It’s a question I’ve asked myself.

Lots.

What’s so human about Human Resources?

It’s the corporate function in which I grew up and which for many years I enjoyed. Yet it has always struggled to articulate its purpose.

When it adopted the Dave Ulrich thinking about HR roles, it got new religion about creating value for itself as a business partner. But the more it moved towards that picture, the more it seemed to distance itself from the very thing it was trying to achieve.

Although it’s not the whole story, that was definitely one of my push factors in reaching to find my own different kind of work.

Still, as I’ve morphed from HR person to consultant to coach, I’ve held on to a sense of myself being an HR person.

Even an HR hippy!

So, I was both nervous and excited about going to the Connecting HR Unconference in London yesterday. Excited because I’d met so many fabulous folks already through our blogs and on Twitter, with whom I felt a shared desire to shake up the HR party. Nervous because I was asking myself what I could really contribute to the day that wouldn’t be regarded as being too far out.

I was sure there would be a lot of smiles and warm mutual hello’s. But had I now become my own manifestation of one client’s naughty HR nickname – hardly relevant?

The Spring

The first thing to hit me was the venue. This wasn’t five star hotel conference centre stuff. It was the kind of place, in a pretty rough part of town, that I’d normally expect to go do some of the more esoteric workshops that I attend from time to time to feed my soul.

And daylight. Natural daylight. The place was full of it.

So, I felt relaxed just walking in. I could relate to this place and it to me.

Connection

And then the gleeful meetings began. Immediate OMGs, kisses and hugs. Then, sitting down and looking around waves and smiles at avatar recognitions.

People had turned up as themselves. On our badges we wrote our names and Twitter handles. That was all that was necessary. It was like the whole need for job titles melted in some unwritten but shared decision that all the box, power and hierarchy stuff wasn’t going to be a factor here.

And if we even got into asking “what do you do?” it became so apparent that there was such diversity in the room that my worry about no longer being a card carrying HR member evaporated.

Permission

And with that came the permission to bring to the table and talk about what was meaningful to us. The agenda was at first a few blank sheets of flip chart paper that, with the help of the facilitation team, became a series of expert-led discussions and conversation groups.

The “experts” were self-appointed. People who had a burning need to share a piece of thought leadership, or to offer a framework around which to have a meaty and relevant discussion. Where relevance was being decided moment by moment by us personally.

Got a bit bored with a session? Go find another more interesting to you.

Conversation not touching your burning issue? Put it out there yourself.

I loved watching people finding their own way to be themselves. Musicians knowing we play different instruments. Everyone playing theirs and allowing the natural tune and rhythm to find itself.

Energy

The day’s process was captured real time by a bunch of fabulous artists led by a guy called Tim. In narrating back to us what he and his team were witnessing and drawing, Tim used the word “aura” to describe something of the energy and atmosphere that was in the room.

I reflected how often we talk about energy and atmospheres like they’re metaphors for something else rather than being phenomenon of their own. Phenomenon to which we can and should attend.

But one of the most impactful parts of the day for me was an Aikido demonstration by some of the guys who use the venue for that purpose. Having an experience of neutralising – or was it channeling? – opposing energies was awesome indeed.

Not that I hadn’t seen anything this before. But never witnessed it being introduced without skepticism in a business or work context.

Whole person

On the train going home, between tweeting madly about the day, something else fell into place for me.

When I could articulate why I had really turned up for the event at all it was because I believe with a passion that it’s not just HR that needs to change – it’s that the world of work needs to be different. Jobs these days may enable better living conditions, and demand that you use more of your brain, but to my mind they’re often a kind of modern version of the Industrial Revolution factories and sweatshops.

Work is still too often split from life. As if it, and who you are when you’re doing it, are different to who and how you can be outside of work. The whole work life balance myth perpetuates this kind of belief.

Also the natural systems that support life are often disregarded or paid scant regard. Much of work may now happen in architecturally amazing buildings. But that doesn’t always stop the people who inhabit them from working long hours. Or from encountering forms of abuse. Or from harming their health. Or from having to leave their soul behind when they turn up.

The unconference, however, had somehow harnessed body, mind and spirit. People were able to be more present. Our engagement was high. Our ideas, intentions, and sense of shared purpose coming out of the event excellent.

What’s so human about human resources?

Which brings me back to the title of my post, and my own takeaway from the day.

It’s that as HR folk we need to enable people in our businesses to be able to bring themselves – all of themselves – to work, and for that to be okay.

It’s not about picking the attractive box of a job role that someone else created and living it out. It’s about being ourselves and finding a way to do it that supports the communities that bring our businesses alive.

By being ourselves in this way, we give permission for those around us also to be themselves. It’s more creative for sure, less clear, and maybe a little anxiety provoking at times. But it’s a lot more human too!

Thanks to @garelaos and @sarahfmatthews for the images.