The Medieval Roles of HR: Inquisitioner, Executioner and Servant
What do employees think when they are called to the HR office unexpectedly? They are most likely thinking did anyone complain about me? Or Am I being fired? And if they have a scheduled meeting with HR, it is usually to set up their paperwork and give information about salaries and benefits.
In other words, 80% of the time, HR managers spend their time as Inquisitioner, Executioner or Servant. It sucks.
According to SHRM, the average HR-to-employee ration is 2.57 HR to 100 employees[1]. With a medium tenure of one year and 50 working weeks, that means 2 people quit or get fired per week. So, while one HR manager is busy doing that. The others have to take on payroll and other administrative stuff. And then there are conflicts between employees.
So there is almost no time to focus on the fun parts of HR. In reality, the very reason why people want to be in HR: they want to help people change their lives for the better and see them thrive. That means selecting candidates that match in skills, education and training as well as personality. And it means to set up activities to further each individual as well as teams. But there is no time for that.
But maybe if there was more time for recruiting and growth, then HR could spend less time taking on the Inquisitioner, Executioner or Servant role.
[1] https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/business-solutions/Documents/Organizational%20Staff%20Size.pdf