A new era for HR? [Management HR]

You\´ve got to feel sorry for the beleaguered Human Resources manager. Never a big favourite with other managers, the HR supremo has a reputation for being a corporate henchman, the slasher of salaries and the harbinger of all things doom-related. But are these stereotypical images out of date? According to Jackie Orme, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), there\´s a revolution going on, albeit a "quiet one". Industry\´s key gripes about HR can be summarised in terms of costs, which represent a big factor, followed by the impact in the past 13 years of the avalanche of regulations and legislation cascading from government departments. Finally, HR people, with their palpable enthusiasm for \´soft\´ skills, appear to have little interest in business or strategic issues.