The last Human in Human Resources
BY ALTHEA BRANTON
I spent more than a decade in Human Resources. I am confident, however, that no one really knew I was there. I was always the first point of contact of any given HR department, so employees always thought the rest of the team was kind, bubbly and receptive like me… yeah, not so much.
Not many people know this, but I actually went to school for HR. I graduated with Honours from one of the top HR programs in Canada. I even received my Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation. I thought I knew HR inside out; I had all of these pie-in-the-sky ideas about how I was going to single-handedly make work suck less. I thought the combination of working with people in a business setting was where I was supposed to be!
Yeah… not so much.
Never mind the fact that as a Black woman with a Greek name, it was almost impossible for me to find work in this field. And when I did, I was relegated to transactional shared services functions because apparently, I lacked the cognitive function for more strategic roles. White supremacy much?
As my career in HR progressed, I very quickly learned how non-human this function actually is. I’m about to spill all the tea on HR, so get excited.
HR in any organization serves one primary function: to protect the organization from potential litigation. That’s it! That means that HR borders on crisis management at all times. Policies, procedures and initiatives are all carefully constructed and documented so the organization could survive litigation.
"HR in any organization serves one primary function: to protect the organization from potential litigation. That's it!"
Ever have a colleague that forever works your last nerve? Go to HR, they tell you. HR will then tell you to go tell your supervisor. What if your supervisor is dancing on your last nerve? Then go speak with their supervisor. All the while HR is documenting your entire exchange so in the event of a lawsuit, the evidence clearly shows that you went to HR to complain about that vexatious colleague.
HR is a cost centre within any organization. This means that it doesn’t generate revenue; rather it’s classified as an ongoing expense especially in for-profit organizations. HR pundits constantly talk about having the need for a seat at the C-suite table; this is to further legitimize the ongoing need for HR initiatives. Everything HR does costs money so the justifications can be quite intense, especially when you’re the only woman surrounded by living embodiments of the patriarchy around that table.
HR initiatives also function to ensure the organization doesn’t get sued. Great benefits package? Improves retention and staff turnover. Work-life balance? Helps to cut down on complaints of burnout that could turn into lawsuits. There was a time where organizations had this bright-bulb idea that foosball tables, beer carts and casual Fridays would revolutionize the workplace (read: make it suck less). Too bad it didn’t work. Like at all. While foosball is great fun and beer is, well, beer, that trend never caught on. Can you imagine the liabilities abound when Dave and Chad drink all the beer then get into some sort of collision? We’re talking severe, liabilities, people.
"Everything HR does costs money so the justifications can be quite intense, especially when you’re the only woman surrounded by living embodiments of the patriarchy around that table."
Now that you have a taste of what HR really is, let’s talk about what happens inside a typical HR department. It’s worth noting here that HR is female-dominated profession, but male HR managers make significantly more money than their female counterparts. Le sigh.
In my experience, I have found HR staff to be condescending, aloof and unkind. Before you say: ‘not all HR people’, I’m referring to the people I have personally encountered. Those people were truly unkind to the point where I wondered if they were human or Sith. I had a colleague who was so incredibly mean to staff I often wondered if they even had a soul; better yet, were they this snarky to their people in their personal life? Ugh.
I certainly don’t miss the lack of boundaries, the tongue-wagging about everyone’s business, the ever-present tension in the air especially when it’s time for the mass layoffs. People, there’s nothing cool about looking someone in the eye and telling them they’ve lost their job because the living embodiments of the patriarchy in the C-suite botched it all the way to the top. No amount of “right-sizing” will ever do right by those who suddenly find themselves without work in an already crowded job market.
So, what happens when something serious goes down and HR has to get involved? Everyone gets turned up one thousand notches. There’s an investigation. HR calls all the parties involved to get their take on the situation. All of that information (supposedly confidential BTW) gets shared with senior management and legal counsel. Then come the consequences, which in most cases, do not favour the complainant.
Who are you supposed to turn to when you’re being harassed or when your human rights are being violated? Go to HR, they say. I say seek outside counsel and guidance. HR won’t help you at all. I also recognize that seeking outside counsel may not be accessible for all folks. If you need to, find a non-profit advocate or file a complaint to a human rights watchdog. Do not let any organization mistreat you. Hold them all the way accountable.
"Who are you supposed to turn to when you’re being harassed or when your human rights are being violated? Go to HR, they say. I say seek outside counsel and guidance."
Does HR have a future? It needs to evolve and change with the times. We live in a post-2020 world where DEI and reconciliation initiatives appear to be progressive but amount to nothing but boilerplate statements on solidarity. I would happily return to a People and Culture department where there was a genuine effort to improve an employee’s human experience in the workplace; where “Canadian experience” wasn’t a thing; where any form of harassment was not tolerated; where people could collaborate and really set the world on fire.
Oh wait, the world is already on fire.
Looks like I still have the pie-in-the-sky notions after all. DEFY
ALTHEA BRANTON
Althea Branton (she/her/elle) is a Brand Strategist for Transpose. She is also the founder of an eponymous skincare line for Black & Brown bodies to be launched later this year. When Althea isn’t dismantling Eurocentric beauty standards, she loves to watch musicals, play soccer with her mic-drop child and eat all sorts of chocolate.