Truly Strategic HR Does Deserve a Seat at the Table

Back in 2005 a famous (or infamous depending on your view) article appeared in "Fast Company" magazine called Why We Hate HR and, understandably, it caused quite an uproar.   The premise was that HR professionals were neither leaders nor strategic.   Don't shoot me, I didn't write it.  Now, five years later, one of the co-founders of Fast Company has written a blog article for the Harvard Business Review called Why We (Shouldn't) Hate HR.  So what has changed?

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Loss of Control - A Popular Myth About Outsourcing

In my previous post I attempted to remove the negative connotation associated with the term "Outsourcing".  I am still on that soapbox because it bothers me that something so common, based on the way most of us live our lives, has come to be viewed as such a bad thing.  OK, sure there are extreme examples where I would agree that certain types of outsourcing don't seem right.  But, by and large, outsourcing is a perfectly normal way to conduct business.   I suppose redefining the word may be more than I can accomplish so I'll just try to break down some of the myths associated with outsourcing so that it may be viewed in a more rational light.

 Here is one of my favorites: "If you outsource that, you will lose control over it..."

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‘Outsourcing’ - did I just say a bad word?

If you just mention the word 'outsource' in a conversation, chances are someone will look at you as if you just called their baby ugly.   It conjures up images of factories in the US closing down and sweatshops in third world countires.  In the business context people equate 'outsourcing' something with 'losing control' over it.   I even avoid using the term because I don't want people thinking we are something that we aren't.  OK, yes, there are certainly  bad examples of outsourcing, but it is not a bad word or even a bad concept.  In fact, most of us outsource things all the time and don't think twice about it.

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