The Hindu Business Line : Giving the human resources department its due

Hello all! Hope your weekend went well and you are all set to start off another week full of achievement and productivity. And what better way to do that than to read your favourite newspaper column, followed by a coffee break . Then run across to the finance department for a chat with your friend in payroll and suddenly, before you know it, its lunchtime! Great are the wonders of good time management.

Now over the last few months, as this column has grown in stature by leaps and bounds, I have often left one reader segment grossly dissatisfied. While the majority have found valuable career tips within these learned lines, and several of these readers are now successful freelance writers themselves, this small coterie has found `Sid Says' not entirely to its liking. "You are always pulling our legs Sidin," they say. "We are the butt of all your jokes. Rightly so, of course. But please cut us some slack man. Come on."

So finally, when I could not stand the whining from those human resources (HR) professionals anymore, I decided it was time to give them their just dues. Now I know most of you are licking your lips and wringing your hands in pleasure. "Aha! Finally we get to see Sidin do his thing on HR." Followed by your standard edition evil scientist laugh.

But I beg to differ my dear friends! I think HR is not as bad as it is made out to be. Sure, they sometimes confuse your performance appraisal form and their own stationery requisition form and send you a box of pencils and a stapler as bonus. But deep inside, even they are something very very close to a human being. Even they have hopes, aspirations and some have even been known to have emotion. (A rare few, I admit. But still it's better than nothing right?)

So this week, I ask all of you readers to join me in celebrating `Appreciate HR' week.

Now I know this sounds like something that your company would suddenly organise on a weekend thus ruining your plans of watching Dhoom 2 and make you commute all the way from home only to find that the CEO has had an emergency and needed to go to play golf and therefore the event will be held at a `later date to be communicated by your office manager'. "But please do pick up a goodie bag on your way out. It has company calendars, caps and bath towels," someone from HR would scream pointlessly from a corner of the conference room. You mutter unmentionables under your breath and storm out marching over immense heaps of caps and bath towels, some with unflattering comments about the CEO and what he can do to himself with his golf clubs.

No, this is nothing like that. This is instead a time when we can genuinely reach out to the HR people in our companies and tell them, with genuine affection, "We care about you. We need you. We can co-exist peacefully: Man and HR." And this week let's do little things that communicate a big message to our dear dear friends in HR. This will not only foster a healthy working environment in the office, but may also encourage HR to actually give you a hint two or three days before they shut down the office, lay off everyone and move operations to Daman. (Trust me.)

First of all let's all start actually replying to e-mail from HR. Ever noticed how no one really pays attention to anything HR e-mails? Ever. People open it and delete it as soon as they read the line "We in HR have been striving to... " For the coming week let's actually reply to every e-mail from HR we find in our inbox . Let us not miss even one. Even if it is a mail asking you to sign up for a marathon or donate to the `help our CEO buy a new 5 iron fund' let us reply with congratulatory messages. And let us do this sincerely and with no malice.

Let us tell them how much their e-mails mean to us and how we have always looked down at HR on the ground floor for guidance and comfort. For instance:

"Dear HR Person,

Many thanks for your e-mail asking all employees to donate money towards building a washroom in the office. I appreciate so much your effort to make this office a better place to live in. You have no idea how we managed so many months without a washroom. Have you noticed the excellent shrubbery that grows under the window at the back of the conference room?

Do keep motivating us so!

Sidin

P.S. Please see attachment. It may look like its destroying your hard drive. But THAT is the joke!"

Also, I want each and every one of you to genuinely give suggestions to HR so that they can improve the office and make it a world-class working environment. HR often complains that no one responds to `change efforts'. Let us put an end to this antipathy right away. Today onwards make sure HR is promptly appraised of each and every change you want in the workplace. For instance:

"Dear HR Person,

Congrats on your computer. Sorry about the old one. I had no idea. Honest. Some suggestions to improve workplace:

Turn down AC

Change piped music from Kenny G to Grateful Dead

Remove objectionable content from HR mailbox. I have no idea who put it there.

Locate above mailbox. (Might be in CEO's office.)

Do keep up the good work!

Sidin"

Finally ensure you engage often with HR in an informal environment as well. Tell them how much they mean to you and to your colleagues. Highlight their achievements; make them feel proud. For example, at the going away party for a colleague:

Sidin: "Everyone! Let us celebrate not just Antony's departure, but also the great job HR is doing for our company."

HR: "Err... hehe... thanks"

Sidin: "So, Antony why did you decide to quit?"

Antony: "Oh the HR here sucks. And this other place pays thrice as much."

Sidin: "Oh. Good for you man. Anyways... everyone three cheers for HR!"

And so on.

`Appreciate HR' week. A great idea. I think they really deserve it.

(The writer, an alumnus of IIM-A, was a management consultant before quitting to work on a book and a full-time writing career)

Readers may mail us their feedback, queries and suggestions to thenewmanager@thehindu.co.in

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