Human Resources departments are taking a lot of flack lately. It seems the Toby Flendersons of the world have given poor HR people a bad rep. I’m here to tell you, though, that not only do I love HR (and no for the record I am not an HR manager) but that HR is crucial to the success of a company and its workplace environment.
You may see HR as a necessary evil, or even an unnecessary evil, which plays bad cop to your workplace fun and games. HR staffs, however, do a lot more than just get people in trouble. They keep the structure of a company intact.
A company needs someone on the inside to enforce rules and put everyone at ease that they work in a safe and comfortable workplace environment. Without an HR team in place, keeping the safety of its employees at the forefront, a company can fall prey to not only problematic lawsuits, but a toxic workplace environment. Not all companies can afford to have an HR team, but if you have more than a few employees, even one in-house HR person can save countless hours from other busy employees and give employees a safe haven if problems arise in the workplace environment.
HR departments play vital roles in maintaining a healthy workplace environment. The US Government has a system of checks and balances to ensure stability and balanced power. So think of HR as a sort of judicial branch of your company. There are the executives, the employees (sort of like Congress), and HR departments which enforce the agreed upon laws. It’s not a perfect analogy, but it works to showcase how important HR departments are to the success of a company. A good HR team isn’t caught up in the minutia and red tape this article describes, they are instead focused on keeping a happy workplace environment with productive employees, avoiding legal ramifications in the process. A good HR team is a necessity.
Do you think employees in your office view HR as a necessary evil or a necessity? Share in the comments!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com