Top Reasons Human Resources Makes a Great Career

I was thinking about the recent series of movies that have come out in 2013 - Wolf of Wall Street, Saving Mr. Banks, Captain Phillips, and Gravity and realized that I can’t think of a single movie that focuses on Human Resources (and please allow me to ignore Up in the Air). So I am not sure if directors just don’t know how cool HR is - but just in case - here are my top reasons to be in Human Resources. We Save Lives This is not a just a cliché, but a reality. There was a wonderful study in 2010, entitled “Chronic Disease Prevention and the New Public Health,” that revealed trends in chronic disease management and discovered the most effective ways to decrease the incidence of chronic disease. The first was Public Policy (e.g. government rules around labeling of cigarettes) and the second was community wellness programs with the key focus on Employer programs. Here is the amazing piece, the CDC has done studies to reveal 80% of Cardiac, Stroke and Diabetes, and 40% of cancer can be prevented by doing three things - Stop smoking, Start eating Healthy, and get in shape. So for those who think that the medical industry is the only way to save people - haven’t thought about HR. We Reach the Unreached There is a drive in business to start giving back to the local community - not only because the employees are asking for it, but it’s the right thing to do. How big is this push? There are 7.9 Billion hours donated in the United States, and one out of three businesses have formal volunteer programs, and 85% of Fortune 500 companies have a volunteer program. But when the CEO or employees want to develop a volunteer program, it is human resources that sets it up and runs it. So pause a second, there are thousands of individuals working for major companies and their sole job is to use the company funds and employees to have a positive impact in the community! Kind of like a non-profit job in a for profit company! Making the Impossible Possible One of the biggest challenges that the global business world is facing is the availability of talent. This can range from the lack of skilled labor (e.g. the 400,000 jobs unfilled in manufacturing) or the lack of professional skills. How big of a deal is this? Companies spend about 87.5 Billion on internal training programs, and an additional $21.9 Billion on tuition reimbursement programs. Aside from the internal promotions, just imagine what having your employer pay for your degree means?  And who is the group that runs these programs - Human Resources! Marketing to the World’s Most Important Product! People! It is no understatement to say that the most important product that a company can “buy” is the people who work there. Over 70% of the national GDP, or in another way - 70% of businesses get 100% of their revenue from services - which is based on people.  As a result, the most critical part of most US companies is the quality of the people they have. And how do companies get these people - HR! Think about this in terms of sales and marketing, HR has the coolest job. There are over 200 Million visits over the US internet looking for jobs - and every day - people in HR are trying to figure out how to get candidates to come to their company website, look at their jobs and get the candidate to apply. This involves developing an employer value proposition (EVP), advertising strategy (like advertising on Glassdoor), and have a corporate recruiting system that is easy for a candidate to navigate. Being There in Times of Need Another facet of Human Resources is being a confidant to our customers. Every time an employee or a manager has an issue that they need to talk through confidentially, we are there to listen, and if needed, provide counsel. This is not just personal issues, The Economist did a wonderful study where they surveyed CEO’s and asked them a LOT of questions about their Chief HR Officer. The #1 thing the CEO’s ranked was that 76% hail their relationship with their CHRO their most valuable. HR professionals in front line positions definitely hear it all - from the funny, to the amazing, and to the disastrous. It is in those times that HR is the confidant, the counselor, and steward of the company’s values. We Get To Do It All Within HR, there is a huge variety of roles, with often the only common element being that focus on people. So back to the movie piece:

• In spy movies - who do you think actually already knows the identity of the spies as they have to get paid?
• In Astronaut movies - who do you think gets to train them to a level of proficiency that is almost perfect!
• In Disney movies - who do you think figured out how to bottle Walt Disney’s vision and turn it into a culture that has survived over 50 years?
• And in Wolf on Wall Street, well…who do you think had left the building?
• Not to mention employer branding, social recruiting and so much more!

Bottom line is that the International Standards Organization (ISO) committee that is working on HR standards has defined that there are 22 separate functions inside of HR. I have only touched on a small portion of HR functions and shared a bit on how cool they can be!