HR Has an Identity Crisis — 5 Ideas to Reinvent Ourselves.

TL;DR People are every company’s greatest asset and biggest spend (salaries are expensive). Therefore, building a company where people thrive and do their best work is key. ‘People Operations’ often fails to do so, due to being stuck in their old ways of firefighting. I have five ideas to turn this around and be ready for the future, which you’ll find below.

HR has a massive identity crisis. We can’t even agree on what to call ourselves. P&O (Personnel & Organization) became the trendier HRM (Human Resource Management), but that didn’t fix anything. People aren’t “resources,” so we rebranded as People Operations or People & Culture. But no matter what we call it, the problem remains.

HR has always been an operational, administrative function. Printing pay slips, stamping forms, that was the job. It wasn’t until the ’80s and ’90s that HR started being seen as a strategic partner. We are supposed to be experts on work, shaping organizations with the belief that what’s good for people is good for business. It is our responsibility to build companies where people thrive.

Yet here we are, still stuck with Toby from The Office as our mascot. And we have no one to blame but ourselves. I see a lack urgency, ambition, and innovation in my field. A clear example is the biggest remote-work experiment in history (Covid). We were like a deer in headlights. Bystanders instead of leaders, jumping on the opportunity for change. Now, post-pandemic, the traffic jams are back, because employees are forced to be in the office at 9:00 AM sharp. What a failure of imagination and loss for our profession.

The good news: with AI reshaping work, we have a shot at reinvention. Before we talk about ideas, we need to have a mutual understanding of our pitfalls and old ways.

The real HR crisis

HR’s biggest problem isn’t the name or the brand. It’s that we spend our time on the wrong things and fail to showcase our work. This is the real HR crisis (a bit dramatic, I know):

1. We’re stuck in firefighting mode
   80% of what HR does has already been figured out. We know how to hire, give feedback, prevent burnout, foster growth, and part ways when necessary. There are libraries full of research, now even more accessible thanks to AI. But instead of applying that knowledge, we waste time firefighting. We get the same questions and give the same answers. So we keep emailing and meeting about ‘urgent’ issues. We’re stuck in a loop of recurring issues and don’t have time to think about prevention.
2. We make ourselves indispensable
   HR thrives on being needed. We love it when people come to us with their problems. But instead of building organizations where employees can solve issues themselves, we make ourselves the solution. So people keep coming back with the same questions. HR becomes a single point of failure, because we love being the solution. Like HR having to approve a holiday request (yes, that still exists). “Ask HR” should be a forbidden phrase.
3. We have an image problem
   HR has never been ‘cool.’ Historically, it’s an administrative function, and we’ve done little to change that perception. We get stuck playing the office police, stepping in at company parties, or rushing to provide employment verification letters. We don’t take ourselves seriously, so why should anyone else? Most HR directors are terrified of being kicked out of the boardroom. Too many HR managers are bland yes-men. We are Toby.
4. We fail to prove our value
   HR is always the first department on the chopping block during layoffs. We are seen as a nice-to-have, not a must-have. That’s on us. We fail to communicate our impact, and we don’t measure it well enough. So it’s both: we don’t have enough impact, and when we do, we fail to showcase it.

Back to the good news. I believe the future is bright. Yes, there is a lot of ground to make up, but who doesn’t love an underdog? Here’s what we should do to be ready for the future (and not get replaced by robots).

5 Ideas to Reinvent HR

To stay ahead, here are five things we need to do:

1. Embrace AI.
   AI finally allows us to focus on the work that actually matters: complex situations that require empathy, intuition, and nuance. We can stop drowning in repetitive tasks. AI is exactly what HR needs to move forward — use it daily, automate the routine, and figure out how to use the time you free up. Make yourself obsolete with AI before AI does it for you.
2. Build structures, not dependencies: People OS.
   Stop answering the same questions twice. HR should be designing systems, advising colleagues, and enabling self-sufficiency. Show people how to solve problems, provide the right tools, and step back. If the same issue keeps coming up, you didn’t do your job. See Jessica Zwaan’s argument for People Ops as a Product. I call that People OS — the Operating System that enables people to do their best work.
3. Experiment and share.
   HR should be the testing ground for new ideas. Work closely with researchers in the field and iterate alongside your organization’s evolving needs. And then? Share your findings. Stop gatekeeping. Tell us everything about your four-day workweek experiment, your AI adoption strategy, or your unlimited vacation policy. That’s how we move forward — as a profession.
4. Look ahead and lead.
   What does AI mean for the future of work? How do we address the rising burnout rates? Anticipate trends and take initiative. Read. Stay informed. Lead. Being proactive is a way to get out of the reactive mode. For the CEO to view us as ‘thought leaders’, we need to come up with brilliant thoughts, and lead.
5. Make impact measurable.
   What does the business really need from us to be successful? We should start with the added value, instead of fluffy ideas that sound great, but don’t have any lasting impact. The idea that HR should be data-driven isn’t new, yet it’s still shockingly rare. What does success look like six to twelve months from now? What metrics will you influence? How does that tie into business success? Communicate proactively about what you’re doing and the impact it’s having. Justify budgets with numbers, not fluff.

Now I can hear you thinking: duh Rolo, we know all this. And I agree, this isn’t rocket science. As we have a shared understanding of where our profession should move towards, the real question is: why is it taking so long?

Most of it sits with us (see above). The other dynamic sits with what the business (leadership) and colleagues want and expect from us. Because they don’t know what we can (and are supposed to) do. Being aligned as a profession is a good start, which is what I’m trying to achieve with writing this piece. Send this to your leadership team as a conversation starter on your plans for the year ahead.

The Bottom Line

HR — People Ops, P&O, HRM, whatever you call it — is the best job in the world. Helping people build fulfilling, meaningful work lives is essential. Without great people, companies fail.

Mind you, we take care of the largest expense in any organization: salaries. That might make us the most important team in the company.

So chin up — there’s important work to do. It’s up to us.

While we’re at it, I think it’s time for some rebranding. A new name for our function — one that has a ring to it and doesn’t sound like Toby came up with it.

Any ideas? Email me at hi@gorolo.nl (I always reply).