Myth - HR focuses on costs, which must be controlled
Truth in 1997: HR practices must create value by increasing the intellectual capital within the firm. HR professionals must add value, not reduce costs.
Today? - Unfortunately, while expectations have changed, HR is still considered more of a cost control center rather than adding “intellectual capital”. I believe this has arisen from two areas — first, the focus on controlling benefit costs has overshadowed a lot of HR’s work, and second, HR is trying too hard to leverage OD with poor metrics rather than trying to help implement business strategy by using all of the HR tools (such as policies and procedures).
