Managing by mumbo jumbo

HUMAN resources managers have been dressed down for dressing up the job they do by using language which nobody can understand.

And they have been told that the profession is facing a serious crisis of confidence because of the changing nature of its function.

Greencore chief executive Mr David Dilger said yesterday human resources people seemed to be at a crossroads. Mr Dilger, who was addressing more than 200 delegates at the Institute of Personnel & Development (IPD) conference in Galway, said human resource people were lacking in confidence about what their role should be and what their core skills should be.

"In part, I think this lack of confidence is illustrated by the tendency to camouflage your skills in a whole series of concepts which have no meaning and are of no use to anyone," he said.

He said he didn't know what phrases like the "people paradigm" meant. "These phrases are used in other professions as well, but mostly by your profession, and they are an attempt to mystify the issues rather than clarify the issues or tasks facing our organisations," he said.

He appealed to managers to stop using these words - at best they were only processes towards the achievements of goals, he said. Mr Dilger said a decision to stop using phrases such as "business process re engineering" would have huge beneficial effects on companies.

"Firstly, your colleagues would be able to understand what you are saying, rather than pretending they do out of embarrassment. Secondly, it would force us to think through the detailed, specific changes we need to implement, and why, in our businesses."

Mr Dilger said companies would be forced to explain changes to their staff before explaining them to anyone else and that could only be for the better.

He said organisations were much more complex than they were 10 years ago, but all companies were in business to make a profit. Speaking on the theme of "The Challenge for Human Resources", he said human resources had some responsibility for making profit.

He said human resources managers had to have the confidence and the ability to take their place in a team of other managers and to make a "really, really positive contribution to the strategy and the actions of their organisations".

At the end of the day, he said, human resources managers have to prove their organisations are better and more profitable places because of their existence.

IPD chairman Mr Frank Brennan said he agreed with Mr Dilger's prognosis. Because the profession was changing so quickly, there was a danger of seizing on management fads, written about at length in management "how to" books. He said it was really all about world class manufacturing and communicating with staff.

Mr Dilger was warmly applauded after his speech. Among papers to be delivered by other speakers later in the conference is one that will provide a linguistic treat. One speaker is due to grapple with the issue of how the development function tackles organisational design. One method, he said, was to investigate "the utility of socio technical systems reprocessing".