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Note: This article was originally published on Medium and LinkedIn, and is being reposted with permission from the author.  

As Jim VandeHei, co-founder and CEO of Axios, highlighted in his piece on “The Stark New Reality for American CEOs,” the pandemic (coupled with the culmination of on-going, unresolved human crises) has turned the world on its head and ignited a new reality. With that comes the potential for a momentous shift in the way we work. In today’s #cancelculture climate, companies can no longer ignore the bottom-up revolution on the horizon, lest they suffer public and private backlash in the form of boycotts, branding challenges, and an inability to attract and retain top talent — the risks are just far too great. 

While CEOs learn to adjust and adapt to this new normal, there is a tremendous opportunity for HR to go beyond having a seat at the table to actually leading businesses through this time of global uncertainty and civil unrest. 

But before we can establish ourselves as an effective resource for workers and businesses alike, we, as an HR profession, must first acknowledge that, by and large, our current models of HR have not adequately met the expectations nor needs of companies or employees. Given HR’s roots in mitigating risk and maintaining compliance, there is much work to be done in order to rethink the future of HR. This work begins with an openness for change and a willingness to challenge and hold ourselves and one another accountable. 

Our current models of HR have not adequately met the expectations nor needs of companies or employees. Share on X

To start, let’s discuss HR’s archaic role as Policy Enforcement Officers. 

Historically, HR has been tasked with the role of rule enforcement and compliance regulation. In turn, HR’s focus has been on pushing policies and upholding process over people, which has led to a rather reductive and detached perception of HR as a whole. 

In many organizations today, HR has become a centralized hub for control and discipline in the eyes of leadership and has been relegated to fulfilling only the most basic administrative and transactional employee needs. The leaders of these companies expect HR to capitalize on their workforce and maximize productivity without taking the time or energy to invest in those (human) resources beyond what is required by law. They expect HR to do the impossible, failing to recognize you can’t give people the bare minimum and then expect them to give you their all — in essence, if you don’t show up for your employees, how can you expect them to show up for you? 

Whether out of necessity or due to the comfort found in familiarity and what feels safe, HR as an industry has been holding far too firmly to rules and structures. Even worse, many of us have become more concerned about obeying the letter of the law (as it suits the company and protects it against liability) than about remembering and upholding the spirit of the laws (intended to protect the people). 

By allowing ourselves to be reduced to solely serving corporate interests and carrying out policies created by those who don’t speak the language of the people or understand their needs, we’ve become ineffective tools for workforce management in the eyes of those who should be our peers at the leadership table. Our business credibility is lost, and we become merely a convenient scapegoat for managers and leadership to blame as they see fit. (We’ve all seen it happen. Exhibit A: An underperforming employee asks their manager about getting an increase; rather than setting clear expectations and having a candid conversation with the employee about their under-performance, the manager says “Sorry, HR said ‘no.’ My hands are tied!”) 

Even worse, our desire to appease C-Suite leaders (who rarely ever view HR as an equal and effective leader) has also turned us into villains to those for whom we have a duty of care, weaponizing the very policies put in place to protect them — frankly, we’ve taken on a perturbing role not all that dissimilar to those in other rule enforcement agencies, but I digress…The point is the current established models and standards for HR have failed us. 

We are weaponizing the very policies put in place to protect people— frankly, we’ve taken on a role not all that dissimilar to those in other rule enforcement agencies. Share on X

REALITY CHECK: HR was never set up to succeed and thrive. 

The system and structure HR so direly strives to uphold? It’s betrayed us too. 

HR has been tasked with the near-impossible feat of bridging gaps where giant power chasms exist, to serve as protector of both the company as well as its employees. HR is expected to be an “impartial” party, and yet our dynamic within the companies we serve is rife with power struggles, conflicts of interest, opposing incentive structures, and a lack of parity of power among those with seats at the leadership table. This dangerous discordant dichotomy has cultivated cultures of fear for HR practitioners everywhere — constraining us to remain rigid and restrictive instead of adaptable and boundless in potential. 

This broken system with its imbalance of power has left us without even the most basic of tools by which to successfully serve both businesses and employees — without any space to speak freely or any power to influence change. This system has stripped us of the psychological safety needed to establish ourselves as strategic partners whom businesses can leverage to achieve limitless results. 

