Letters from readers.

No Experience Necessary?

Steve Bates' November cover story might provide incentive for up-and-coming HR professionals to seriously consider investing two to three years in an operational department.

Too many times I have seen young HR professionals say they would like to spend

CEOs are looking for HR professionals who have participated in the daily operations and have lived the pressures of day-to-day business with the company's external and internal customers. Who knows, the HR professional who tries this approach might also turn out to be the next senior VP of sales or marketing!

John Meyer

Centerville, Ohio

The practice of selecting non-HR employees for top HR positions over those with HR experience is unsettling and can demotivate HR veterans and up-and-coming HR professionals.

Often, companies do not allow HR professionals to become strategic partners. HR may be given the leeway to operate once a decision has been made, but has little to no authority in the decision-making process. Companies must ensure that HR professionals are involved in all aspects of the business through training and mentoring programs.

The notion that most HR professionals cannot understand the bottom line is more myth than reality. A majority of HR professionals have graduated from business schools and have earned advanced business degrees; many have earned the same degrees and attended the same courses as non-HR professionals.

Perhaps if organizations would truly embrace and empower the HR function, an abundance of creative, new ideas would emerge.

I'm sure that in many cases the transition to a non-HR executive has worked well, but at what expense? The alienation of the HR staff and the inability to retain quality HR professionals because they face a glass ceiling are a few of the reasons to reconsider this decision.

Michael Oubre, SPHR

New Orleans

I think one reason so many different backgrounds are acceptable in this field is in part because HR is quite different from organization to organization. Sometimes we dwell on the common themes (benefits, labor, legal, etc.) but in reality each organization has a different slant on how it wants HR to be executed.

Like it or not, HR is not a science, it is an art. True, you need skills. But even somebody without 20 years of experience or certification may be able to study HR in the evening and learn enough to run the department. The key is what kind of artist is the leader?

Kirby Smith, SPHR

Royal Oak, Mich.

It was disconcerting to see the article "No Experience Necessary?" As an HR professional and college instructor of human resource management, it concerns me that HR Magazine supports the placement of non-HR executives in charge of HR.

The article would have served the profession better by discussing the phenomenon, why it happens, and how HR professionals can prepare themselves to compete successfully for top HR positions, instead of putting a stamp of approval on the practice of going outside of HR.

Would engineers or physicians suggest that someone who isn't registered or licensed should perform their duties? No way. Instead they would find better methods of preparation for their professions.

The article stated that one reason organizations hire non-HR professionals is to achieve a broader view of the business. If those within the HR department are not strategic, the organization should find a forward-thinking HR professional from the outside to develop the HR department into a business partner.

I know too many HR professionals who are frustrated because their organizations do not allow them to think and act strategically. One factor is that executive teams lack an understanding of HR. They may choose people outside of HR for high-level positions because they hold preconceived notions about HR. We must educate executives outside of HR so they recognize we are not the personnel department of yesteryear, pushing paperwork and acting as "technocrats."

Patricia Stokke

Aptos, Calif.

Editor's note: The article was not an endorsement of this trend, but a report on its reasons, potential benefits and drawbacks.

Why Can't HR Telecommute?

I wish to respond to Rebecca Dunn's letter (November), which stated that HR professionals should not telecommute.

I am a senior regional HR manager with a Fortune 500 company. I have more than 20 years of experience, and hold an undergraduate degree in economics and a master's degree in management and organizational behavior. Based on my experience, I disagree with Dunn's premise that there must be "face-to-face contact with employees and managers."

I am responsible for as many as 15 manufacturing facilities, which I visit every few months because some issues require "face time." However, much of my contact with managers and employees is by phone or e-mail. My customers indicate they get the type and amount of service that meets or exceeds their expectations.

Before e-mail, cell phones and faxes, I would have been more likely to agree with Dunn. However, my experience indicates that success as an HR professional rests in how one utilizes available technology.

Secondly, Dunn states that employees need HR so they "feel they are not alone." My job is to help my company interpret the law and communicate management s vision. I must ensure that employees are treated fairly, equitably, humanely and--in all ways--legally. I am not there to hold their hands. It is the responsibility of direct managers to make employees "feel that they are not alone."

Of course, managers should not abuse employees. One of the best ways to ensure this does not happen is to be a respected partner--not a highly paid babysitter.

HR's role is constantly changing. If we can best serve employees and managers by telecommuting, that is the tool that must be used and can be used effectively. By the way, I do not telecommute.

Robert L. Morehouse

Memphis, Tenn.

High Marks for Home Schooling

As a current HR practitioner and home-schooling father of six children/students for more than a decade, I was impressed with your well-researched and perfectly balanced article (November) regarding the impact of home schoolers on the workplace.

Home schooling isn't a panacea, but it provides a viable option for families to instill their values and accomplish educational objectives while preparing tomorrow's workforce. I'm especially proud to see the "out-of-the-box" thinking/reporting of a non-standard approach to education and its impact on HR in the future. Way to go, HR Magazine! You're always on the leading edge!

Eddie Lee Felder Jr., PHR

Biloxi, Miss.

Robert Grossman did an excellent job addressing the arguments and concerns regarding home schooling, and then supporting or rejecting them with statistical data and observations by professionals.

It is unfortunate that the National Education Association (NEA) continues to ignore the statistics and, even more, the results!

Home schooling parents (I have been one for 12 years) assume an incredible responsibility to prepare their children for the adult world. We are on the job 24/7/365 for 13 years of education per child. We have the time to get it right--and the incentive: If we fail, our children will be unemployable and incapable of surviving on their own.

Perhaps if public schools had to house their failing students until they were capable of being contributing, successful adults, the NEA's agenda and the pubic school environment would change dramatically.

In our state, we have seen public school administrators lobby against home schooling, then later encourage families to withdraw "problem" students and home school them. The result: The school gets rid of their "problem" children and do not have to list them as expelled or dropped out.

It's a tidy solution for schools. But unprepared parents receive the product of a failed "comprehensive educational experience." These kids then become the "poster children" for home schooling critics.

Thank you for striving to portray a balanced picture of the home schooling experience, and good luck to those HR professionals wise enough to seek out home-schooled students.

Charlene Brown

Indianapolis

Too Much Horn Blowing

As a 40-year veteran of HR, I was dismayed by the self-serving flavor of the December issue. Has the function become so needy that it must devote so many articles to blow its own horn? I would expect nothing less than what diligent HR professionals gave after Sept. 11, and I don't need SHRM to affirm this.

Ted Sares, SPHR

North Conway, N.H.

Corrections

The December cover story "Above and Beyond" incorrectly identified a New Jersey company as Medic Alert. The correct name is Med Alert Ambulance.

The December Software Review included typographical errors in the review of Genesys Software Systems Inc. and in the company's phone number. In fact, the company's director of marketing is Lisa Rowan, and the company's toll-free number is (800) 540-5450.