The 8th Habit: Why HR is Important

You are a smart person. You got good grades in a good school and you had your choice of careers. Some people thought you should be a doctor, and some people thought you should be a lawyer. A few said “Investment banking.” The world is your oyster.

And then you pick a career in Human Resources, and everyone from your college career counselor to your parents scratch their heads and wonder why you are throwing your life away. You could be so big and important in those other jobs. Why HR?

Here’s why:

Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People was one of the best selling books of all time. Two years ago Mr. Covey followed that book with an equally compelling reading experience titled The 8^th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. Covey says that there is a great unmet need in corporate life for purpose and clarity. To get this point across, he provides the following information: (page 2 and 3)

I frequently ask large audiences, “How many agree that the vast majority of the workforce in your organization possesses far more talent, intelligence, capability and creativity than their present jobs require or even allow?” The overwhelming majority of the people raise their hands, and this is with groups all over the world.

He then provides the following data from a Harris Questionnaire of 23,000 U.S. residents employed full time within key industries and in key functional areas:

• Only 37 percent said they have a clear understanding of what their organization is trying to achieve and why.
• Only 1 in 5 was enthusiastic about their team’s and organization’s goals.
• Only 1 in 5 workers said they have a clear “line of sight” between their tasks and their team’s and organization’s goals.
• Only half were satisfied with the work they have accomplished at the end of the week.
• Only 15 percent felt that they organization fully enables them to execute key goals.
• Only 15 percent felt they worked in a high-trust environment.
• Only 17 percent felt their organization fosters open communication that is respectful of differing opinions and that results in new and better ideas.
• Only 10 percent felt that their organization holds people accountable for results.
• Only 20 percent fully trusted the organization they worked for.
• Only 13 percent have high-trust, highly cooperative working relationships with other groups or departments.

To drive his point home, he ends with the following:

If, say, a soccer team had these same scores, only four of the eleven players on the field would know which goal is theirs. Only two of the eleven would care. Only two of the eleven would know what position they play and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And all but two players would, in some way, be competing against their own team members rather than the opponent.

Every single one of the problems listed above is an area where HR, more than any other function, can have a positive impact on the competitive advantage of the enterprise.

And this is why it is so critical for you to do whatever it takes to get out of the administrative crap that weighs you down and prevents you from getting to your real HR work. Want to know what the “Real HR Work” is? Just look at the list above. Raise those numbers and you raise shareholder value.

Comments

[Jiyeon Lee]

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[Michael Wagner]

I agree totally!

In my work I constantly tell clients that HR must be freed to make a difference in precisely this context.

Keep creating,
Mike

[itiprava]

this one is realy nice

[jismie jose]

This is the best answer i have come across till now.

A real eye opener,
Jismie Jose