By Ken Keis, President and CEO of CRG - Consulting Resource Group International, Inc.

Rodney Dangerfield may have said it best: “I get no respect.”
He could have been HR’s poster boy. Why is it that HR continues
to get no respect or lacks credibility? The results of recent
studies on employee attitudes about their workplaces indicate
HR isn’t engaging employees. Where HR departments are
truly successful, the majority of employees are not only passionate about what they do, their roles and responsibilities
reflect the best use of their gifts, talents and abilities.
But recent surveys indicate HR has a failing grade in
achieving these results. A Watson Wyatt survey of
3,000 Canadians, released last month, reports 46 per cent of
people would leave their employers if offered comparable
work elsewhere. Only 43 per cent consider their organization
a good place to work, an alarming drop of 12 per cent
since Watson Wyatt conducted the survey two years ago. (See
Page 3 of this issue for more on the Watson Wyatt findings.)
In a recent study conducted by the Society of Human Resource
Management in the United States, 75 per cent of
current employees said they are looking for a new job. For
executives, the number jumps to 82 per cent.
A CTV/Ipos-Reed Poll discovered that more than one third
of Canadians hate —yes, hate — their jobs and fewer
than 10 per cent are passionate about their roles and responsibilities.
When 80 per cent of employees dislike what they do —
from mild irritation to loathing — what does that say about the
success of HR systems and processes? Only in baseball
can you fail 80 per cent of the time and still have a job.
Sometimes the problem may be a reluctance to face the fact
the job and the person just don’t fit together.
Just last week, in an open meeting with my own team, I
made this statement: “Unless you enjoy and love working
here and feel we are tapping into your gifts and talents, I
don’t want you working here. Let’s find you another place
where you can be passionate about what you do.”
Some might think this is heartless but, actually, it is the
opposite. Why subject an employee to any level of misery
when you can help her find more enjoyment elsewhere?
Every business day, firms are paying individuals who
simply go through the motions to collect paychecks.
Accountability for both success and failure in engaging
staff must lie with HR. If not, why bother with an HR department?
Let’s just go with a personnel and payroll department
and forget HR. Many HR professionals get
caught up playing “not to lose” rather than playing “to win.”
They wonder why they are not respected by their peers and
by those even farther up the food chain. Show me a work
environment where individuals are not only good at what
they do but who actually enjoy what they do, and there’ll likely be a well-respected HR department.
The opposite is also true. What to do about a lack of
respect if you are an HR professional? The answer is to fulfill
the primary role and responsibility of human resources
management — to maximize the productivity of human capital.
What methods are you using to determine HR results?
Traditional methods of measurement, like cost per employee
or grievances, will get traditional results. We’ve all heard
that the definition of insanity is to continue to the same things over and over while expecting different results. Getting nontraditional results will require a new mindset, culture and approach to HR management. It means bringing the best out in
employees, and measuring their engagement. Do you know whether 80 per cent of your employees are looking for a new job? Even if you had half your staff enjoying their work and using their gifts and talents, that is a 100-percent improvement over the
norm. No one is suggesting that the HR task ahead is easy. Remember: respect must be earned. If you love what you do
and have the necessary gifts, talents and abilities, you’ll enjoy the journey of achieving great HR results.