Member-only story
The Non-Function
Why no company anywhere should ever have a Human Resources Department
We humans are funny animals. No matter how irrational or counter-productive something may be, once it’s established it’s very hard to eradicate.
Take two-stroke powered leaf-blowers, for example: these little machines are found all across the USA, each one creating more pollution than 200 automobiles and doing nothing of value whatsoever. Those piles of leaves that result? The wind comes and scatters them around all over again.
Or how about the great US habit of leaving the lights on in office buildings overnight? The USA could long ago have reduced its total oil imports by 3.5 million barrels per day merely by requiring those lights to be turned off when no one is around. But mostly the lights remain on.
By the same token every company imagines it needs to create an HR department, but the fact is that no one is served by having an HR department. It’s a non-function that serves only to demotivate employees, ensure that management doesn’t have to deal with important issues, and reliably screws up everything it touches.
Let’s start with the recruitment process, which is far too often delegated to HR. The hiring manager creates a rough job description that’s passed to some HR functionary who has no idea what is needed so they create a requirement…
