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No one is free from sin, right? So, what are the cardinal sins prevailing in the HR domain? We unveil the seven lethal ones

Once upon a time, in a land far away, a human resource manager, clad in an urbane, dapper suit came across the ‘tree of sinful delights'. This tree was no ordinary tree. Even the smartest men had fallen prey to its wickedly luring ways. The ethical businessman, charmed by the tree's sinful magnetism, plucked and bit into seven of its sinfully delightful apples cursed with business debauchery. And just like that, the ‘people manager' found himself under the spell of the seven  deadly HR sins. Now, although this ‘urban legend' may seem implausible, the existence of corporate sins is a bonafide assertion.

Today, the corporate world is up and alive with devils that walk around, perhaps not wearing Prada, but donning the guilt of business transgressions. CEOs, employees and HR professionals, all at some point, have taken a bite of the forbidden fruit. Speaking specifically of the HR province, today, a lot of allegations are hurled at the HR manager, threatening to tarnish his/her moral fibre. Since we are all familiar with the proverbial seven worldly deadly sins (read: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony), we wonder what sins the business and HR domain are guilty of committing.

Sreekanth K. Arimanithaya, VP, & chief of HR, Britannia Industries Ltd characterises the first of the sinful fruit as the apple of ignorance. "Today, we find ourselves in the midst of HR practitioners who have no clue of the current business challenges, goals, employee needs and wants. As a result of this ignorance, HR professionals fail to get the desired alignment between business goals, employee needs, and HR programmes/systems. The HR manager today needs to get connected and acquainted with the business and employees and become well-informed, so as to bring greater alignment and brew better results at a more strategic level."

Another apple hanging alluringly low, ripe for the picking is the apple of defiance. Amulya Sah, DGM-HR, Samsung India - software Engineering Lab, reveals, "Good HR leaders have a strong backbone of HR fundamentals. Today, we find these fundamentals missing in the HR fraternity. This apple of defiance (to follow the basics of the fundamentals of HR) is a dangerous sin that leads to ineffectual HR credibility, thereby a weak backbone in the organisation."

Dr Umapathy Panyala, CEO, Apollo Hospital, Bangalore adds that the apple of mistrustfulness is another potent toxin, "In order to function effectively, an HR manager needs to show some trust in his/her staff. On a more psychological level, the absence of trust has stressed one too many HR professionals into perpetually sleepless nights. As an HR head, you need to be able to trust your staff so that in turn, they too develop a sense of loyalty towards you, thereby encouraging them to bring justice to the trust you show in them."

Purva Misra, senior VP-HR, MakeMyTrip believes the appeal of the apple of worship should be avoided at all costs, "Most HR managers agree to everything their superiors say or think because they put them on a pedestal and strive to please them. This gives rise to the ‘yes boss' syndrome, which impinges on risk-taking and quality decision-making. So, leaders must be encouraged to be approachable and be good listeners who reward and recognise ideas and suggestions." About the apple of greed, she adds, "If a manager sees a good performer and his/her potential to grow, he/she ends up overburdening the person with extra work masking it behind the ‘high expectations' he has from him. This greed to squeeze more work from a high-potential employee is a grave sin. To combat this vice, the manager should provide the shining star with a team, resources and ample support rather than more work!"

An HR manager who compromises, has sunk his teeth into the dangerous apple of compromise, believes Ajit Menon, executive director- organizational development, DDB Mudra Group. "Compromising when it comes to quantity v/s quality is a widespread HR sin. Many HR people end up recruiting in numbers instead of recruiting the right fit who can double up when needed for additional responsibilities, thus leading to mediocre work being produced. As much as an HR practitioner can, he/she should refrain from this sin."

Finally, discussing the apple of arrogance, Nikul Shah, president global HR and corporate services, Omnitech InfoSolutions believes that arrogance is a sin supreme. "Arrogance makes managers feel overconfident and brings a sense of belief that they are always right. This leads to building conflict between employees; thereby creating politics and groupism in the team. By giving equal opportunities to each team member, arrogance is a sin one can and must exonerate."

An apple a day may be what the doctor ordered, but these experts suggest you stay as far away from the sinful ones as possible as one bite into them can upset the applecart. How successful you are depends on how you conquer these transgressions. After all, to succumb to sin is foolishness, and there is no sin greater than foolishness.

- Lynn Lobo

The writer can be reached at lynn.lobo@timesgroup.com


Which of the deadly HR sins mentioned in the story have you fallen prey to?

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