Only Two Types Of Role In The Workplace Create Any Distinct Value, Are You Employed In One Of Them?

A wee while ago I posted the question asked in the title above to a few HR, OD & Change Management LinkedIn Group forums.

I think it’s a pretty straightforward one, but also in its way a tad divisive peut etre? But what’s the value in asking something that isn’t going to make people stop and think, or simply just give an anodyne or vanilla response.

Anyway, it was taken by some as both an immediate and direct challenge not only to the work they do, but to the value they placed on that work and how they felt about themselves.

In reality, the question wasn’t so bald and was prefaced with a wraparound which was the same for each group where I posted it, and this wraparound went as follows:

“Whatever your precise role you are in fact employed to do one of four things: Either Maintain, Intervene, Continuously Improve or Manage Change. Whilst it is perhaps no surprise that only in the latter two will the employee actually begin to add any real value to their organisation. Do you agree?”

The responses across the various Groups and the Discussion Threads which subsequently developed were all rather telling, both in the temperature of feelings raised and the direction of travel then set as arguments unfolded.

Organisational Development Consultants, Change Practioners & Interim Managers et al, each took it pretty much at face value and argued either for or against with equal robustness. Many recognized that if not the ‘Hidden Hand’ of Hegel behind the question, then most certainly there was a strong whiff of Sulphur and ‘Systems Thinking’, &, some even recognized specifically the hand of John Sneddon.

Most interesting for myself though was in the groups where the question met with both the greatest resistance and almost an overwhelming resignation.

These Groups mainly consisted of HR Practioners and it was in these fora were the majority viewed it as a direct challenge to their profession. The question was certainly not posted with HR and its’ role more in mind then any other key profession.

In fact its genesis lay in my earlier work and discussions around the ‘Thinking Performer’ or ‘Strategic Activist’ concept. Which put simply, argues that if more employees (from whatever disciplines and in whatever functions) were empowered, enabled & supported to acquire, adopt, develop or model the behaviours and traits characteristic of a ‘Thinking Performer’, then superb performing individuals, organisations, teams and businesses would become the constant and the Norm!

Job done then you might think, but no!

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) identified in some examination scripts around the same time as the question was originally posted, that HR professionals were not at all comfortable with this ‘Thinking Performer’ stuff.

Indeed, reactions ranged from, “It would not be achievable in my organisation”, to “People are expected to do as they are told”, and beyond to “All the Thinking (sic) in my organisation is done at Board level”.

A level of sentiment similar to this was also mirrored in some of the HR-led on-line responses to our LinkedIn question.

For instance one respondent said that the HR function was only there to do, “Routine things consistently (&) take the pressure and distraction off line managers” i.e. HR was a very much subservient and predominately administrative role.

Another strongly held view expressed several times was that any strategic role must be, “Secondary for a vast majority of people in HR”!

There were counter views though from some HR colleagues with one saying that all business functions (Marketing, Finance, Legal et al) have their administrative requirements which underpin what is done, & then asked the very reasonable question whether those Professionals, “Big-up what great administrators they are?”.

Absolutely not, of course!

It was further argued that the strategic case for HR — the role it can play beyond process-led and transactional activity, together with the value-added contributions it can make to supporting and enabling organisational transformation and change, had historically been written out of the Script.

I well remember the introduction of Investors In people (IIP) into the public sector in the early 1990s when it was then Championed as an initiative which HR could take, make its own and use to demonstrate its wider value to the delivery of core business and organsiational aims.

It was widely regarded as HR’s opportunity to make and take to contribute to influencing the strategic direction of the organisation or business.

It was felt by some — & I include myself in that group as I led the early negotiations on behalf of Local Government — that IIP could be used to help make and galvanise HR’s case to be ipso facto at the ‘Top Table’ & right at the strategic heart of the business; shaping priorities and driving forward the delivery of key objectives and targets through a well trained and well informed workforce.

In practice however, it become just another opportunity missed and at the end of the day, has HR’s collective ambition for itself ever been more than just generating paperwork, sending out seemingly pointless memos about equality & diversity, together with reminders to complete quarterly appraisals and reviews. Actions which in the opinion of many of their co-workers serve merely to justify HRs existence?

