Factor Hindering,

 Underestimate HR Department, Many organizations still don’t seem to understand much about
using their HR departments effectively, despite the department’s importance to the organization’s
operations. The trends shows that most organizations hiring in HR are hiring for “generalists”.
Hiring for a generalist makes some sense if the organization doesn’t have enough activity to
justify, say, a HR position specializing only in recruitment, or in employee development and
termination. But at the same time, it’s difficult to imagine an organization hiring primarily
“generalists” in other functional areas such as information systems. Expecting one person to be
able to effectively carry out every HRM process is asking a lot –  and in large or complex
organizations, it’s an unrealistic expectation. But any resulting shortfalls in how HR functions are
carried out are often perceived not as a problem of flawed job design, but as a problem with the
HR department itself.

 The HR profession has been criticized for marginalizing itself. It uses impenetrable jargon;  it
doesn’t always deliver value to organizations, or is unable to demonstrate how its operations
contribute value; and it’s seen as not being able to offer concrete guidance and advice, even in its
own area of expertise. Some commentators have noted that many of the “personnel management”
functions of the past are now automated, through the use of software like PeopleSoft, or can be
outsourced – and they have suggested that the HR profession has really not been able to adapt to
those changes in ways that strongly demonstrate why organizations still need HR departments.