A weakness could be the owners of their in company.

When HR enters into a company where it hadn't been before, it's usually because they have
realized there is huge risk and liability that has left them wide open for lawsuits that they
can't keep paying out and the insurance companies will no longer cover unless they aquire a
Human Resources Department.

This being said, many owners of businesses that have been forced to bring on board HR are
reluctant to abide by the new policies and procedures that come along with it.

Ex. When I informed the owners of a company in California they were required to give their
employees a 10 min break every 4 hours of work, they saw it as a hit in the production line. I
was told I was interfering with their bottom line because they already gave them a 20 min
break in the morning. I had to present it to them by telling them how much they can lose if
they didn't.

Every step of the way was a struggle to get the owners approval. They ended up resenting
HR and turned out to be their in worse enemy.

Common HR Weaknesses

Ignore the “Finance Part”

A survey of over 400 senior-level HR and finance executives found that the collaboration
between finance and HR is nowhere near where it should be to benefit most organizations.
The results found that when it came to ACA compliance, a serious concern for both
departments, 33% of financial leaders expect HR to go over budget. The survey results point
to negative views of the HR department’s work in regards to budget and finance as a whole,
signaling discord that goes deeper than regulatory concerns.

This goes back to the old idea of HR or “personnel” as a cost center rather than a revenue-
producing part of the business. While this is technically true, as our economy shifts more
and more to digital and intellectual work, talent is truly the differentiator. Just as the
perception of HR as a money pit needs to die off, average HR Leaders would do well to
understand how their work impacts the bottom line.

For HR, it is important to understand how financial data and analytics should influence
hiring and management decisions. Yes, you have to spend money to produce productive
employees, but the efficiency of funds is key for both the health of the business and the
satisfaction of workers.

“While finance views HR as an unnecessary cost, HR thinks finance is out to squeeze every
penny they can find. Bottom line is both departments function as gears powering a larger
machine. Individually each department provides services to the company, many of which
overlap. When HR and finance function cooperatively the company moves into a new era
of efficiency, production, customer satisfaction and most importantly, profit.”
-Christine Sauter, HR Project Officer at StarkHR

No Strategic Foundation

HR has garnered a reputation for being a bit slow to adopt new processes and, in turn, slow
to get tasks completed. However, HR is absolutely a strategic function. For example, there’s
a discussion around how to better hire talent or manage top performers, but how those
strategies relate to overall business strategy sometimes goes unconnected. So much so that
the department is often criticized for a general lack of business acumen. Agree or disagree,
any HR function can benefit from more collaboration with their organization’s operations
teams.

Incorporation of HR data and analytics is also an important step in connecting HR to the

company’s strategic direction. Data informs better strategy within HR but also speaks a
more common language throughout departments, especially operations.

As HR and people management becomes even more central to a company’s success, they
need to look at their various responsibilities through a strategic lens. While the Talent
Acquisition portion of the HR function has started to do this, in order to be great, HR
Leaders should step in and see where they can apply years of expertise, learning, and
planning to the business.

This is especially important as HR Leaders are very often those in charge of change
management, whether it’s educating employees on new company goals, rolling out a new
health plan, or adding an additional rule or policy to the employee handbook. By applying a
strategic mindset to their role, HR Leaders can explain more about the why of a new policy
or procedure or plan.

When #HR and finance cooperate, companies are efficient, productive, satisfy customers,
and profit. Let @ClearCompany show you how. #management

Easing that disconnect and simplifying data collection is exactly what propelled
ClearCompany’s talent management suite growth. Not only does our platform help ease the
administrative burden, but each module from onboarding to performance management also
helps increase transparency. Every HR solution is powered by a core Talent Operating
System that uses the company mission, competencies and goals to engage employees of
every level and tenure, including executives.

Less Customer-Focused

The plain fact is, HR professionals have two main audiences to please, the employer and the
employees. At times, trying to please them both is very difficult. Sometimes, HR gets the
reputation of not caring as much about customers (for those counting, that’s a third
audience to please). It’s no wonder that HR sometimes comes across as being very internally
focused, rather than extrapolating their responsibilities out to the core offering of the
business. But to be a great HR Leader this must be part of the equation.
Another disconnect occurs between internal practices and external results. For example, HR
KPIs often revolve around hiring and managing metrics like time to hire, retention, and
productivity. The techniques deployed to focus on how those metrics can be positively
influenced by technology and better internal practices. Sometimes they even result in
employee standards that look great on reports but leave a little to be desired among external
audiences—think: customers. Though HR leaders are seeing employees with productivity,
they aren’t necessarily considering the needs of the customer or client who is directly
affected by the internal adjustments.