Unfair? Perhaps?

Yes Perhaps, but these views are very real, extremely current & it would appear, commonly held. Each was in fact drawn from a Guardian on-line article at the time. This started as a question about working hours and quickly turned into a free-for-all regarding the standing of the HR profession.

I genuinely believe however that in spite of these comments, there is a very real strategic ambition at work across the profession, albeit thwarted.

An increasing number of ‘Thinking Performers’ are taking up key HR positions and modeling the way & these very people are also applying themselves to looking ahead and thinking about what HR2025 might and can look like!

Whether a critical mass has yet been reached, &/or, when this will be achieved however remains to be seen.

Nonetheless I am always the pragmatist and believe in pragmatic means to arrive at the goal, which must be to to support the HR profession in realising its full potential and value, &, challenging head-on the perception and assumption that it is a weak link in a company and all rather pointless beyond the necessary routine and mundane.

So, here are some very practical suggestions of what I think all HR Practioners can do to turn the tide:

- Stand back, Smell the Coffee, & Reduce both the paperwork & the initiatives: How relevant, How necessary are all the forms and the initiatives you have in place? We Say, Systematically Review — Adopt the Form follows Function approach and take every opportunity to de-clutter by asking of every Form, ‘What’s the purpose, How well is it understood by employees and How is it going to be used afterwards?’ And for each initiative similarly ask, ‘What corporate and strategic value does it add, What are the People & Performance benefits & What will be the impact on the Bottom Line?’

- Be Visible, Be Active, Be Bold & Be Authentic: Let’s start with a simple question, why did you first enter the HR profession? To deal with People, probably? To Solve Problems, perhaps? It very probably though wasn’t the paperwork that attracted you, or the chance to create processes and write policies. You wanted to provide solutions, facilitate and tackle problems and barriers didn’t you? So start interacting — getting out and about and talking to People, &, more importantly start listening. Stop seeing the workforce as a problem — Flip your mindset, they are in fact part of any solution. Rediscover your original passion and purpose & reconnect with the Authentic you;

- Manage every opportunity to manage influence: Be your own PR machine & own the ‘Good News’! In a recent Blog I also identified the ’10 Things Which Effective Leaders Do To Influence’ as part of a series of Blogs on Leadership Styles; So, become a Leader & use your influence — Arouse in the organization an ‘Eager Want’ for what you do; Dramatise your ideas and throw down a challenge to others to become involved; Appeal to nobler motives, try to see things from the point of view of the line manager or employee, rather than being constrained by policies, processes and compliance; &

- Start saying Yes, Yes, Yes: This one is rather important in fact because language is a very powerful tool; Be positive & Stop focusing on the Cost and start focusing on Value — Times are undeniably hard, but look for the value you can get from the people and the budgets you do have Think creatively! Also just Stop saying ‘No’; & don’t forget the importance of dealing with people face-to-face, rather then by email so you can ensure you control the message; & finally

- Look for every opportunity to Act and make your Organisation or Business better: That’s your core value, so make that your Key Role; This should be your raison d’être, so what characteristics and behaviours do you need to model? Be that ‘Thinking Performer’, that Agent of Change, that Real Change Leader! And if you can’t be, are you really what the HR profession needs for now and the future!

Thank you for reading and if you want to comment it would be great to hear from you.

Paul Mudd is the author of ‘Uncovering Mindfulness: In Search Of A Life More Meaningful’ available on Amazon and www.bookboon.com; the ‘Coffee & A Cup of Mindfulness’ and the ‘Mindful Hacks For Mindful Living & Mindful Working’ series. He is also a Contributing Author to The Huffington Post and a Contributing Writer to Thrive Global. Through The Mudd Partnership he works with business leaders, organisations and individuals in support of change and transformation, leadership excellence, business growth, organistional and individual wellbeing and well doing, and introducing Mindfulness in the workplace and in every place. He can be contacted at paul@themuddpartnership.co.uk and you can follow the continuing journey uncovering Mindfulness on Twitter @TheMindfulBook and at @Paul_Mudd