I believe that organizations often find it far easier to allocate additional resources towards the departments that they see as successful/beneficial to making a profit. Often times HR is seen as the one department that is simply there because they have to be there, and many don’t see how much of a role it plays in making/selling a good. Thus, they choose to sink money into the departments like R&D, marketing, and others who bring the organization a profit in the long run and have something to show for their efforts each time.
These organizations often don’t pay attention to the people within them and what they truly are bringing to the operations, without this focus often times the true skills and contribution and employee could be bringing to the job get overlooked and passed by, ultimately leading to more money spent or more money being dumped into these apartments to fuel that success.
Companies want to see the success that comes from their money, but often do not like to dig deep enough to find the root of that success in the people who work for them, and so they choose to push money into departments they believe are bringing them the profit and ignore recruitment and selection as to them, that is simply an endless void taking and “wasting money” with no quick/visible return.
Organizations that choose to shift funds away from recruitment and selection most likely do see some boost in their overall output of product or materials, as with the additional funds they are able to increase their capacities, buy new equipment and machinery and invest those funds into newer or improved methods of production, marketing, or research. However even with these improvements these departments will lack the proper individuals trained or experienced with such machinery or technology, spending more money on recruitment can allow organizations to properly bring in people who are specialized within a specific field, or experienced and trained in how to use a certain machine, or execute processes like Six Sigma, etc.
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Add Yours →I think that this is a good dividing point between more conservative “old school” manufacturing companies versus newer technology companies. Many tech companies value personnel more than the factories that I started my career in in the Midwest. When I moved to California, I sensed a definitive shift in the strategy in using personnel. There seemed to be a larger emphasis on valuing the individual and their contributions to the organization where in the Midwest, there was an emphasis on the work and the individual was always replaceable.
You make a good point about R&D. I agree that companies often prioritize seeing returns on their investments, but HR is an area that tends to be overlooked and doesn’t get the resources it needs. I personally have seen this in some companies I have worked for. Investing in areas like recruitment and selection could lead to better fits and longer retention rates. Investments in compensation and job design would be more beneficial, as they help attract high-performing employees and ensure clarity about job expectations.
First off, great blog post! I have yet to master this site but the addition of the picture is the cherry on top.
Before this topic discussion, when I first thought of HR I thought of salary, benefits. and HR cases involving the unions. Thus, I agreed with your statement that many people believe HR is there because it needs to be there.
However, I believe that I have this assumption because many places that I worked for separate their HR from their recruitment and retention efforts. I believe that having the separation will allow the companies to dig deep and find the root of the success of the people who work for them.
I also think that this separation very much so depends on the type of business that you work for. My profession does not have R&D (that is a whole other profession in itself), so the hospitals are able to invest in HR (salary, benefits, open cases) and recruitment and retention as separate departments. I am very much siloed into the pharmacy department so for all I know, our recruitment and retention rep actually works for HR.