HR = Socialism?

This morning I have been reading an item written by Dr John Sullivan for Workforce and I agree with him to a point and this just could be a cultural difference (Australia v US) but I don't know. If also could be because my brain is not thinking straight after spending most of last night awake with our sick son.

John's final paragraph is right on the money:-

If your goal is to increase your company's people productivity through the
effective use of human resources tools and strategies, it's time to change the
DNA of human resources. It's time to change human resources so that it focuses
on top performers and ensures that it spends most of its time and budget on
high-ROI activities. In brief, it's time for human resources to become a profit
center.

But I am not sure we need to be as cut throat and hard core as he is saying. Human resources is just that managing the human assets of the organisation for help facilitate a return on shareholder value. Humans are an asset and if they are not looked after they tend to "breakdown" in the same way as plant and technology.

Just don't get me wrong we cannot continually protect poor performers and expect the organisation to be profitable in the long term. I feel there needs to be a balance and we need to support our top performers at least as well, if not better than the poor performers.

I think I will re-read this item after a good night sleep and see if is clearer.

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