A better understanding of the external environment is critical in seeing business success.

Those who don’t work in HR should take the time to realize that this team is almost entirely
internally focused and is less exposed to the external reputation than other departments.
This is improving as more and more HR departments learn about employer brand and
how customers are candidates, and vice versa.

Great HR leaders are not born, they are made from years of practice, training, and
dedication. Without the strengths of the HR department, organizations would suffer,
meanwhile the weaknesses present issues to all as well. Whether you are an HR professional
or an organizational executive, grasping the strengths and weaknesses of HR can help you
understand some of the challenges your company will need to overcome together.

If you need a little more guidance on how to better your hiring and managing processes,
visit our HR and recruiting resources page and download on of our many free white papers,
ebooks, and printables to help your HR department become more strategic.

Want more? Take a moment to browse our Talent Success University, a collection of free
HR and recruiting curriculum focused on attracting, motivating and retaining A players

QUESTION --- What are the weaknesses of Human Resource Management?

ANSWER -- HR personnel provide valuable services for companies of all sizes. At first
glance, it appears the interactive work HR people do is not all that difficult. In fact, it is!

CHALLENGING WORK --- HR work can be challenging because exceptional results require
excellent judgment. And that's it, plain and simple. Therein lies a built-in weakness in HR
Management. Often, HR personnel don't have the TIME to dig for all the relevant facts that
can help them make well-informed judgments.

WHO KNOWS JOE A. NEWBIE? --- The weakness is built in whenever an HR employee
knows little or nothing about Joe. All sorts of tests may help, as do interviews. But HR never
REALLY knows Joe until he's been with the company awhile. (And sometimes a turkey gets
hired!)

TIME TESTED EMPLOYEES --- Fortunately, it's a lot easier with an existing employee
whose performance is well-proven. For example, early in my career I was hired by a major
company in its industry Following a long, intense training program, I was promoted to work
in a large city in one of the mid Atlantic States. After six months of OJT under a fine trainer,
I was promoted to my dream position in a nearby city.
AN ITCH TO SCRATCH — Three years later I got the itch to teach; asked my supervisor if
he thought I'd be accepted to teach in the home office; he put in a phone call to HR and the
rest is history. Magic happened!

BEING KNOWN HELPS --- After a year teaching, the HR VP called me into his office with
an offer to work in a major city in the Central States area. It all happened one, two, three /
bing, bang, boom! Why? Because I was known. It was easy for HR 'cuz they knew three
supervisors in three different cities over five years who could say, "He's OK" --- the most
recent being in the home office where I taught during my fifth year. So it was easy all
around.

THE HARD PART --- I didn't relate that story to toot my horn. I related it to illustrate a
point: HR can't hire someone brand new to the company and know them as well as they
knew me. That's a built-in weakness.

TIME CAN BE A FACTOR --- A second built-in weakness is based on insufficient time to
thoroughly evaluate a large number of candidates to fill high-demand positions.

RULES & REGS --- A third built-in weakness is due to the demands of "compliance" (rules
& regs) combined with restrictions on creativity. According to Tim Sackett, an HR executive
with TLNT, "Focusing on compliance will never allow strategic (big picture) innovative
thinking."

A TREMENDOUS RESOURCE --- Two words are important to understand for ANY type of
work. They are Strategic and Tactical. Do your career a BIG favor by ordering Bill
Birnbaum's book, "Strategic Thinking." Whether your're self-employed; climbing the
workplace ladder; CEO; or a WannaBe CEO, buy that book! Tremendous!

Answer submitted by Robert L. ("Bob") Coyle, Founder, Owner and CEO, Common Sense
Money(R), Teaching a Nation to Save(TM) through Money Stress Reduction Seminars(TM)
held at Colleges, Worksites and Places of Worship using Integrated Cash Flow Management
Based Life Planning(TM), Patent No. 7,571,125

The following were also reported as weaknesses: employee motivation, time,

finance, experience, management skills, overloading of employees, social policy and
seasonality.