Hi Patricia,
I must say I do have to agree with Mark's opinion that it is important for
HR (along with everyone else of course) to help our employers to make money. Money is not only needed to cover your current and future costs, but there are also costs that come with providing good conditions and other benefits for workers. If there is not enough income then everyone will suffer, including your customers. Here is an example of how the 'don't make money' attitude can negatively impact an organisation.
I currently work in a small not for profit care org, which employs around 100 staff. Only about 12 of us work in the office. The rest are supporting clients. This org is funded by the government, using a case based funding system, which severely retards the way we can do things (too hard to go into it here). If clients leave, they take their money with them. When we take on a new client, it takes about 6 months before they decide they want to use our services.
Prior to employing our new CEO about 18 months ago, the former one, along with most of the managers and staff, made negative comments about accepting charity/donations from big business, expecting and preferring that the government puts us up, and therefore ran the org that way. This meant we had no money to provide decent wages and conditions for staff, not to mention the office staff being overworked, and too much use of paper based systems, reducing productivity. The structure of the agency, along with many primative and long winded business processes were also terrible. Our clients, while getting their needs met, don't get the quality of life they deserve due to lack of funds. Additionally, we could not employ enough people in the office to make
HR strategic and not just transactional. In early 2008, our cash reserves stood around $100,000k......
We lost a few clients this financial year due to safety risks, therefore our income fell.....
Even though we now have a good CEO, the above mess we inherited has crippled our ability to generate income in addition to government funding as we do not have sufficient resources right now. The CEO and I, along with maybe 1 or 2 others are strategically focused, our organisation's next strategy is being delayed as we are still getting our basic sorting stuff out in some area (although there has been some positive changes).
We have been eating into cash reserves for a few months now (I don't know where it currently stands), and I've not been advised that a new client will be starting with us in the next 5 minutes, therefore we are not making money. This now means that several positions in the office, including my own, may be made redundant in the next few months to save cash. I also feel (don't know if CEO agrees) that because all our manpower is taken up getting day to day jobs done, there is no one to now undertake the intended task of reviewing the organisation's processes, restructuring etc ( I don't think the poor thing can do it on his own, as it is a job in itself). I was hoping to do this task, but the CEO wanted me to continue in
HR role to sort out basic stuff).
Sorry for the long response, but I feel it's important for
HR people to do their bit to ensure the businesses we work in can be sustainable now and in the future. We cannot look after employees or customers if we are broke.
Cheers
Michaela
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