When you introduce transparency in managing human resources & avoid favoritism of any type, you will earn the respect of one and all. This implies that you should have HR systems & processes in place which are viewable by all employees at all times. As an example, why shouldn't an employee be able to see his own data in the employee database? In fact, if you empower him/ her to modify the data (as & when a change occurs), you are ensuring employee's involvement in your HR process of database maintenance. Your workflows, however, can always keep you in the chain of approval of all important transactions, before the actual update of data takes place. You are making each employee as a partner in the HR space of your organization.
Remember, any employee shall feel happy to see one's own name, personal details, photograph, particulars of dependents, salary details, pay slip, Job Description and also his/ her KRAs/ Goals for the year. These are the basis on which one performs & grows in one's career. These are the aspects which inject transparency. H R technology is tending to be a big enabler for all types of on-line transactions. For example, why shouldn't an employee be able to see one's attendance records, leave details etc.. and be also able to apply for leave on line & obtain approval of the Manager/ Supervisor? If an employee has done something innovative, why shouldn't he/ she be able to share it instantly with others? Why can't the HR facilitate such a sharing of knowledge?
We, the HR people, mostly tend to isolate ourselves (by living in our own pigeon holes) and sometimes believe in exhibiting our power through denial of the legitimate, want people to approach us for every bit of information, are afraid of automating our processes & prefer that all information about HR should go to the management through us. We spend hardly any time in understanding company's business, the financial ratios on the Balance Sheet, Company's growth objectives, the type of competencies/ skills needed to achieve these objectives (an aspect of talent management) & are thus not focused strategically. We seldom update ourselves in the HR field, though we give sermons on the value of self-learning/ internet based education and so on. How, under these circumstances, do we expect others to look at us?
There are, however, many amongst us different from others. This breed of people could be termed as 'HR thinkers' - they prefer to be at par with those in operations & with others managing the business of the organization. They are designing 'Balance Score Cards', not only for HR staff, but for other functions too. They are helping functional heads & managers in creating Goal Sheets for the key people & enabling a linkage of these goals to those of their subordinates. They are developing performance indicators for each goal. They are looking for systems which help in tracking performance with respect to these goals. In brief, they are truly contributing to the company's business.