Today's quick thought is about the human resource role.
Most of the time for quick thoughts I write about ideas, not roles. But I recently read a LinkedIn piece from an HR expert who said something interesting.
Quick background: the role of HR, historically, has been one of compliance. That is, the role makes sure that the company is compliant and protected. Hiring has been a part of that, as well as employee performance, but mostly focused on discipline (as a part of compliance).
Over the past couple decades, the function has shifted a bit. While the historic responsibilities of compliance have remained, what's known as 'talent management' has grown. Talent management is much like it sounds: the recruiting and hiring of top employees, and the various aspects of development, such as training, that continue to press companies and employees alike.
If you think of HR on a continuum, with compliance on one side and talent management on the other, the pendulum started very far towards 'compliance', but has taken a hard shift towards 'talent management' recently.
Back to the article. The author, Brian Walker, notes that the 'happy medium' for an HR professional is fairness. We are to balance the needs of the company with the needs of the employee. This is very difficult, but erring to either side can wreck havoc on an organization. Too far to the employee side and your compliance, internal controls, and general focus as a company (profits, efficiency, etc) are diminished. Too far towards the compliance side and talent retention becomes impossible, as employees (especially modern employees) will leave for greener pastures.
We must live in that tension. Guard yourself against moving too far to one side.
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And that's your Tuesday quick thought.