“HR” to be renamed ? Like the old saying “Well what’s in a name?”

Human resources as a function has long been questioned for its direct , tangible impact to businesses across organizations and for decades ..

The shift in “HR” as a business partnering function is more recent and still 90% of the organizations worldwide would still allocate it to be a “process correcting ” function responsible for forms, check-lists, in addition to training and recruitment at its best

A handful of organizations would look at it now as a strategic partnering function with interventions like leadership development and talent management taking the lead, as robust roles that provide immediate impact on the overall Human resources of the organization

If the name of a function has anything to do with impact on ones mindset , then HR wins it hands down

In my humble opinion, “HR” is really a ” productivity and efficiency ” department

In an organization chart, where one has marketing, finance, sales, R&D etc, the inclusion of a “productivity department” is critical

Lets look at it this way.. Every process, every role within “HR” is done with an intent to enhance performance, retain and thus impact overall efficiency of the organization in Toto, however the override of the traditional “HR” has been so grossly misstated, misused and misunderstood and we have no one to blame but ourselves

“HR” has been synonymous to documentation, welcome kits, training calendars ( and I want to stress this) training calendars not training effectiveness, and wait to hear the worst – performance appraisal restricted to form filling

What is in a name ? is what people say . Well for one, ironical as it sounds, our names are our identity regardless of the fact that we did not choose it.

But it is time to rename “HR” not because it is in Vogue and many departments and designations have come anew. But i strongly feel the thought process itself beginning with the youngsters aspiring to join “HR”( because they like interacting with people as they say ) needs to change !!

Perhaps when strategic focus areas are being developed in high level strategy meetings and think tanks , the new ” productivity” division or team will begin to look and reassess at each performance appraisal “format” and talent development in an entirely new perspective.

The perception itself has to change.

As people say, but its only your perception! Sadly perception is reality and we need to perceive and make this difference