in perspective can be explained by examining the history of Human Resources and the psyche of the practitioners who serve in the field.

Deserving a Seat at the Table

Since the early 1990s, Human Resources has been coming into its own as a respected area of responsibility in the business world. Business leaders recognize that Human Resources' diligent attention to legal and regulatory compliance, implementation of talent assessment and development programs, focus on retention, and workforce planning are just a few of the contributions to the bottom line. In the contemporary environment of continuous organizational change as a result of reorganizations, downsizing, mergers, and acquisitions, Human Resources has earned its seat at the table because the value of human capital is being recognized. A "seat at the table" means that the HR role has been accepted as a key decision-maker for the organization along with all the other traditional functions in the organization. In the war for talent, Human Resources has made a real contribution as a differentiator between companies, especially when considering challenges around retaining key employees and engaging the rank and file. Specialists from a variety of fields are called in to negotiate difficult labor situations, to plan for offshore employment needs, and to understand and manage through cultural differences. HR professionals are moving on to assume opportunities in line positions because they are respected for their business knowledge and expertise.

The Value of Human Resources

A Challenging Evolution

Human Resources has not always garnered the respect it has today. Furthermore, in some scenarios, there are still "growing pains" to be worked out. Some companies still don't understand the value that Human Resources brings to the organization. Some independent business owners perceive Human Resources as a necessary evil, an administrative cost which causes them to give up the reins of power and presents roadblocks to how they want to manage their businesses.

Human Resources had typically been the "catch all" function for duties and individuals for whom you couldn't find a logical place in an organization. Typically, people who were placed in Human Resources had been unsuccessful in other roles, floundering in their careers, and may have had substandard performance. For example, one of the authors of this book assumed a Human Resources Director role where the incumbent had been in the job for more than 20 years. The job was available because he retired. The retiree had first joined the company when Human...