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Monday
27Apr2009

What's So Cool About HR?

Every year, I get to talk with a group of medical center leadership candidates about the HR department. I present, they ask questions and, because it is a small group, we have lots of time to interact.

This time I want to connect.

I want to flip this whole "department overview" idea on it's head. OUT with understanding a little more about the complexities of Federal HR and IN with coolness. HR is one of THE coolest departments in the building and when I get through with them, the leadership candidates will be climbing over each other to get onto our team or going back out to their teams and singing our praises {this is you applauding me and no, I am not sniffing anything this morning!}

Hold your judgement when I tell you that, yes, I have been using very un-presentation Zen like PowerPoint's with staffing structure, lists of functional areas etc {this is me hanging my head in shame}. Not very cool. Not very cool at all.

I need your help. I am looking for anything you've got (slideshares, ideas, reasons, pictures, phrases, quotes) that I can use to get the word out to our leadership candidates that "HR is Cool." Now that I am thinking, I could probably use a boost myself. And so could my department.

Hit me in the comments, contact me, @ or DM me in Twitter, connect on LinkedIn, etc with whatever you got. I promise to put whatever I get to good use and I will share too.

So, what's so cool about HR?

 

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Photo credit iStockphoto

Reader Comments (9)

Lisa, I think you already know why I love HR, but let me reiterate anyways. I think the functional stuff is all part of the basic duties of the job. We manage comp, we manage benefits, we recruit. What makes HR cool that, when done right, it distinguishes the good companies from the great ones.

Great companies have highly strategic HR departments that know what they need to meet their business goals. They recruit great people. They inspire them through awesome programs. They help managers become better managers. They help people become better performers. And ultimately, we help the company make more money.
Monday, April 27, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterChris Ferdinandi - Renegade HR
Hi Lisa,

I don't have any technical advice and I highly doubt that you need any. My suggestion is this-tell them stories. HR has the best stories, so tell them about the good, bad, and exciting things that your team tackles. Tell them about the strategic decisions made, opportunities provided, and risks managed. Paint a picture that will show those leadership candidates that HR is not just cool, it's AWESOME!

I hope that was helpful. Good luck with the presentation!
Monday, April 27, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterCreative Chaos Consultant
People are the only competitive advantage today. Therefore, HR is the driver of a company's competitive advantage. Those that understand this survive - those that don't get bailouts.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterPaul Hebert
To me, what makes HR cool are the people. Folks like yourself, the HR Maven, Chris, the HR Bartender and many more. You guys, and the thousands of other caring and insightful HR pros are what makes HR cool to me.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterSteve Boese
I use the phrase destination department. HR should become the place the best and the brightest fight to get into. We have a ways to go to get there. For sure I can tell you that the B-schools often tend to position HR as a dead-end location for careers.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterCarl

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