• Replies 16 replies
  • Subscribers 2 subscribers
  • Views 10747 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related

What is your job title if you work in a standalone role and *are* the HR function?

Maria

Hi all,

I have been trying to justify a few things myself, but it would be helpful to get an idea of other people's perspectives and organisational set-ups.

If you ever worked in a standalone position (e.g. SME) - where you ARE the HR function - what was your job title?

I am currently working as HR Advisor in a standalone role, reporting to a Director who handles multiple operations (finance, etc) supporting 100+ staff in a multi site organisation. Previously there were 2 HR People (HR Business Partner and HR Administrator), the 2 were merged and here I am, an HR Advisor doing the two jobs.

When comparing with the other departments, they all normally have a Head of or a Manager who reports to a Director. I cannot think of a singe non-"manager" who reports to a Director. If you are a non-manager (e.g. Executive) you report to a Manager.

I feel that I manage the entire function, even though it is a support function (not a strategic, represented on the board, etc).

I am wondering if it is fair to have a sole HR person within the organisation, but to call them an HR Coordinator/Advisor/Officer (and pay accordingly, of course) and whether it is common practice. Just to mention as well, there is no external help, no consultancy, no office administrator etc. available as resource.

Parents
  • Hi Maria this is such a common situation in HR and I'm feeling aggrieved on your behalf! I've certainly been there, and in retrospect I wish I'd have stood up for myself at the time. I urge you to do that, in a cool and calculated way. I cared so much about my job, my emotions got in the way. I think this situation is much more likely to arise in HR than in other functions and, dare I say, for women. The job title of manager does command more respect with your colleagues, and the line managers that you undoubtedly have to influence and advise. You, and your function, deserve it. Of course, in a larger organisation it would be HR who would be evaluating the upgrade to manager objectively and making the case to senior management. So, what would I say to my younger self? Manage my emotions and get politically intelligent. Set a timeframe, say 6 months, to gather evidence of the impact I was adding to the business. There's lots more info about the ROI of HR available now, helping you to make the link between your daily actions and the bottom line. Even more important, to get the evidence for the higher level, strategic impact of your role, take a step back and look at your organisation's business planning process. Get your actions linked into that, proactively. Plan a presentation for, say, six months' time, and start building the slides for it, quietly, building up the numbers as well as your solid arguments. Get the finance guys to help you understand the realities. Get yourself into the business conversation. I just wrote a blog about this in fact enable-hr.com/.../ . Continue believing in yourself and the impact HR has on the business! Good luck!
Reply
  • Hi Maria this is such a common situation in HR and I'm feeling aggrieved on your behalf! I've certainly been there, and in retrospect I wish I'd have stood up for myself at the time. I urge you to do that, in a cool and calculated way. I cared so much about my job, my emotions got in the way. I think this situation is much more likely to arise in HR than in other functions and, dare I say, for women. The job title of manager does command more respect with your colleagues, and the line managers that you undoubtedly have to influence and advise. You, and your function, deserve it. Of course, in a larger organisation it would be HR who would be evaluating the upgrade to manager objectively and making the case to senior management. So, what would I say to my younger self? Manage my emotions and get politically intelligent. Set a timeframe, say 6 months, to gather evidence of the impact I was adding to the business. There's lots more info about the ROI of HR available now, helping you to make the link between your daily actions and the bottom line. Even more important, to get the evidence for the higher level, strategic impact of your role, take a step back and look at your organisation's business planning process. Get your actions linked into that, proactively. Plan a presentation for, say, six months' time, and start building the slides for it, quietly, building up the numbers as well as your solid arguments. Get the finance guys to help you understand the realities. Get yourself into the business conversation. I just wrote a blog about this in fact enable-hr.com/.../ . Continue believing in yourself and the impact HR has on the business! Good luck!
Children
No Data