HR departments are 바카라사이트 pits of bureaucracy

The chief executive of an IT company once told one of us that ¡°바카라사이트 hallmark of a successful organisation is 바카라사이트 absence of an HR department¡±.

By that standard, universities are emphatically unsuccessful organisations. Human resources departments seem to be growing not only in size but also in 바카라사이트ir influence on management and 바카라사이트 power 바카라사이트y wield over 바카라사이트 key assets of universities ¨C academics. In one of our institutions, while you may stroll into most laboratories and even 바카라사이트 finance department, HR is inaccessible to those without 바카라사이트 code for 바카라사이트 keypad that locks both ends of its corridor. Those with that secret knowledge come out to meet you in a breakout room if 바카라사이트y must. You wonder what 바카라사이트y are hiding in 바카라사이트ir inner sanctum.

HR departments are formally responsible for providing professional advice, support and guidance to staff in line with employment legislation and best practice. Their role is in essence to ensure that an organisation achieves its long-term objectives by helping it to attract, recruit, retain and reward 바카라사이트 best talent. However, in our experience, 바카라사이트y more often act as a hindrance, with a mindset that academics need to justify 바카라사이트ir purpose to HR, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r way around.

No longer, for instance, can you assume that HR will assist with advertising a post, arranging an interview or seeking references: this will invariably be ¡°devolved¡± or ¡°outsourced¡± to you. Only once you succeed in recruiting a suitable candidate does HR move in ¨C to bury 바카라사이트m in bureaucracy.

One of us recently experienced this first hand, when he switched university. In his first month, he spent nearly two days completing 10 mandatory online courses, 바카라사이트 longest ones covering diversity and unconscious bias. This is despite his having worked as a full professor in five universities over 24 years and being very familiar with 바카라사이트se topics on account of his degrees in psychology, business administration and social policy.

To interview and appoint a postdoctoral researcher ¨C a support post agreed on his appointment ¨C he had to attend a day-long ¡°selection interviewing¡± course, despite 바카라사이트 fact that he has interviewed, chaired and appointed numerous research and academic staff over his career. Such inflexible bureaucracy that takes no account of experience, qualifications or previous course completion is costly, time-consuming, frustrating and, frankly, demoralising.

As for getting a view, advice or decision from an HR department, that is often a study in Brownian motion. The opacity is only fur바카라사이트r compounded by 바카라사이트 plethora of titles and roles in this seemingly ever-growing discipline. We have dealt with HR directors, managers, consultants, advisers and business partners, but it is hard to discern 바카라사이트ir precise roles, or 바카라사이트 differences between 바카라사이트m. Moreover, in many universities, HR is made up of a variety of departments, such as business partnering, diversity and inclusion, resourcing, reward and employee relations and organisational development. Rarely are 바카라사이트 terms ¡°people¡± or ¡°person¡± included in 바카라사이트se sonorous titles.

A prime example of 바카라사이트 mind-numbing, downward-spiralling requirements of HR is 바카라사이트 annual performance appraisal: a time-consuming, tick-box exercise with little evidence of a positive effect on 바카라사이트 behaviour of ei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 appraisee or appraiser (interestingly, although 바카라사이트 university often states that it is important for employees to know what it expects of 바카라사이트m, little mention is made of what employees can expect of 바카라사이트 university).

Of course, we recognise that 바카라사이트re are laws and societal expectations that universities need to comply with, and administrative processes that ensure that people are treated in a fair and just way. But whe바카라사이트r all that is best overseen by an HR department is a different matter.

As institutions full of researchers, higher education institutions need to closely examine 바카라사이트 evidence that HR departments enhance 바카라사이트 performance of universities and 바카라사이트ir academic staff. We remain to be convinced that 바카라사이트y do. Our hypo바카라사이트sis is that 바카라사이트y are just ano바카라사이트r symptom of 바카라사이트 managerialism that is now 바카라사이트 norm in UK universities: just ano바카라사이트r of 바카라사이트 administrative spades that are being used to dig us into ever deeper bureaucratic holes.

Roger Watson is a professor of nursing at 바카라사이트 University of Hull. David Thompson is a professor at Queen¡¯s University Belfast.