Why HR should not look like HR

This comes from some of the points from the work of NN Taleb, where he argues why surgeons would not look like surgeons. I can elaborate on the surgeon part but would leave that purposefully for the curious reader to get it directly from Taleb's books.

Coming back to HR, I recently had the dis-honor of attending a walking-in for an HR position in a big company. Surprisingly and unfortunately, GDs took place for the purpose of rejection. Now I can write pages and pages about the flaws of GD as a selection/rejection tool in general, but I will not waste your time on technicalities.

I was acting like myself in the GD, not wearing a mask or cosmetic personality. When some candidates overtook the (so-called) discussion that too with hollow words, I strongly objected to giving change to others in the group to speak. Strangely and sadly, this was taken as a very negative point by the moderator, who was some mid-high level manager. In the end, without making any eye contact, he indirectly told me that one should behave like an HR as employees look up to them and respect them.

I was like laughing inside so hard hearing this. Let me ask the reader, do you like your HR? Have you ever looked up to him/her? I myself have never done that. Who does that? Even HR doesn't look up to HR! Only and the only reason people look at HR differently if because of the special power of the function (which by the way is not personally earned by an individual HR)

Well, that not actually the point I am trying to make. Thing is, in my personal view, HR should look-behave-talk-act like business guys, normal employees. There should not be a separate 'air' around HR guys to make them separate from the aam janta. In fact, in that way, more and more people will be real and frank with the HR and actually act normal. The difference should be that HR guy should be able to get the HR stuff done from people on the floor and have the ability to be strict and directional when the situation needs to be. We should not be HRish and all fluffy puffy, behaving like English Lords.

The sad part is, if the mid-senior guys recruiting are looking for HRish HRs, then slowly the entire bottom of the HR pyramid becomes stuffed with HRish guys and gals, the actual people who are in touch with the ground reality. And the outcome of this you can see in your organization itself. Wishing you a nice Rangoli-Friday (Why The F*** Rangoli man!).