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A recent wall street journal article discussed a number of companies that are experimenting with eliminating their entire human resources (HR) department. Their reason for this action is that they are trying to reduce overhead in the organization and save money. So is this a good idea or not? Let’s see some of the key responsibilities held by the HR department. Government regulations – There are many special state and federal reports that must be generated for any company with fifty or more employees. While the organization can “farm out” these projects to third party consultants, the organization is still responsible if the consultant makes an error. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of any state or federal agency! Administration – Most HR departments are the focal point for the administrative activities for all employees. This includes; insurance problems, vacation credits, reviews, overtime, bonuses, personal leave time, maternity leave, family and medical leave and handling accidents and legal problems. Referee – HR is probably the best “neutral” party to have during any conflict. Whether it is “worker to worker,” “management to management” or “worker to management,” they will know the corporate rules and the state and federal regulations and/or laws. Most staff will go along with the HR decision. Firing – If you have a “problem person”, you really need a HR department if you have someone who is just not working out. In order to reduce the possibility of a law suit, HRneeds to build up the case against the weak performer documenting everything and giving them the chance to turn around the problem. Recruiting – In order to bring in strong performers it is important to have professional recruiters who can meet with the hiring managers and be the front line filter providing only qualified candidates. You don’t want your high end, expensive hiring managers evaluating 100 resumes to find the few that meet the job description. Listening to the grape vine – Most professional HR staff is connected to the corporate grapevine which is essential in the workplace today. The best way to suppress rumors before they start problems is to countermand them early in the process. Summary – The six points above are the primary reason why HR departments will always be needed in corporate America. It would be difficult to divide these responsibilities among other departments and have them efficiently executed. A good HR department is very people oriented and solving people is a specialized and unique area. Jim Stedt is a partner at The Business SoftSkills Company (GetSoftSkillsNow.Com) located in Santa Ana, California. They provide job readiness and workforce success videos for education, business, prisons and individual use. Training is available online, on DVD, or through an affiliate program. These products are the most complete and concise soft skills training packages now available for the price of an average college textbook.
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Human Resources, HR, Eliminate HR,
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