Why Do Some HR Practices Fall Short in Real-World Organizations? Let's Discuss!

It is essential to implement all HR practices while recruiting, selecting, motivating, and retaining employees. Unfortunately, not all HR practices are implemented in organizations practically. My question is, "Why could all HR practices not be implemented in an organization?"

Hi, you are very correct. Not all HR practices can be effectively implemented in an organization due to certain employees who do not want HR to function properly and progress. Some people view HR as a joke and create unnecessary issues around it.

In the list of HR activities, you have not mentioned manpower planning, training and development, career planning, performance management, talent management, etc. HR also has to handle administrative jobs like managing attendance, payment of salary and wages, and other statutory activities as per the various statutes.

All the HR practices are not implemented because of a lack of understanding of the HR function by the business leaders. They give prominence to marketing, finance, and then operations, considering HR as a secondary function.

The second reason is that not enough examples are available in the industry wherein CEOs had an HR background or even business owners had an HR background, attributing their success to the HR background.

Not that HR professionals do not start their businesses. However, when they venture on their own, the general tendency is to get into recruitment, training, performance management, and organizational development, all part of HR. Nevertheless, we do not have an example wherein an HR professional gets into hardcore business and demonstrates to the world that expertise in areas like "Talent Management," "Performance Management," or "Organizational Development," etc., helped in building their business.

When we have sufficient examples, the HR profession as a whole will become attractive, and obviously, full-fledged HR practices will start getting implemented.

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.

Then, do you believe that we should simply follow my boss's instructions and respect their orders, regardless of what I have learned in business school about HR practices? Yes or no?

HR needs to remain an independent and exclusive body while delivering services in human resources and strategy development and implementation functions. It acts as a quality control department for employee standards and behaviors. Often, HRD proposals and practices will be in conflict with a conventional organizational setup. Personal interests regarding recruitment, salary fixations, performance levels, and financial interests such as budgets and allocations will often be on opposing sides. It is the responsibility of the owners to maintain HRD as an independent body and contribute to the long-term benefits of the organization. Unfortunately, this does not always happen, leading to a lack of alignment between HR policies and actual practices.

Regards,
Shamnad, Doha-Qatar

As your question is conceived, I want to address two aspects regarding your words:

Excuses

Most of the time, employees make mistakes or break company policy for strong reasons. In such cases, you must consider the situation, guide the employees, and make them aware of the company policy. If there is a chance to excuse, then consider it.

Practices

Practices are the most important aspect of your organization. If any employee intentionally tries to violate company policy, it should be taken seriously. Address the issue with management and enforce strong HR policies.

Thank you.

Regards,
MR. RAMA

The reason for not following all HR practices in an organization is that the working style varies among different organizations. Some organizations adopt these practices, while some do not. Additionally, theoretical knowledge can be quite different from what is actually implemented in the organization. Therefore, it is important to always keep in mind that HR policies are shaped by the people within the organization, rather than solely relying on what we have studied in books.

Thanks,

Pooja Jaiswani

If any employee is not following company policies, then we have to take action. Only HR will be correct. We can't leave the problem, whether it is small or big. It may spoil the entire body.

Thanks with Regards,
Rahul G.

I agree with what you say. Even recent surveys have shown that IIM graduates choose non-HR streams when it comes to choosing specialization subjects. Also, the requirement of an HR in a small company is merely for a record-maintaining role but not for a meaningful role. I have not come across a situation where one HR manager has been made a project manager and asked to manage a full show. A senior project manager will be accommodated in an HR role just to ensure he is promoted and given a new role to perform, whereas an HR person wanting to move to other functions of HR in a medium-sized company finds it tough to come out of the recruitment function. What is your view on it, sir?

Regards, VJRN

According to me, HR practices require time and patience, and the results of HR work will be seen after a long period. One has to have faith in HR practices. Another issue is that many people believe HR is as simple as other ordinary things, but HR is not a materialistic thing that can be measured in terms of output or counted. It is something that is deep in itself. Every company and employee should understand this. If they do not, it is our duty in HR to make them understand because we need employee support to implement even a small policy or any HR practices.

Reasons for Not Implementing All HR Practices

The reason behind not implementing all HR practices also depends on the company's size, structure, and sector.

Regards, Sneha

I greatly agree with Sneha's words because we are not just practicing rules; it's a discipline of the company. We may see that most big and reputed companies are not only famous for their turnover or profit but also for their hard practice of company discipline, which includes HR policies and practices.

