Canadian HR Reporter

I N S I G H T There is unquestionably a risk of harm to employers from poor practices by unqualified and unprofessional HR practitioners. If organizations want to stand apart from their peers or competitors, that starts with their people OVER a short span of time, the HR profes- sion has evolved at rapid speeds. It started way back with the British Industrial Revolution, when factory workers and child labourers were suffering an unenviable plight in unsafe conditions with six-day, 60-hour work- weeks, leading to the creation of industrial welfare inspectors. Evolving workplace standards led to the organization of workers who demanded that their rights and safety not be compromised by employers, which then led to trade unions and employment legislation, followed later by global- ization and technological change. This history matters because there is an assumption built deep into our contemporary and westernized DNA that suggests the ills of our working past are in the past. It assumes workers' rights are protected by law and that worker performance and overall productivity increase when they are treated well. Make no mistake ― we have advanced and evolved by leaps and bounds. Together, employers, employees and HR teams have made incredible strides to protect workers and improve working conditions. But we need to acknowledge the great pockets of vulnerable populations and workers that continue to face hardship. Most importantly, I want to ensure that the HR profession helps workers and mitigates the harm or risk they endure. When practised at its highest levels of professionalism, HR is an essen- tial tool to help business leaders and workers come together and enhance overall corporate performance. Risk and potential harm at work The notion of a thriving and highly profitable business is not at odds with maintaining worker rights. In fact, profit and freedom from harm can coexist and often have a positive influence on each other. I've had the privilege of working at and bearing witness to highly progressive organizations that believe a talent-first agenda will create compet- itive advantage. I've also seen the opposite ― where workers are still viewed as commodities and treated as such. Today, many workers' rights are not being upheld. Regrettably, the drive to achieve bottom- line results persists. The examples are many: workers in staffing companies forced to accept cash payment with no health and safety protec- tion; unsafe conditions where minimum health and safety laws are ignored; and workers facing bullying, intimidation or harassment. These risks impact business overall. Precarious work or high-risk environments can easily derail a company's strategy, CEO's reputation and customer confidence. The role of HR must be to help drive share- holder and stakeholder value for the organiza- tion, while actively seeking to remove risk and harm faced by employees. Researching professional risk Recently, the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) has focused on the area of professional risk. This is about the risks faced by a company, workers and leaders if human resources professionals don't perform well. We call this "risk of harm" arising from the malprac- tice of HR. It is a business reality that is largely misunderstood, under-represented and not adequately measured. In partnership with research firm Environics, HRPA used evidence-informed approaches to understand the risks of harm that stem from the practice of HR. The research suggests the following: • Many employees still see HR as a fairly trans- actional business service focused on paper- work, hiring, discipline and onboarding. • Employers tend to see HR as an important resource to protect them, to avoid risks Louise Taylor Green Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) involved with safety, employment and human rights laws. • Lawyers generally see HR as credible and able to navigate workplace matters effectively but warn that context counts and oftentimes HR professionals are asked to practise outside their scope. • HR professionals are spread thin and often not consulted in advance of key business decisions where their expertise and insights may have resulted in different decisions. • HR is playing an active role in protecting their organization from harm by avoiding and managing human capital risk that enhances the reputation of and confidence in the employer. Well-run businesses are essential to a thriving society. If organizations want to stand apart from their peers or competitors, that starts with their people. The practice of HR should drive performance and raise standards. Simply put, better HR makes business better. There is unquestionably a risk of harm to businesses, workers, teams and leaders from poor practices by unqualified and unprofes- sional HR practitioners. But, of equal impor- tance, businesses and business leaders derive direct benefit ― both tangible and intangible ― from strong HR contributions. HR professionals have advanced skills to help a company optimize their use of human talent and to create positive change that unlocks organiza- tional potential. If a business wants better results, it should adopt a firm commitment to the best and highest use of HR professionals. CHRR Louise Taylor Green is a member of Canadian HR Reporter's advisory board and CEO of the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) in Toronto. HOW RISK AND HARM ARE PART OF HR'S EVOLUTION Employers, employees and HR have made incredible strides to improve working conditions. But great pockets of vulnerable populations and workers continue to face hardship. C O L U M N S 38 www.hrreporter.com

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