How to Save HR — Step 2 — Outsource the "personnel stuff"

The next step in saving HR is to get rid of the nickel-and-dime stuff. (The first step — establishing a Talent Department run by the Chief Talent Officer — is here. The introduction to the problem is here.)

There's a reason why many companies and their employees lack sufficient respect for their HR professionals. They spend too much of their time dealing with what I call "personnel stuff": I-9 forms, dress-code exceptions, sick-day tracking, floating-holiday calculation, progressive-discipline rules, snow-day cancellations, dental-plan waiting periods. This administrivia is the tail wagging the dog of HR. Even the most forward-thinking, strategy-minded HR chief has no time left to do the important work — developing and implementing the company's talent strategy — after dealing with all the personnel stuff.

Get rid of it.

Outsource it. Send it to India. Offload it to companies who provide these services as an "outside personnel department." Clear your desk of the nickel-and-dime stuff. Then you can focus on developing, managing, and retaining the best talent your company can get.