5 HR Stereotypes vs Reality
The HR department is one of the most misunderstood and arguably underrated functions within a business. Often depicted as ‘the fun police’, stereotypes of HR are commonplace and usually stem from a lack of understanding about what HR does. We’ve chosen to dispel some of the biggest myths surrounding Human Resources and reveal why it should be celebrated as one of the unsung heroes of any business.
Stereotype: HR only steps in when someone is in trouble
Reality: Although HR is responsible for dealing with disciplinaries or other difficult scenarios like redundancies, the truth is actually quite the opposite. HR’s job is to ensure that all employees feel safe and satisfied in their roles. You’ll often find that HR is the main driver behind benefit schemes, from healthy lifestyle initiatives like cycle to work schemes and free fruit to financial benefits like annual pay reviews and company bonus incentives.
Stereotype: HR doesn’t understand how to run a business
Reality: The HR department actually needs to understand far more about a business than most employees in order to support the growth of the business. One example of this is understanding everyone’s role so they can improve recruitment by hiring candidates with the right skillsets and experience. The HR department also understands that a happy workforce is a productive workforce, so it spends a lot of its time working behind the scenes to make sure everyone has the equipment, training and support they need to succeed.
Stereotype: HR is mostly administrative
Reality: It’s often underestimated how much strategy is involved in HR. It is the department responsible for turning growth plans into reality and plays a critical role in recruitment, training, culture and policy. If employees can’t grow, neither can a business. A strong HR policy will provide the solid foundations for the rest of the business to succeed, and it requires long-term thinking to achieve this.
Stereotype: HR is isolated from the rest of the business
Reality: HR often has to operate in a confidential way to protect employee privacy. This can sometimes make it feel like a separate strand of the business. However, no other department collaborates with the wider business more than HR. It enables leaders to grow the business by providing support for organisational change, like training, recruitment and diversification. If sales are the rockstar of the business, HR is the tour manager and sound technician all in one!
Stereotype: Only big businesses need a HR department
Reality: Every business needs HR. Even if a business doesn’t have dedicated HR staff, the responsibilities will always be delegated to someone else. Often this falls on the management team, which can limit the amount of time and effort they can spend on other responsibilities. The best solution for small to medium-sized businesses is to work with a specialist HR business that can provide time-saving and business-improving support on key duties like recruitment, compensation and learning and development.
The same can be said for other business functions such as payroll, with specialists like Finesse Resources on hand to provide professional financial support to ensure the business’s core functions run smoothly.