Why are current employees disengaged? Why prospective employees dislike the HR Department?

A closer look and we can clearly see how dehumanised organisations have turned over the years. ‘Layoffs’ or ‘reductions in force’ or ‘rightsising/downsizing’ has turned humans into mere units of production.

The need of the hour is bringing ‘human’ back in the Human Resource rather than closer alignment with soulless management models. Human-centric management principles make bottom-line sense. There is a constant drumbeat for HR department to learn more about the business; equally important is charging HR with teaching the business more about people.

Today HR is merely seen as a compliance office. Paper pushing and filling out spreadsheets doesn't fulfil the department's purpose. If one's organisation is treating HR like a compliance function only they are missing out on the power that is available to them when they hire human beings to work on their team.

HR professionals have expertise in psychology, anthropology and other fields that explore human behaviour hence they can be powerful catalysts to change organisational culture. Their job is to talk and act to make the organisation an amazing, vibrant, human place to work.

HR must be trusted by the top management. It cannot be seen as a smiley front face of a cold corporate machine which brings in candidates. If one's HR department is not hands-on, it's not really an HR department at all. As consultants, educators and coaches HR should help the organisation understand and demonstrate how treating employees as human beings and not as units of production can result in tremendous value addition for the company, customers and all the stakeholders.

The future is fast approaching, and a ‘New era of digital innovation and disruption’ is here at our doorstep. HR Department should not rely strictly on a machine. Computers only do the exact. They don't do subtlety. One should never forget that we are dealing with human capital. If you rely strictly on a machine you'll miss out on the amazing pool of talent out there in the industry.

Organisations want a streamlined process. They want to streamline applications through and everything is about streamlining and improving efficiency by reducing time & efforts. Technology is great at that, but hiring is about people, and they have stories to tell. A computer is never going to be able to explain how a person solved a problem. One has to actually speak to the candidates and find out their stories.

Remember, systems don't recruit, they reject. The entire purpose of a keyword search is not to turn up the best candidates but to eliminate as many candidates as possible. In reality, it's about building relationships. It's not just about finding the person with the right keywords, it's about finding someone who is a good fit for the organisation, and a good asset for future.

"This is not a world of robots where everything is the same". If it were, technology is an effective way to go. Companies often make the mistake of recruiting for the next person by looking to make a copy of the last person who held the position. People aren't interchangeable, so don't try to just focus on what the last person did. Focus on what will make your business better in the future, instead of what was done in the past.

In most organisations, candidates go through the never ending interview process and it takes forever to get a real response back from HR. Maintaining an aloof communication style shows a lack of respect for the applicant’s time, which could leave a pretty bad taste in their mouths that will make them less interested in joining the organisation. Use of ATS system to send out an email and let them know if you’ll need a few weeks to get back to them. Then contact them when you say you will.

You have a group of talented applicants that don’t get chosen for the job? Send your condolences is the right way! Use your ATS system to send them a nice email letting them know they weren’t chosen. Thank them for applying and tell them there may be more positions opening where they might be a good fit.

Let’s work together to bring ‘Human’ back in Human resource.

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About the Author:

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Samriddhi Sahu

Bring Back The 'Human' To Human Resource