Continuous Practice for Success

Talking about previous posts, it's not just a one-time practice; we should continue to follow the same for hard and great triumphs.

Thanks!

Regards,
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Good morning all, I do agree with Mr. Dinesh's comments. If you take a look at any organization, you will notice that mostly finance, marketing, and other domain managers tend to take over the responsibilities of the HR department. The reasons behind this are that companies often fail to understand the importance of the HR department. They do not allocate a separate department or space for HR, as they do for other departments like finance and marketing. Even HR students face challenges in finding opportunities in the corporate field for HR professions.

The Importance of a Separate HR Department

Therefore, my suggestion is that both small and large organizations should have a separate HR department. They should recruit manpower according to requirements at both junior and senior levels and closely monitor it. This approach will help in nurturing more HR professionals across various sectors and will enhance the understanding of the value of HR in the future.

Regards,
Kalpana

All the valuable comments are really praiseworthy. It's truly a matter of concern among HR professionals. Even I am experiencing challenges in a company with around 350 employees where the MD does not see the need for a professional HR. The perception of HR managers is quite different. There is a misconception that HR managers do not have significant responsibilities, do not contribute to revenue generation, and do not support the implementation of HR practices. Many things need to be addressed.

However, in large organizations, there is a greater respect for HR practices. Let's work towards change and hope for improvements in the future.

Thanks,
Manoj

The Intangibility of HR Practices

HR practices themselves are intangible within a firm. Many have been implemented, which cannot be quantified like finance, sales, production, operations, and IT. This makes all others tangible, calling HR nothing but HR practices driven by the firm. Yes, not all HR practices may be possible to implement due to the size, people, and culture in an organization.

Regards,

If there is no need for HR in an organization, then don't care or bother about new recruitment. Let the company run with existing manpower. Tell people not to wait for the 1st week of every month for their salary or wages; let them deal with this matter directly with the owner/entrepreneur.

Forget about any full and final settlement like post-retirement benefits, PF, Gratuity, or any arrear payments. Let them handle these matters themselves without the help of HR professionals.

Don't focus on talent management, OD training, or the learning environment. Let your entrepreneur address situations like the whistleblower effect, politics in the organization, morale decline among employees, workplace accidents, errors and carelessness in work output, lack of mutual respect or positive attitudes, and manpower budget constraints, among others.

Believe me, due to the lack of talent management, training, or organizational performance, even most of the MD-level jobs may be terminated (which is a result of the absence of HR culture/awareness in any organization).

Don't conduct exit interviews with departing employees. Allow employees to leave the organization according to their will. Let the business owner handle and manage these situations.

Neglecting in-time statutory compliance can lead to government officials inspecting your organization for violations, potentially resulting in closure.

Avoid planning any compensation strategy; pay employees as you wish, akin to a fish market on a footpath. Let your entrepreneur consider market rates for pay or any compensation surveys.

Forget about welfare activities such as birthday wishes, canteen management, employee welfare, and grievances. Neglecting these areas may diminish your organization's value in the market.

These are just a few drawbacks that emphasize the initial stages of HR-less organizations. Allow your organization/entrepreneur to view this as a challenge and contemplate the necessity of HR repeatedly.

Consider whether you (HR) are required by them or not. Not all the statements or drawbacks can be explained on a blogging site.

Reflect on why there are leaders to govern the world, why there are representatives in government bodies, why children seek parents, why orphanages are sorrowful, and ultimately, why organizations need HR professionals.

It's paramount to realize the value of HR within your organization.

It is essential to implement all HR practices while recruiting, selecting, motivating, and retaining employees. Unfortunately, not all HR practices are implemented in organizations practically. My question is, "Why could all HR practices not be implemented in an organization?"

Implementation of HR Policies

For all HR policies to be implemented, these policies have to be framed by keeping operations in mind because they are the end users and implementors of the policies.

In my point of view, among man, machine, and material, if we choose the most difficult thing to manage, that will be the man. Human wants are unlimited, so the expectation of every employee is different, and it is very difficult to manage every employee in the same manner. That's why...

For me, it depends on the organization and the work culture. HR is the backbone of the company, but yes, I agree that most companies do not respect HR or fully support HR. We can't change everything overnight because we are dealing with humans. This is why people leave.

Why People Leave

"People leave people"; they do not leave because of the company. As an HR professional, "practice makes perfect."

Cheers,