The Anti-Establishment HR Counterculture

the Establishment




the existing power structure in society; the dominant groups in society and their customs or institutions; institutional authority;



the dominant group in a field of endeavor, organization




Dictionary.com



I’ve long been drawn to those who stand in opposition to the conventional social, political or cultural norms in society. The Bohemians. The Beats. The Punks.



In much the same way, I’m drawn to those in HR who march to a different drummer. Not those who don’t have the foundational/knowledge down; there’s a vast (and ever expanding) HR body of knowledge that requires anyone using an HR job title to be a subject matter expert.



Rather, I’m forever intrigued by the HR renegades who find a way to efficiently, effectively and compliantly run an HR/People Department wherein they toss out that which is outdated and useless and embrace that which is provocative and – dare we say it – slightly dangerous.



I like HR folks who are:




Embracing flexibility for ALL categories of employees by, for example, allowing front-line staff to choose their start time and schedule their PTO without 3 layers of approval.





Dropping (not adding) policies and practices that are punitive relics of the olden days such as no-fault attendance point policies or bereavement leave policies that don’t acknowledge the fact that people deeply mourn individuals beyond their “immediate family.”





Discarding the awarding of plaques (or trophies) for years of service to employees who have neither a desk nor a wall on which to hang it.





Eliminating their stale and boring 55-page employee handbooks.





Hiring in novel and easy ways that match the desires and demands of today’s job seekers.




Are these WILD ideas? Not really.



They are, however, the types of things that – believe it or not – shake up the stale and conformist world or work created by HR departments the world over. The reliance on the status quo or copying of someone else’s “best practice” continues to lead to rigid homogeneity as Sally HR replicates what Brad HR does who merely copied it from Angie HR who found it on the SHRM website in the year 2002.



But YOU don’t have to do the same.  You can refuse to shovel the same bullshit that HR folks have been shoveling for decades.  Do the right thing – legally, morally and ethically – but rebel, nonetheless. Promote nonconformity. Live in the counterculture.



And join the revolution. The post The Anti-Establishment HR Counterculture first appeared on Robin Schooling .