The HR Balance

By Nick Hutchinson

In Human Resource Management there is often a perceived balance between working for the needs and objectives of the business, and working on behalf of the employees. HR professionals are often the meat in this sandwich, or the scales on which these two elements are balanced.

Several people have asked me recently about how to manage this perceived tension. I responded initially by highlighting that it is a false dichotomy. There isn’t actually a balance between focusing on the business objectives or the employee objectives. It should be the people first in all situations. If you are a business owner you might think I’m treading on thin ice. If you are a HR professional you are likely in two minds and keen to hear what I write next.

Firstly, let me highlight that for many years a catch cry of the HR industry has been that if we ‘look after the people, the people will look after the business’. It is interesting that even though this is spoken often at HR conferences and industry forum’s, it is rarely put into practice fully. Yes, many HR professionals look to provide the best work environment they can for employees, under the constraints of the business, but generally the business objectives and needs will always outweigh that of individual employees.

Secondly, don’t for a minute think that I am suggesting that businesses simply grant every request an employee asks for like some sort of genie in a bottle. That is certainly not the case. I have had many instances where an employee has a perceived need that they bring to the employer, but often they actually need something else.

What I am suggesting is that business owners and HR professionals take a hard and close look at their priorities. Is their first focus really taking care of the people? Or are the people simply a means to an end? We need to return in a greater sense to the living the catch phrase – ‘look after the people and the people will look after the business’.

You might object and say “What about this underperforming employee we have?”. My response would be – look out for the best interest of the employee. Do you think they like underperforming? Do you think anyone takes satisfaction in doing terrible job? The best interest of the employee there may be performance management. Sometimes though the best interest of the employee might actually be leaving that organisation to find a job they can do well.

I’ll never forget one employee that I have had to terminate. They were consistently performing poorly. It was a difficult separation, but 3 months later they contacted me, thanked me and said that it was the best thing that could have happened to them as they had found a much better role that suited their personal needs.

Another employee I had was a fulltime employee who, due to a change in circumstances, could only work school hours. They were so grateful that they actually did more work during the reduced hours and stayed for 5 years longer than they initially planned.

Remember – look after your employees and they will look after you.