Is In-House HR At Risk Of Extinction?

Is in-house HR at risk of extinction?

Yes, absolutely!

But probably not for the reasons that you think.

I've been in the HR and People space now for 25 years (25 YEARS!!), and in that time I've worked in Staff and Training, Personnel, HR, People, People and Change, People and Culture, before leaving the in-house world.

I'm bored of the 'should we rename and rebrand HR?' conversation.

The answer is no.

It doesn't need renaming or rebranding again, it needs DEFINING, and HR Leaders need to be able to set boundaries for themselves and their teams the way that EVERY other team in the organisation does.

Because, what's going to cause the extinction of in-house HR, is BURNOUT.

People who love HR, but who can no longer handle:

❌ Leaders not leading

❌ Managers not managers

❌ Strategies not being approved

❌ One rule for everyone else and another for HR

❌ No support

❌ Nodding dog syndrome when they ask for things to be done by leaders across the business with NO action

❌ Being included when they don't need to be

❌ Being excluded when they shouldn't be

❌ Decreased budgets

❌ Increased responsibility

❌ Picking up the pieces

❌ Being blamed

❌ Shouldering the blame

❌ Being ignored

❌ Doing all of the crap that gets dumped on them because it's a 'people' thing

And all of this ON TOP of the role they are there to do.

The conversations I'm having, and have been having over the last couple of months point to a HUGE rise in cases of Burnout next year and beyond. Every case of Burnout is a person who has reached Burnout.

Burnout by its nature is a slow burn, it can take years to show up, but when it does it hits hard.

I'm speaking to HR Leaders on the brink of Burnout who are continuing to push through 'just until Christmas' where they will crash. And if they do make it back to work in January, the crash is going to come at some point next year.

And the crash will see HR Leaders and their teams leaving organisations to set up on their own or leaving the profession completely, because whilst consultancy is hard, going out on your own can be easier than dealing with the internal politics and the crap that comes with in-house HR once you've reached Burnout. Because once you're at Burnout, your tolerance, compassion, decision-making ability, and patience are minimal and you wonder why you stayed so long.

HR is needed, it's vital in every organisation, even more so whilst leaders and managers see people as 'not part of their job'.

The clock is ticking.

The HR Profession needs support like never before if we are to prevent the mass rise in Burnout in 2024.

The time for change is now. Are you ready?

Kelly

Kelly is the HR Anti-Burnout Coach for HR and People Leaders at kellyswingler.com. She works with clients to help them to transform the way they do things so that they can create health and high performance for themselves and their organisations.

Kelly is the creator of FRAZZLED The Podcast and author of Mind The Gap: A Story of Burnout, Breakthrough and Beyond.

#HR #HRCommunity #HRLeaders #AntiBurnoutWorkplace #AntiBurnoutClub