Compounding the existing conundrum is the fact that HR’s failure to solve for this impossible problem we’ve been given has led to a lack of HR credibility across organizations (and society at large), making it even more difficult to make meaningful progress. Fairly or not, the fault for our inability to find balance within this delicate disjunction is pinned solely on our shoulders as our burden to bear and our problem to fix. Thankfully, the power to shift this paradigm also exists within us. 

To build credibility at the executive level, HR must demonstrate business acumen by taking the time to deeply understand the business, its industry, and the competitive landscape in which the company operates. Through speaking the language of business outcomes, HR can provide the necessary data to support business cases for further investment in people and their growth/development. By driving business results through thoughtful people strategies, HR gains an equitable seat at the leadership table with equal power and say — like the CFO establishes their worth by protecting and growing the company’s financial assets, the CHRO demonstrates their value by protecting and growing its people assets. 

But HR needs to move beyond just serving the business, prioritizing management’s interests, and protecting their bottom line. For far too long, we’ve neglected our duty of care to employees. Now is the time for HR to center its focus on establishing trust with employees. 

HR needs to move beyond just serving the business, prioritizing management’s interests, and protecting their bottom line. For far too long, we’ve neglected our duty of care to employees. Share on X

If HR is to be a true ‘neutral’ partner, we must be objective and fair mediators who strive for win-win outcomes. To do this, we must start by taking the time to get to know and understand our key stakeholders (employees) — their reality, their needs, and their struggles. We must show employees what good HR can do by holding leaders accountable for good leadership and ensuring employees at all levels are respected and valued. 

HR needs to be empowered to truly drive this change (i.e. having the power and influence to hold others accountable for leading and cultivating employee engagement); and leaders need to stop giving bad actors (those who exhibit discriminatory and harassing behavior) a pass for being ‘high performers.’

At the same time, we as HR professionals, also need to stop holding one another back. Candid and open dialogue about challenges and past indiscretions is necessary for progress. Instead of focusing on our personal feelings of guilt and blame, we need to channel that mix of emotions into finding effective ways to remove the blockers that stop us from shining through as the experts we are. Instead of ‘should’ing ourselves and one another, let us support each other in our respective journeys in learning, growth, and betterment. 

The Need for a Mindset Shift in HR 

In not speaking up, HR has remained silent and complicit in maintaining inequitable social structures; and we have inflicted harm by neglecting the very spirit of the laws that inform the policies and procedures we enforce. 

In not speaking up, HR has remained silent and complicit in maintaining inequitable social structures; and we have inflicted harm Share on X

How did this happen? Look no further than the demographic make-up of those in the field of HR. As Katie Augsburger, Founding Partner and Employee Experience Strategist for Future Work Design, points out in her open letter :“DEAR WHITE HR LADIES, WE NEED TO TALK: HOW A HOMOGENOUS PROFESSION HAS SHAPED OUR WORKPLACES, AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO ABOUT IT,” it’s no secret the “HR profession is predominantly white and overwhelmingly female.” This homogenous make-up has led to an alarming lack of diversity of experience and diversity of thought, which has inhibited our progress as a profession. The homogeneity within HR has “[set] the tone, feel, and direction of not only the profession but the organizations [we serve].” 

The HR profession is predominantly white and overwhelmingly female. This has led to an alarming lack of diversity of experience and thought, and inhibited our progress as a profession. Share on X

We as a profession are guilty of complicity in maintaining inequitable social structures through failure to recognize the systemic impact of individual biases. This has been shaped by a distinct lack of diversity and representation — too many people who have had the same experiences and think/act the same way, or who are too afraid or insecure to introduce new perspectives and approaches to the same issues. Our over-reliance on tradition, policy, and procedure created by those who have had the privilege of being in the dominant group, has undoubtedly resulted in astronomical adverse impact when it comes to marginalized and underrepresented populations. 

Our over-reliance on tradition, policy, and procedure created by those who have had the privilege of being in the dominant group, has resulted in astronomical adverse impact. Share on X

When we fail to acknowledge the existence of privilege afforded merely based on dominant group characteristics, we fail to acknowledge the reality experienced by those in non-dominant groups. Privileged experiences (gone unrecognized as such) have led to detrimental blind spots that innocuously limit access and opportunity when the privileged are the arbitrators helping inform decisions about raises, promotions, disciplinary measures, and terminations. 

