Outsourcing HR: A Dream

I dreamed that the human resources department for all my clients had been outsourced. CEOs of every company had called a meeting and announced that having an HR department inside the company added no value. Outsourcing was the answer.

The CEOs explained that the decision was based primarily on the fact that HR did nothing but follow orders instead of pushing back. You spend too much time on executive comp instead of employee comp. You’re more concerned with managing up instead of managing down. You’re nothing but a conduit for management’s pontification to employees instead of a voice for employees’ concerns to management All you do is enforce the party line instead of challenging the status quo. (Remember, I said this was a dream.) Anyone could practice HR this way for a lot less money. Outsourcing it is.

When I awakened and went to the office, I called HR at one of my clients just to make sure it had been a dream. Sure enough, it had been. HR was still there. The person I called couldn’t talk, however. The CEO had just called an all hands meeting to announce a new “people strategy” for the company. Translation? A new round of layoffs.

I thought I would pass the dream along to you, since sometimes dreams come true.