HR: Can I Get a Do-over?

Every kid at one point or another thinks about what they want to be when they grow up - I know I did. And while a glimpse into the future of my chosen profession and career would have been appreciated, would it have changed anything? So many of our choices, it seems, are less about planning and more about how we react to what rises up in our paths.

i4cp's latest white paper takes a look at predictions for issues impacting the workforce in the coming year from the perspective of HR practitioners and thought leaders. Talent, Politics and Global Expansion: HR Predictions asks about probable issue outcomes for the immediate future on organizational, U.S. national and global levels. Among other topics, we asked for forecasts about hiring, the outcome of the 2012 U.S. presidential election and the ripple affects of the dept crisis in Europe.

Because high- and low-performing organizations often diverge in how they perceive events unfolding, this research offers differing glimpses of the future that both market leaders and lagers are positioning their organizations to tackle. And perhaps more useful in the long run, we let you know how planned actions and reactions to these events - more than the predictions - help shape these organizations' fates.

In addition to the findings highlighted in the predictions paper, which combine results from the i4cp 2012 Critical Issues Survey and the i4cp 2012 Q1 Spot Survey, one question was asked that had more to do with the past than the future.

Like the predictions made for the future issue questions, responses given here provide important keys to the thought processes of the person answering. If nothing else, we can assume that a negative response means that individual isn't bringing his A-game to work every day.

Ask yourself: if you had a chance to do it over again, what would you do different? Many would choose to rethink their job or career, and probably a lot more than the norm due to a sluggish job market. So though it seems high, it's no great surprise that 21% of HR professionals said they'd probably have a go at a different profession given the chance. After all, especially among those respondents new to the field, the last few years have been especially trying as emaciatingly lean strategies have pushed even successful operations to their human capital limits.

But what does this say about a career in HR when compared with other options? Is it the best paying? No. According to Payscale.com, actuaries are counting those Benjamins. Is it the most prestigious? No. Most lists give that to firefighters (and most corporate executive positions have gone downhill on that scale during the recession).

Well HR must be the most rewarding? Again, no. The clergy seem to have had their prayers answered on that one.

So is HR at least the least stressful? No, that one belongs to medical records technicians. But even without that list I could tell you that HR and stress are like peanut butter and jelly.

Safest? No. Most secure? No. Happiest? No. Satisfying? The only one of these lists that actually had an entry for HR Specialist puts the job at 206 out of 300.

But here's a little ray of sunshine: 79% reported that they are content enough to do the HR thing all over again. When I think about some of the jobs I've worked in my life that sounds like a pretty good average. Still, if HR isn't ranking on any top jobs lists, what's keeping HR folks going day-to-day?

When you look at the results for the do-it-over question filtered by how well the respondent's organizations are doing in the market - based on revenue growth, market share, profitability and customer satisfaction - the number of those that would cut and run goes down below one in ten for high performers and to about three in ten for those whose organizations have supplied a bumpier career ride.

While it's no great trick to imagine that a career with a winning team would be more satisfying, the fact that nearly twice as many would leave a poorly-performing organization speaks volumes … and begs a chicken and egg question. Are professionals unhappy with their careers in people management because they work in organizations that are poorly managed, or are the organizations suffering because over a quarter of the individual charged with managing their people needs wish they were doing something else? Either way, we can probably deduce that working for a low-performing company is a major drag from a career perspective.

And that's when it hit me. Maybe, just maybe, the thing that keeps HR professionals coming back for more is the knowledge that what they do can and does have a real impact on the workplace as well as on a significant portion of other people's lives. Maybe the big-picture topics and trends we asked survey respondents to predict outcomes for so we could determine what strategies they'd be devising are the field where they do battle. And whether foot soldier or general, they know that their personal performance can make a difference.

In low-performance organizations where HR is more transactional than strategic, that impact - and resulting gratification - is stifled. But in high-performing organizations, HR practitioners are given the chance to mold a better workplace and - no great exaggeration - make a better life for the employees working there.

What we concluded with the predictions study is that how you deal with what happens is more important than what you think will happen. High performers aren't necessarily more accurate prognosticators, they just spend more time looking to future scenarios and building contingencies that will allow them to thrive. They look to all outcomes as a field of opportunity and, let's face it, people that can muster that kind of optimism aren't regretting their career choices.

When done right and executed well, HR can produce strategies that enrich organizations, individuals and society. And making that happen is what makes what we do worth doing.

Eric Davis is i4cp's senior editor and author of the Talent, Politics and Global Expansion: HR Predictions white paper. Eric has writen articles and reports on a variety of human capital topics over the years, as well as editing, proofing, designing and otherwise contributing on countless others. His areas of expertise include issues related to HR trends, corporate culture and diversity..