For employees, the consequences are disillusion, lost jobs, and stagnated careers. For companies, the consequences are lack of innovation due to environments in which no one feels safe to challenge the status quo, decreased productivity due to lack of engagement, and workers operating below maximum efficiency because they are not set up for success or matched with jobs that best suit their motivations and capabilities. 

The fix? As Katie suggests: Moving forward, let’s create policies and practices that intentionally address the needs of our most marginalized employees to foster truly inclusive cultures. And let’s recognize we have the potential to be a trusted resource for employees as well as a practical, strategic resource for organizations — “the choice is not binary.” 

Let’s create policies and practices that intentionally address the needs of our most marginalized employees to foster truly inclusive cultures. Share on X

HR’s history and over-reliance on structure have also contributed to a lack of agility and adaptability. (For example, employees have been pleading for remote work flexibility for many years; yet it took a pandemic to actually drive a shift in work-from-home policies and how companies evaluate worker productivity.) To adapt to the fast-paced world around us, HR must move away from acting as bureaucratic blockers and instead act as effective facilitators and organizational value-adds. To do this, HR needs new skill sets to advocate for itself and the workforce, and to help shape the future of work. 

HR must move away from acting as bureaucratic blockers and instead act as effective facilitators and organizational value-adds. To do this, HR needs new skill sets to advocate for itself and the workforce. Share on X

First, we must learn to embrace change (whether it be technological modernization or evolving management paradigms and values) in order to stay ahead and remain a strategic partner vs a reluctant reactive band-aid. In doing so, HR has the opportunity to take center-stage as the Human Epicenter of Organizations, where HR drives value as the key connector of all functions and departments and as the bridge between employees and management. By leveraging our collective talents in leading with empathy, our understanding of different perspectives of human behavior, and our expansive expertise in talent productivity dynamics, we serve as an integral partner in identifying people solutions for both short-term and long-term business strategies, and as a guiding force in organizational change with an eye on the bigger picture. 

Through learning to adopt a growth mindset and embrace the uncomfortable and the unknown, HR has the potential to increase the capabilities of the entire organization and act as a leading driver of innovation and enabler of evolution. Through adopting an agile HR framework, HR gains new-found flexibility in being able to adjust and adapt with ease. 

Gone are the days of constricting one-size-fits-all models of HR that are likely out-dated and/or irrelevant. Say hello to the new path forward where HR plays a key role in anticipating change and developing future-focused strategies that will set our organizations apart as industry leaders. Gone, too, are the days where HR serves as company watchdogs and silent or unwitting perpetrators of systemic racism (all while giving lip-service to performative Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts). It’s time to embrace a new model where HR stands for the people and their rights — championing justice and equity and promoting human rights at work. 

Gone are the days where HR serves as company watchdogs and silent or unwitting perpetrators of systemic racism (all while giving lip-service to performative DEI efforts). Share on X

Let’s start by eliminating the tacit “rule” that expects people to leave their personal lives out of the workplace. We need to stop touting how much we foster belonging and embrace authenticity in the workplace while failing to acknowledge (without judgment) that what happens outside of work is inextricably linked to how we all show up at work. Let’s recognize that if we want employees to care about business concerns (i.e. deliverables and objectives), then we (as representatives of the business) must do the work and take action to care for them first. 

Now is the time for HR practitioners to recognize the potential value of our work and the power of our influence —we have the potential to be the profession that shapes the future of work, but in order to do so, we must be willing to act boldly and take a stand, to push boundaries and challenge leadership, and courageously use our collective voice and act as champions of change and evolution. We need fearless leaders who are willing to break the rules of our broken system, “to make some noise and [to] get in [some] good trouble, necessary trouble.” (And what a better way to honor the legacy of the late John Lewis.) 

we must be willing to act boldly and take a stand, to push boundaries and challenge leadership, and courageously use our collective voice and act as champions of change and evolution. We need fearless leaders who are willing to… Share on X

Find the original post on Medium here.