The Dilemma of HR Practitioners

In my over 10 years journey in human resource practice, I invariably get the impression that most employees and indeed top management do not consider HR practitioners as employees in the same way other employees from other departments are regarded.

Please, hear me out.

Most employees wholeheartedly believe or appear to believe that HR only exists to serve the wishes of top management and does not do anything to represent their concerns. Conversely, top management, in equal measure, also believes, quite ironically, that HR is always siding with employees and consequently not supportive enough to push their agenda.

I hold the view that in both cases, the amount of criticism thrown in the direction of the HR function is often disproportionate compared to the actual situations involved.

HR practitioners are also employees in their own rights and are also negatively affected by some decisions made by management. It is therefore quite inappropriate to assert that HR simply accepts such decisions without any effort to convince management otherwise. On the other hand, when HR makes representations to management on behalf of staff, there is often this perception that HR could be misrepresenting or even exaggerating some issues.

 This seeming conflict is what makes HR a thankless job because neither the employees nor management feel adequately supported by HR.

While HR practitioners play an intermediary role, the inescapable fact is that they remain employees with their own individual aspirations- just like everyone else in an organisation. This unique role therefore requires HR to have a deep-seated and objective understanding of the staff’s legitimate concerns and reconcile them with management’s expectations from the workforce in relation to the overall objectives of the company. Quite evidently, this is a delicate balancing act.

 Ultimately, a situation rarely exists, if ever, where management and employees are equally happy at the same time.

 Balancing or attempting to meet the expectations for both sides is a challenging and often thankless task which nonetheless still has to be executed by HR practitioners.