UK national newspapers have called HR a "parasite," "bloated" and a "shadow empire" – and the vitriol keeps coming.

The criticism has been enough to drive the CIPD’s chief executive, Peter Cheese, to defend the profession's work in an open letter. But do the ‘HR haters’ have a point?

Or is the profession simply getting caught in the culture war crossfire?

We invited David Blackburn, who achieved the #2 HR Most Influential Practitioner ranking in 2024, on to the podcast to puzzle it out.

A chartered companion of both the CIPD and the Chartered Management Institute, Blackburn won awards for his work as a chief people officer before moving into consulting.

--

Useful links:

“Bloated HR is more about woke than wealth” The Times, 4 Dec 24 https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/bloated-hr-is-more-about-woke-than-wealth-f3x6r2th3

“How HR captured the nation” New Statesman, 27 Nov 24 https://www.newstatesman.com/business/2024/11/hr-britain-how-human-resources-captured-the-nation

“A shadow HR empire runs Britain – and it's getting bigger” The Telegraph, 2 Dec 24

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/12/02/shadow-hr-empire-runs-britain-its-getting-bigger/

Peter Cheese responds to criticism of the profession, CIPD LinkedIn, 6 Dec 24

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cipd_cipd-hr-peopleprofessionals-activity-7270732444188688384-Omml/

As an internal-facing function, HR professionals are often shy to shout about their own successes in public.

Georgina Kelly, our 2024 2nd HR Most Influential Thinker, has seen first hand how this can limit senior HR professionals' careers.

As founder of GK HR Networks and the Women In HR Network, Georgina knows this applies particularly to women, who are less prone to self-publicise.

In the podcast, she sits down with HR magazine editor Charissa King to discuss

• What personal branding actually is
• How to get noticed by recruiters
• Why impostor syndrome is so dangerous
• Why networks and mentoring are so important

Podcast notes:

The interactive HR Most Influential Supplement, including the article on mentoring that features Georgina, is available here: https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/insights/hr-most-influential-supplement-2024/

Did HR miss its chance to win real recognition after the pandemic?
Possibly.

Can HR win that acclaim anyway?
Absolutely.

As automated HR technology becomes ever-more sophisticated, HR practitioners are being given a golden chance to do away with time-consuming transactional work and get stuck into real strategic people issues.

But what's stopping them? All too often, it's HR themselves. In the premiere of the HR Most Influential Podcast series 4, our 2024 HR Most Influential #1 practitioner, James Devine, director and head of healthcare workforce practice at KPMG UK, joins HR magazine editor Charissa King to discuss what the profession needs to do over the next two years to fulfil its potential as a high-impact strategic function.

Once, HR professionals could walk around the office or factory floor and see employees' mood for themselves.

Now, the workforce is more separated than ever. So how can HR rebuild connections within its organisation, whether for hybrid office workers, or far-off franchisees?

The task that now faces HR is to rebuild its ability to 'take the pulse' of its organisation. It is a task that Samaritans executive director of people and culture, and two-time HR Most Influential practitioner, Tiger de Souza, is busy tackling.

In episode 6 of series 3, Tiger sat down with HR magazine editor Charissa King at Samaritans' HQ, to discuss how HR leaders can intentionally rebuild their connections with employees and C-suite staff alike.

No matter where you are in your career, it's important to get on with your boss.

But for an HR leader, it's vital – and not just for selfish reasons.

In episode 5 of series 3, we dive into why CPOs and HRDs are uniquely positioned to support their chief executive, and how a healthy partnership between the two delivers long-term success for both parties' objectives.

To explore how these two strategic leaders can work together to transform their organisations' fortunes, Kerry Smith, chief people officer of the British Heart Foundation – and five time HR Most Influential practitioner – joined HR magazine editor Charissa King in the studio.

You've seen the headines: "DEI must die," "Progressive diktat," "A lightning rod for controversy."

It is no secret that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are taking flak in the court of public opinion.

But beyond the media spats, like Elon Musk's "DEI must die" quip, HR leaders across the western world are seeing real cuts to their DEI budgets.

In Episode 4 of series 3, Woosh Raza, director of people, culture and inclusion for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) joins former HR magazine editor Jo Gallacher to explore why DEI is encountering scepticism, and what HR leaders can do to safeguard their own efforts.

The UK is in the grip of a mental health crisis.

Some 20-30% of UK working adults showing signs of emotional exhaustion, and burnout has been stuck firmly on HR's agenda for the past four years.

And while HR is well adapted to support employees' mental wellbeing – does the responsibility really lie fully on HR?

In the latest episode of the HR Most Influential Podcast, Rachel Lewis, multi-award winning occupational psychologist and programme director at Birckbeck, University of London, sits down with former HR magazine editor Jo Gallacher to explore the suffocating world of stress.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform HR.

But just like any tool, it needs direction.

After all the hype of 2023, it's fair to say that we're all quite excited – or worried – about AI. But how many of us actually know how to start introducing it to our jobs in a useful way, beyond asking ChatGPT a few questions and getting bored?

In the third episode of HR Focus, we look at how HR leaders can introduce AI to their talent management processes – in a controlled and purposeful manner.

HR magazine Jo Gallacher sits down with experts Duncan Miller, global head of marketing at HR software company Cornerstone, and Natalie Sheils, chief people officer at AI-forward marketing company Mosaic Group, to find out the practical steps behind introducing AI to your talent management processes.

Many thanks to our sponsor Cornerstone, the cloud-based people development software provider.

Read Cornerstone's UK Talent Health Index ebook now here.

The Talent Health Index self-assessment is available here.