Why We Love to Hate HR…and What HR Can Do About It >>Harvard business review

Complaints against HR, which are nothing new, have a cyclical quality. They’re driven largely by the business context. When companies are struggling with labor issues, HR is seen as a valued leadership partner. When things are smoother all around, managers wonder what the function is doing for them.

This is a moment of enormous opportunity for HR leaders to separate the valuable from the worthless and secure huge payoffs for their organizations. The author outlines some basic but powerful steps they can take:

Set the agenda.

CEOs are rarely experts on workplace issues, so the HR team can show them what they should care about—such as layoffs, recruiting, flexible work arrangements, and performance management—and why.

Focus on the here and now.

This means continually identifying new challenges and designing tools to meet them.

Acquire business knowledge.

HR needs first-rate analytic minds to help companies make sense of all their employee data.

Highlight financial benefits.

HR departments don’t usually calculate ROI for their programs, but quantifying costs and benefits turns talent decisions into business decisions.

Walk away from time wasters.

Often programs lack impact unless top executives lead them, transforming the culture. Otherwise HR is just a booster for initiatives it can neither enforce nor measure