Comments on: What I Wish I Knew Then…

By: ChristopherinHR

ChristopherinHR — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:20:20 +0000

Should be required reading for anyone considering the HR career tract… Thank you for this meaningful post Jane!

By: Fun Friday: A Random Sampling of Thoughts… | HR Gal Friday

Fun Friday: A Random Sampling of Thoughts… | HR Gal Friday — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:50:35 +0000

[...] I read an amazing blog post this week that made me almost spit out my coffee. Here it is: http://talentvanguard.com/2013/02/08/what-i-wish-i-knew-then/. Everything she says is SO TRUE! The spitting out my coffee came from the line about [...]

By: Jane Watson

Jane Watson — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:18:37 +0000

Thank you Carol, I appreciate that

By: With This Policy, I Thee Wed…it’s the Valentine’s Day #HRCarnival « T Recs

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:04:27 +0000

[...] Vanguard blog is a personal favourite of mine. Jane and HR are in a long-term relationship, though here she tells us about one or two things that she wished she’d known at the [...]

By: Carol Anderson

Carol Anderson — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:11:49 +0000

Interesting. I picked up an article recently by Jac Fitz-Ens about “disassembling HR”. In it, he suggests that HR is too broad, requiring disparate sets of skills and focus, therefore it should be broken into manageable pieces. I’m so not there….I continue to see HR as “everything people” – and with that comes learning to staff, develop and focus on everything related to people.

When I shifted my career from HRM to HRD, some of my team members suggested that OD/HRD should belong to Operations, not HR. I really don’t agree with that, as I think OD/HRD provides that strategic focus that HR needs in order to make a true impact on the organization.

By the way, I added your blog to my blogroll – hope you don’t mind. We seem to be kindred HR spirits….

By: Jane Watson

Jane Watson — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 23:18:52 +0000

We criticize because we care! Personally I think ‘bashing’ is far too strong a word- your posts make it clear that you have an investment in HR and people practices being done well, which is a great vantage point to assess its current state and call out its flaws. What I get impatient with are the folks that dismiss HR as unsalvageable, or pointless to begin with. On the other hand, I also can’t connect with writing that talks about HR as a kind of higher calling, disconnected from the struggles most HR folks experience day-to-day – the lack of the necessary competencies to break out of the ‘admin box’, and the perceptions in their orgs that they shouldn’t bother trying to do that…

By: Jane Watson

Jane Watson — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 22:46:44 +0000

Hmmm…you’re not on my blogroll. A clear oversight on my part, which I have now corrected You’re right of course- we could each write about every hard-won lesson, but in the end they’re only words, and wisdom can’t be gained from words. Of course that won’t stop me from trying to sidestep painful learning experiences of my own by reading about others’ trials and successes

By: Carol Anderson

Carol Anderson — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 12:49:30 +0000

It is interesting that you were contemplating the fact that so much negative has been written about HR, but yet, that what you love about it is the opportunity (at least that’s what I read in your post). I agree with you, and have been contemplating the fact that most of my posts have been bashing HR, but yet I do it in the same spirit a parent would reprimand a child – because you care so much and want them to be the best that they can be….

By: hrmannz

hrmannz — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:18:17 +0000

This is great stuff Jane and thanks for the mention (although I see I’m not on your blogroll – hint, hint). I found myself agreeing with all of it. I think this is stuff everyone has to learn for themselves. I know I did and I’m much better for it. Wisdom only really comes with experience and working things out for yourself. That’s the “growing up” part for me.