HR is dead, so let's all board the space shuttle for the Logasphere

I have worked in UK HR roles for around 18 years. Then in March 2014 I parted company with my employer. Life has little ripples like that which rock our spaceship. The positive side of being out of work has been the time to recharge, refresh, think, reflect and write. And I have now concluded that HR, in its present incarnation, is dead. Controversial? Let me explain.

I'm a member of the #nzlead global community who discuss topical/strategic HR issues once a week on Twitter. Curated from Auckland, New Zealand by Amanda Sterling (@sterling_amanda), the community is a vibrant gathering of thinkers/influencers/practitioners from NZ, UK and other places (eg. US, South Africa). What we all have in common is our desire to look outwards rather than lean in; and the courage to challenge prevailing HR norms.

My own view is that HR as a global profession is currently rather introspective, unsure of its purpose, identity or future direction. It has at least partly stagnated and lost its ability to take a strategic perspective on organisational issues; it focuses on policies, paperwork and processes rather than people and workplace communities. It argues over internal functionality such as L&D or Reward, rather than embracing external thinking from other professions.

I been increasingly uncomfortable with the narrow breadth of HR thinking & action. HR have become organisational policemen rather than people & cultural enablers. As a geographer, I've always held wider perspectives and recognise the synergies of multi-disciplinarity. Neil Ushers stance as workplace protagonist (@workessence) stems from a background in Property; yet he has become one of the most influential bloggers within the global HR community. His recent (9 September 2014) 'Word Up' post on workessence.com explored cross-discipline working:

“Loga is Hindi for people, and has a helpful softness and ease. Sphere because it is a domain….Whether you are in HR, workplace, property, communications, technology, occupational health, or finance, its likely you’re thinking about and acting in the logasphere.”

So a logaspherist works to connect thinking rather than compartmentalise analysis and the resultant solutions. Our own organisations face significant challenges managing social, financial and environmental issues. Global HR faces a number of key issues; within national professional groups (eg. HRINZ, CIPD) there are also additional specific local issues about identity, purpose and direction. My contention is that any resolution of issues of both organisation complexity and professional direction will require working in the logasphere.

 So our emergent proposal is to run a focused global conversation event to ensure rich dialogue, problem-solving and future scenario planning. Our plan is invite a small number of the best, creative brains with an interest in influencing the future of HR, from 3 distinct regional timezone clusters; NZ/Aus, USA/Canada and the UK/South Africa. A face-to-face facilitated conversation will be held through a global Re-thinking HR Summit in Spring 2015. 

 The location will be a convenient stopping-off midpoint between NZ and UK; options might include Seattle or Hawaii. A skilled writer/author could help record outcomes so that an action-focused HR 2.0 Charter/thought-paper can be crafted quickly. After the Summit, each delegate will be charged with taking our HR Charter back to their national HR bodies for feedback and agreement on implementation 

Funding and/or sponsorship will need to be obtained, but I'm positive we can make this happen. I am confident it can help transform the profession through global/regional lenses; and through this the effectiveness of the employer organisations we all aspire to serve.

 The shuttle leaves from Gate 51 in 63 minutes; are you coming with us?