UK national newspapers have called HR a "parasite," "bloated" and a "shadow empire" – and the vitriol keeps coming.

The criticism has been enough to drive the CIPD’s chief executive, Peter Cheese, to defend the profession's work in an open letter. But do the ‘HR haters’ have a point?

Or is the profession simply getting caught in the culture war crossfire?

We invited David Blackburn, who achieved the #2 HR Most Influential Practitioner ranking in 2024, on to the podcast to puzzle it out. 

A chartered companion of both the CIPD and the Chartered Management Institute, Blackburn won awards for his work as a chief people officer before moving into consulting.

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Useful links:

“Bloated HR is more about woke than wealth” The Times, 4 Dec 24 https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/bloated-hr-is-more-about-woke-than-wealth-f3x6r2th3

 “How HR captured the nation” New Statesman, 27 Nov 24 https://www.newstatesman.com/business/2024/11/hr-britain-how-human-resources-captured-the-nation 

“A shadow HR empire runs Britain – and it's getting bigger” The Telegraph, 2 Dec 24

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/12/02/shadow-hr-empire-runs-britain-its-getting-bigger/

Peter Cheese responds to criticism of the profession, CIPD LinkedIn, 6 Dec 24

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cipd_cipd-hr-peopleprofessionals-activity-7270732444188688384-Omml/