Human Resources used to be thought of as a negative workspace. Unless you were getting hired at the beginning of your career, you would get anxious when you had to go to Human Resources because the stereotype was that you were getting fired. The article, What Does the Future of Human Resources Look Like?, by Jacob Morgan, explains the evolving term of Human Resources and how the department is perceived today. The department differs tremendously from what it was in the past to today, the present, and how people perceive it to be in the future.

The Nightmare of HR

The question is, why was Human Resources perceived in such a bad way? How did the reputation of HR become a bad title with a responsibility of only hiring and firing? When I think of previous work experiences that I have had, I remember the stigma of Human Resources, but it would not be something I would have thought about without reading this article. In the past, Human Resources had a dull job description. This job description consisted of “hiring and firing employees, filling the gaps in job postings, working through the process of hiring and firing without advanced technology, and handling performance evaluations for all employees, including the employees in the HR department.” I believe that many of the simple terms that described the HR department have now become short phrases.

The Overloaded HR Department

Today, Human Resources has gained a whirlwind of responsibilities. One of their main responsibilities is to make employees within an organization feel valued. Jacob Morgan does a great job at describing how the terms used for Human Resources has evolved. From what used to be the department that was in charge of only hiring and firing employees, everything that makes an employee or recruit experience every day is done by the Human Resources department. I completely agree with everything Jacob Morgan wrote in this article. From my experience in the Human Resources department this past summer, I realized firsthand that working in Human Resources under the Talent Acquisition title is not just a hiring and firing job. My specific project was focused on how to bring in talent and how Sheetz can withhold the culture they have set within their organization. In today’s Human Resources world, Jacob Morgan describes those who are a part of HR as responsible for “creating employee experiences, unlocking human potential, completing projects in a small timeframe, payroll, employee safety, and much more.” I have experienced part of this change. When the market was expanding and I was working in Human Resources, it was a stressful time as there were so many tasks that had to be completed in a small-time frame as Sheetz couldn’t officially enter that market without employees and experiences. Currently, the HR department is one of the only departments who reports to the senior leadership team of the company (i.e. CEO, COO, President, etc.). Without the HR department today, employee activities and recognition would not be a thing within the workplace. I believe the Human Resource department is responsible for the high retention rate that is current in most workplaces.

My desk during my internship at Sheetz

The Continuing Evolution of HR

The Human Resources department has evolved tremendously over the years. In the future, I believe the Human Resources department will gain responsibility of other departments within the workplace. For example, there will be a Human Resource representative for each individual department (i.e. an HR representative specific to the marketing department). I feel this would be a great idea because right now, there are employees within an organization who feel they are not getting the most out of their work experience. Also, I believe this would help the hiring side of Human Resources as that HR representative would specialize in their particular department. The employees who will work in the Human Resources Department in the future will be branded as having ‘tougher’ personality traits and more experience in a typical company position. I believe this would make the recruiting experience easier on both the potential hire and the recruiter.

From where Human Resources has been in the past to where it is today, it has evolved tremendously. I believe that moving forward into the future, the Human Resources department will be responsible for completing many more tasks within their department/workplace. I really enjoyed reading this article. When reading it, I became more excited to work in this department and be more of the face of the company from a legal standpoint. Helping others is one of my passions and I believe that is mostly what HR does today. Through my experiences thus far in my undergraduate career, I have witnessed first-hand how busy a Human Resources employee currently is. The Human Resources department is one of the most common application destinations for many recent graduates. It allows room for growth and opportunity as it is forever evolving.