We Will Always Need Good Hr

By Author: Simon Parsons
Total Articles: 3
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In the midst of a global recession, HR always appears to be caught in the middle. Several groups of French workers recently imprisoned their HR managers over redundancies, and recent Ceridian research shows that in the UK, decisions are increasingly being taken away from HR. While cost-cutting is necessary, so is good HR, and this is nothing new

If Human Resources departments date back to the 1940s, Human Resources as a concept dates back to the Pharaohs of Egypt. Recent discoveries show that the pyramids were not, in fact, built by slaves, but by skilled workers recruited from all around the country. The workers were paid a regular salary, and were divided into teams according to skill sets. Labour disputes were rare, so we can effectively deduce that the Ancient Egyptians were the first true HR practitioners, harnessing the potential of their people to achieve a common goal.

The first man to speak overtly of the value of Human Resources was Niccolo ...
... Machiavelli, a man to whom modern business leaders often refer. Il Principe (the Prince) reads like a Human Resources handbook. Written in the context of war and internal struggle for power, The Prince is a unique study of leadership and management that transcends its time.

Machiavelli underlined the need for structure, strategic planning and leadership, and went on to develop the first human capital strategies. He even touched on outsourcing as a way of harnessing external expertise.

Human Resources moved from theory into practice during the Industrial Revolution, where the role of the manager was born. Just as HR departments today are managing their organisations through a period of change and transition, the fledgling businesses of the Industrial Revolution were nurturing their people through a period of upheaval.

Good HR was required then just as much as it is today. As people moved from the land to the factories, the very nature of work changed. A labour force was required, and as that labour force grew, managers were required. Rules were required, and the idea of Health & Safety developed alongside increasing workforce disputes over aspects such as safety in the workplace, working hours and pay.

However, it was Robert Owen, a mill owner in Scotland, who first saw the value of ‘Good HR'. By improving working conditions and providing benefits such as regular meal breaks (considered ‘radical' at the time), Owen reaped the benefits in increased motivation and therefore productivity. He left England for the United States, where his approach to Human Resources was better received, and became known as behavioural theory.

The 20th century saw an explosion of analysis and theory, notably through the Human Relations movement, which was a reaction to the cold de-skilling of the Taylorism movement. Studies were carried out that showed a correlation between work environment and productivity, and Max Weber's Theory of Bureaucratic Management is one of the foundations of today's modern organisational hierarchy. Much of Weber's work focuses on the pursuit of profit, but the Second World War shifted the focus back towards the rights of the individual, and the Human Resources department was born.

Good HR was again required in the 1990s, as the workplace developed once more into a post-industrial age. Office work became the norm, and thought leaders spoke of work/life balance, engagement and diversity. Just as organisations during the Industrial Revolution had to cope with the onset of labour disputes, organisations during the 90s had to adapt to a world in which it had to balance the needs of the organisation on one hand, and the protection of the Workforce on the other.

The raft of legislation designed to protect the employee resulted in HR departments becoming effectively administrative, far removed from the movements of the Industrial Revolution and the first half of the 20th century.

Today's modern business needs HR more than ever, and history proves that the management of ‘human resources' goes hand in hand with a common objective. The Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids with skilled, paid workers divided into teams according to skill sets. Niccolo Machiavelli preached Good HR to the Prince in order that he could gain power, while the Industrial Revolution produced leading lights such as Robert Owen, whose practices would later develop into the Human Relations movement.

If businesses are to come through this period of change within the workplace successfully, they must rely upon HR's experience and knowledge. However, it is HR's responsibility to put forward its own business case, and prove their value.

The current trend towards outsourcing of HR services should not be seen in a light of pure cost-cutting, it should be seen as an opportunity for HR teams to move away from the burden of administration, and move back to the value-added strategic thinking of Robert Owen and the Human Relations movement.

We will always need good HR, and this is as good an opportunity as ever for HR professionals to articulate and demonstrate their value.