Brace yourself. You’re about to read an unvarnished account of what top execs detest about HR people.

Meredith Soleau, writing on the Fistful of Talent website, recently interviewed five CEOs of companies of various sizes to find out what really tees them off where HR’s concerned.

Here’s a look at the high (or low) points of the responses — and be warned, it ain’t pretty:

  • You’re too employee-oriented — too worried about “protected classes” of employes. “Heck, this day and age, almost everyone falls into some sort of class. Why do I have to feel forced to keep people who aren’t performing because you’re too scared – or don’t want – to pull the trigger?”
  • You’re just a paper-shuffler.
  • “I hear lots of talk. I see limited results.”
  • HR isn’t effective at recruiting. “If you can’t sell the direction of my business or a job to someone, what good are you?”
  • HR often brings management a problem without also having a plan to deal with the problem. If a situation comes up, CEOs want to know about it — but they also expect HR to have some kind of perspective on how it should be handled. “I expect you guys to know the employment laws better than me, and to have strong opinions about what is over your head.”
    Equally irritating: the HR pro who’s scared to make any recommendation without consulting a lawyer.
  • HR pros don’t understand the numbers. “I don’t consider someone a good business partner when they can’t understand our finances.”
  • “You preach about performance reviews, yet you have no idea how to manage performance once you get the results.”
  • CEOs are interested in growing the company and serving customers. HR issues are too often simply a distraction. “Spending a half day discussing a family medical leave issue or a 401(k) problem takes me away from the parts of the business I enjoy most.
    “Any CEO worth his salt knows how important her/his associates are, so we will make time for it, but we look to you all to make sure that the time we spend is impactful and efficient.”

And perhaps the scariest response of all:

  • “I can outsource your job and not have to deal with you.  It seems easier than listening to you tell me you ‘can’t’ or ‘don’t feel comfortable’ doing something.”

Has Ms. Soleau provided us with a dose of tough love, or did she run across a particularly prickly group of senior execs?

And if what these CEOs said hits home, how should HR pros respond?

 

 

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