HR is a poison unto itself which has risen primarily because of government regulations and oversight, i.e. "quotas", and lawyers and unions, i.e. "discrimination" lawsuits.
Very often, the very people who are hired into and staff these economically useless HR positions are chosen because they are the very target groups meant to benefit from those skewed policies and not because they add any particular value to the company. They therefore perpetuate the poisonous system of embedded discrimination and mediocrity with a vengeance.
The HR Department is a millstone around the neck of any company who has one.
I think that's true. How many businesses of a certain size do NOT have an HR Dept? Any?
Why?
I think it's partly the mindset of many businesses that "expertise," however defined, is valued. The thought is that hiring and managing people is such an important function that we need "experts" which is in this case HR professionals. The results speak for themselves.
However, HR depts. serve a much more important function for a company...they PROTECT THE COMPANY FROM ITS EMPLOYEES.
I believe the #1 priority of any HR Dept is...don't let us get sued. So there are all kinds of methods and processes for hiring and firing that are legally sound but functionally null (at best).