In my first job as a manager, I did it all. I hired and fired and monitored work. I was career counselor for the people on my team. If one of them had a question about benefits or vacation policy, I set off to find the answer and bring it back. If I couldn’t find the answer in any of several manuals I called the department we called “Personnel.”
Back then, line managers, like me, managed. Staff functions, like personnel, supported them. Then things began to change. Laws and regulations increased and became more complex. Litigation became common. Personnel became Human Resources and the number of specialists increased.
Over time, HR picked up more and more of the tasks that line managers used to do. First, tasks like firing and discipline became HR’s job. Other tasks followed. Now there are some people who think that trend should reverse, at least a little.
Jim Kauffman, an Executive Consultant at DDI, wrote a post last week titled, “Discover the 5 Most Critical Skills for Mid-level Leaders.” Referring to the findings of DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast, he said that:
“one of the skills that rose to the top of the list that wasn’t as critical in the past three years is identifying and developing talent. The leaders of tomorrow will need to be talent scouts, always on the lookout for the best internal and external talent. And once they find them, they will need to accelerate their development.”
Cathy Missildine looks things from the HR side in her post, “Are Line Managers the NEW Employee Relations Managers?” She notes that:
“It’s hard to get any work done, much less strategic work if line managers are still coming to HR for approval and as a sounding board for routine issues like attendance, tardiness and simple disciplinary write ups.”
Now would be a good time for the pendulum to start to swing back. But make no mistake, this is a cultural change, so it won’t be easy and it won’t be quick.
