Why Does Management Favor Other Departments Over HR? Seeking Insights on Changing This Dynamic

Dear All,

Why does management always show a soft corner for departments other than HR? Do they think that HR is not a profit generator? These questions may arise in every HR professional's career. It seems that many HR professionals are facing similar issues in their organizations.

When there are issues related to production or the R&D department, management tends to support and show leniency towards them, leaving HR to make compromises in their activities. Why does this happen? Is there a way to change it? If you have any insights on how to handle such situations, please share.

Regards,
UDAY

Yes, Uday, you are right!

Management always thinks HR doesn't add any value to the business; it is only a cost center rather than a profit center. In this context, I remember one word of my professor from college that 'HR is the toilet of a house' - you don't love it, but you can't live without it.

Management always pushes HR to solve issues whenever any industrial crisis happens. But when it overcomes, HR doesn't get its pride. HR rewards people, but nobody rewards HR. The problem is that all HR activities have no monetary value directly. But if you convert its value into money, you can find it has an important contribution to the business. So, it is time for all of us to make the management understand the real value of HR - it is a profit center, not a cost center.

Regards,
Anupam

Dear Anupam,

Thank you for sharing your views, but we can't convert all of our HR activities into money. Anyway, once again, thank you for your reply.

Seniors, please have a look in this regard.

Regards,
UDAY

Dear,

I don't agree with your viewpoints. It is the perception of some of the managements, but with your vision, mission, and focus, you can prove it.

- With all your efforts and actions, you can improve productivity.
- By improving skills and implementing multis killing activities, you can reduce deployment.
- By identifying and deploying skilled people, you can reduce equipment downtime, leading to higher production.
- Outsourcing non-value-added activities can reduce regular/continuous employment.
- Increasing employee satisfaction can prevent employee associations and strikes, as well as enhance employee availability.
- Structuring good HR policies and employee motivational processes can reduce absenteeism and overtime.
- Motivating employees can help retain skilled individuals, thus reducing recruitment costs and addressing skill gap challenges.
- By identifying potential individuals (freshers) and providing training, you can minimize employee costs (experienced skilled individuals for the same position may be costly).

If you capture points like the above (canteen, transport, stationery, perks, etc.), convert them into monetary terms, and present them to management in a structured manner, the management is likely to accept.

I still believe that perception and presentation make the difference. HR, in my opinion, is the most critical, important, and profitable department among all the teams.

The crucial aspect is how you present and market it. My dear friend, don't forget that dealing with machines, equipment, and products is much easier than handling people, as people possess the valuable ability to think.

Thanks and regards,
Kameswarao

Thank you, Mr. Kameswarao, for your reply. But as you said, "It is the perception of some of the managements." Yes, 100% it is the perception of the management. But why do most of the management have the same kind of perceptions? As an HR professional, I know HR is also a part of the business, and their involvement should be there, but management is giving more importance to them only. Simply, they are ignoring HR. As Anupama said, whenever there is a crisis, they recognize HR to solve it, but later they simply ignore them. I think there must be some change that comes in the minds of the management. Okay, let us listen from the senior's end, then we can conclude it.

Hi all,

Converting the HR work into monetary value is possible; we could highlight important things. HR policies, which in turn could reduce the working capital of a company. One could easily demonstrate how a small change in one of the HR policies could give good liquidity to the company. For example, let us assume that Company A and its mobile policy allowances at different levels:

- Top management level - 10,000 * 20 employees = 200,000 pm
- Senior Management - 8,000 * 35 employees = 280,000 pm
- Middle management - 5,000 * 100 employees = 500,000 pm
- Junior Management - 2,500 * 250 employees = 625,000 pm

The total outflow is 16 lakhs pm, approximately 2 crores just for telephone reimbursements. Now, if HR changes the policy that telephone allowances are to be reduced to 15% across levels, the difference amount will be used by the company for something more productive. Thus, it is how we present it to our management and how they take it. What do you say?

"Yes Uday, you are right!! Management always thinks HR doesn't add any value to the business; it is only a cost center rather than a profit center. In this context, I remember one word of my professor in college that 'HR is the toilet of a house' - you don't love it, but you can't live without it. Management always pushes HR to solve issues whenever any industrial crisis happens. But when it overcomes, HR doesn't get its pride. HR rewards people, but nobody rewards HR. The problem is that all HR activities have no monetary value directly, but if you convert its value into money, you can find it has an important contribution to the business. So, it is time for all of us to make the management understand the real value of HR - it is a profit center, not a cost center.

Regards,
Anupam"

Dear Uday,

The most important trait for HR is influencing skills. I don't think all managements will think like that. Instead of pointing fingers at them, why don't we make it happen?

If you implement all the points I mentioned and convert them into monetary terms, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, and present it at the monthly review meeting. Challenge yourself and see the results.

My dear friend, it is up to you to decide and dictate. For example, you cannot sell a "Rose" to a customer who is blind or allergic to it. However, any management in the universe would appreciate and reward those who have the talent to sell the "Rose" to such individuals at a higher cost. If you belong to the latter group, then management will be at your doorstep. If, even after showcasing all your skills, a specific management still fails to appreciate you, then that is not the right place for you to work.

Thanks and regards - Kameswarao