HR Departments and Business Growth

Having a structure relevant to your company's culture is an important requirement to running a healthy business. Putting the correct people and departments in charge of appropriate tasks is a critical decision. Unfortunately, many HR departments have become the owners of job descriptions, workplace setup, technology rules, job interviews, on and on. Departments need to have the ability to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities without artificial constraints placed on them by a group that does not understand how they do business.

I was at a job fair last week recruiting for Supply Chain and Logistics job candidates. We had a nice simple table without the flashy give aways or expensive signs unlike the company across from us that had their own table covering, large sign, and about six different types of give aways. Students would walk up to their table, hand over their resume, and promptly be directed to a hiring website. No information about what they would be doing, what kind of jobs were available or how they would be helped to grow. The people manning that table turned out to be from HR. Contrast that with our table where we had a ten or more minute conversation with every student who walked up. We were evaluating each one not on their resume but on their personality, intelligence, and potential to fit into our company. Who do you think will be finding the best new employees? Which company do you think those students want to work for more?

When a group ends up controlling the tasks of another department, it is not always because they took over. Most likely it is because the department ran out of time to do it themselves. Recruiting students was considered a lower priority than the work currently on their desks. Decisions like this cost money in the long term, especially if you are a small business. Having the right people on staff increases productivity, decreases stress and decreases turnover (both voluntary and involuntary). Remember that an organizational structure isn't just the departments and people, it is also the roles and responsibilities for each of those departments and people.

HR departments play a critical role for businesses, there is no way to deny that. Their role in your business should be constantly evaluated to make sure they are promoting innovation and business growth and not hampering it.


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