5 Things HR Pros Say I’d Give Money To Never, Ever Hear Again

Are these simply pet peeves or hindrances to the growth of the profession? You decide.

“HR is everyone’s business”

Well, sure. In the same sense that finance is “everyone’s business” because all employees should be fiscally responsible with company assets, and marketing is “everyone’s business” because all employees should favorably represent the company then, OK.

But doing HR right requires specialized knowledge and skills, as well as innate gifts, in my opinion, so let’s not give the impression that everyone and his Grandma could do this job.

There are already enough people who think that way (including a few stubbornly incompetent HR folks — that’s right, I said it). We don’t need to add fuel to the fire.

Anything with the words “rock star”

Help me Lord, please. Mick Jagger is a rock star. Bruce Springsteen is a rock star. Jimmy Hendrix was a rock star. Fine — even Justin Bieber might be called a rock star.

But all others should take a step back. Rock stars have legions of screaming fans, and men and women throw underwear at them and write them crazy letters proposing marriage and stuff.

I’m all for showing appreciation of an individuals groovy gifts, especially when applied to significant effort, but let’s stop watering down our language with this hyperbole, OK? (And kind of making ourselves look silly in the process.) Brendan Vaughan over at GQ magazine knows what I’m talking about.

Anything with the words “seat at the table”

It’s confession time, and yes, I’ve been known to say these words, but that doesn’t make it right.

This phrase has become so overused, and discussion of HR’s faults has become so common, “I want a seat at the table” is now sadly perceived as more a mantra for the whiny than a rallying cry.

So, let’s just drop it. And, cheer up. Some of the organizations we’ve been imploring are so dysfunctional they don’t even have a table. They’re making decisions on the fly doing the same thing today that didn’t work yesterday, and they certainly aren’t healthy enough to stop, reflect, redirect, and listen to reason from us.

So maybe we should stop looking to them for validation and focus on building each other up while quietly doing the best job possible until we can find an employer who’ll respond to our request to “sit at the table” with a quizzical expression that says “Of course we want you involved in decision making. That’s why we hired you.”

Anything with the words “strategic HR”

Good HR people do things purposefully and always with a reason and an end goal in mind.

It’s almost second nature. We don’t have to keep labeling it, as though it’s a special brand of HR.

All areas of HR — even administration — needs to be done strategically to add the most value. So how about we just go ahead and decide that the term “strategic HR” is redundant? I’d like that.

“When I protect employer interests, I’m protecting employee interests, too”

Hmmm … This statement most often is made in response to the whole employee/employer advocate question that HR folks get asked, and I don’t find it to be a very satisfying response.

The “trickle down theory of HR” is far from proven, and surprise(!) employees generally don’t like being viewed as a means to an end.

So there you have it. My list of things I just wish we’d stop saying, already. What do you think?