Several years ago I was at Henley Management College at a seminar by Professor Belbin. He was discussing that some work in organisations that is carried out, is a waste of time. He asked the audience:

"What work is carried out in your companies that is a waste of time?".

One of the delegates answered "HR".

It got a laugh in the audience ..... but it wasn't funny, as many people unfotunately do think that.

Why is that? Many people think that the HR department is seen as somewhere to go for grievances, dismissals & redundancies. THIS IS NOT HR - it's Employee Relations and a small part of the role of HR. Also good Employee Relations people will be pro-active and not just react to the line.

Good HR encompasses Culture, Structure, Organisation Development, Recruitment, Training, Development, Communications, Performance Management, Reward, Recognition and Employee Relations.

As good HR is not common, the word HR is tainted, I am a fan of thinking PEOPLE. How can you help people in your organisation be great? The role of the People (HR) team is to help the line managers be great (but not to do their job for them). This encompasses all the areas above. For example people can't be great if the structure is wrong, if they are not properly trained or if they are not recognised for what they have achieved. The list goes on....

So, for me, HR is ensuring that the people in your organisation have a chance to be great.