{"id":24318,"date":"2014-04-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/eliminate-hr-problem-fast\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T19:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:11:06","slug":"eliminate-hr-problem-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wwwebdesignstudios.com\/client05\/eliminate-hr-problem-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"Eliminate HR? No problem? Not so fast."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u201cSometimes, the only thing worse than having an HR department is not having one.\u201d<\/p>\n

So begins a recent article published in the Careers section of the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies Say No to Having an HR Department\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers Come Up With New Ways to Manage Hiring, Firing and Benefits\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been many articles written about the effectiveness of HR departments across the nation, the main criticism being that they have become inefficient in nature.<\/p>\n

Yet, if HR has lost some of its appeal in eyes of line managers, the answer shouldn\u2019t be to rid companies of its intrinsic value, but rather to identify the causes of this downfall. After all, when sales are down quarter over quarter, does a board choose to eliminate the sales department?<\/p>\n

Why HR\u2019s success is everyone\u2019s business<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the biggest challenges with some organizations is that HR is seen as a freestanding entity, controlling every facet of workforce management almost in an outsourced manner. Typically, when a manager obtains a green light to hire a new employee, he\/she turns to HR with the expectation that it\u2019ll know what to do to find that ideal candidate to fulfill the newly opened position.<\/p>\n

But HR is no crystal ball. To do its job as intended, it requires input from those who know the company\u2019s reality most: managers and executives. How can one reasonably expect anyone, regardless of their expertise in their given field, to have the ability to fill a position with no concrete knowledge of what success entails in this role?<\/p>\n

The truth is, painting Human Resources as a silo at the service of the entire corporation is bound to lead to inefficiencies and excessive wastes of money\u2026 and talent. It is common knowledge that silos, in any part of the organization, should be eliminated, and HR should be invited to sit at the table regularly, if only to get a better pulse of where the company is heading and what it is lacking to get there.<\/p>\n

If a company\u2019s success depends on the quality and motivation of its employees, HR\u2019s participation in your everyday processes means it can provide much needed expertise in terms of workforce planning, performance incentives and talent management to help ensure that every one of your projects accomplishes their intended objectives.<\/p>\n

Without a HR Department\u2026.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To do without a Human Resources department, companies would need to first make sure they can accurately evaluate the cost of managers and other employees taking control of HR-related functions.<\/p>\n

Granted, such a structure may promote accountability amongst your staff in charge and should, in theory, help optimize some of your talent management processes, but there is more to eliminating HR than what meets the eye.<\/p>\n

Just think about potential liabilities and legalities, financial and managerial risks, missed opportunities with strategic deployments, conflict resolutions, etc. These are issues that no company can afford to neglect. If your organization has determined that it would best be served by cutting out \u2018the middle man\u2019 and attributing HR functions, such as recruiting, outsourcing, and succession planning, to its executives, there\u2019s an important opportunity cost that must also be taken into consideration.<\/p>\n

It may seem more efficient to let your existing managers handle the basic tasks that are often relayed to HR, but there\u2019s a much bigger reason for the existence of a department dedicated to the expert management of your workforce.<\/p>\n

A neglected source of profitability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Because it rarely deals directly with business development, HR is often perceived as an administrative cost center. Yet, when we consider that the cost of recruiting for a new position in this day and age has been reported to be approximately $3,500<\/a>, wouldn\u2019t it be important for your business\u2019 profitability to ensure that you have the right experts working to minimize these costs?<\/p>\n

And this is only one aspect of HR\u2019s functions within an organization.<\/p>\n

The HR Difference website describes HR\u2019s true purpose as helping \u201cmake effective continues: \u201cHR\u2019s orientation is one of responsiveness to both immediate and long-term business needs, providing both operational excellence and strategic insight.\u201d<\/p>\n

In more specific terms, Human Resources deals with:<\/p>\n