WARNING WARNING WARNING - This post contains blunt truths that insult those who are typically insulted by truth. If you don't like the truth or have ever uttered the words "perception is my reality" do NOT read further! You have been warned!
I love watching the economic realities of a dying economy crush one of the most damaging aspects to the American economy, and that is HR.
Human Resources in the 1980's-early 2000's, as you all know, was nothing more than a failed experiment in affirmative action to load the employee ranks of corporations with women. When it turned out 22 year old HR reps who had NO CLUE what they were doing when it came to recruiting talented labor (especially in technical fields), they turned their focus instead on employment law and benefits and compensation (where HR does have some genuine merit and I would recommend pursuing a career). Of course, companies lost out on literally two decades of attracting the most qualified labor, but hey, at least we gave two generations of 23 year old HR generalist ditzes a good boost of self-esteem. And that made it worth the billions of dollars in lost efficiency, lower overall employment, lower labor productivity, lower international rankings and lower standards of living for the entire American populous.
But what I find hilarious today, is when you see aging, decrepit HR professionals still trying to advocate keeping HR in the hiring process. Still trying to make it seem like HR is relevant or somehow "vital" to the hiring process. What's even better is reading the comments where they try to self-rationalize their importance to the US economy and labor market. They even threaten you not to bypass HR.
I'm so sorry dearies, but you had your chance. You went on a power trip, proved yourselves to be inept, if not, worse, on a political vendetta to punish perceive political enemies at the expense of the company, and now corporations are relegating you to the legal department. Better swallow some of our own advice and get some of that there never ending "CPE" in benefits and compensation as you futilely pursue one of your own creations - "progressive credentialism!"
Enjoy the decline!
Decline doesn't even begin to describe it!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, dude.
You forget the other bonus to using HR in the process: the more cooks making the broth, the less likely baby boomers can be held individually responsible for their decisions.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zerohedge.com/news/everything-you-need-know-about-europe-three-charts
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zerohedge.com/news/europes-scariest-chart
Meanwhile, in Europe, where we have free education for all, with the obvious credential inflation as a result.
Oh, and no actual economic production.
And a bureaucracy that makes your government sector look productive.
And a central balance sheet just a TAD bigger than yours, who cares that our GDP is less anyways?
Hell, handbasket and all.
Youth unemployment is a good indicator because i theorize that the fact that people being unemployed IN THEIR PRIME PRODUCTIVE YEARS can't be too good for the creation of stuff people need.
That, and our birth rates are great. The chance of a child growing up with both parents too!
We're growing a healthy above-replacement levels population in our feminist utopia that allows us to keep up economic growth. lol.
Enjoy the decline.
EVERY TIME someone wants to hire me as a consultant they say "send ME your resume; DO NOT send it to HR." They get me started and THEN run it through HR as a "done deal." The attitude of the tech people who actually do the work is that HR is their enemy!
ReplyDeletemy wife is the payroll department at her company, they did a housecleaning last year and now HR is also her job, needless to say she knows the joke and doesn't allow the fools to try to make it their job as it really isn't much of a job. Since HR was folded into payroll she has had maybe 4 or 5 hours of HR work done the rest is regular payroll work. A make believe job for people who know how to avoid real work.
ReplyDeleteA guy I knew was a branch manager for a bank. He could never keep a full staff, because all candidates had to go through HR (read: pass a personality test), and 95% of the people they sent him were unsuitable.
ReplyDeleteI've never had someone who wanted me as an employee send me to HR.
ReplyDeleteObama is exactly the crap that HR would choose.
HR: writing ads requiring someone have 5+ years in a technology whose creator only began work 7 years ago and only made it public 3 years. In 1997 I saw ads for "senior java developer, 5+ years of java required" .
ReplyDeleteSun had only started internal work in 1990 and only released it to the public in 1994.
Gotta give HR at a bunch of companies in Boston and Hartford credit for optimism. They just knew people who had worked in long term development at what was then one of the brightest stars in Silicon Valley were just checking newspapers in New England for better jobs.
Or maybe HRbots are just "fill in the words in the template" who can't be bothered to even know if what they are asking for is possible.