What’s the point of HR?

HR has an image problem. For some managers, the phrase “human resources” has become synonymous with the idea of needless corporate policies that get in the way of growth. From the employee's perspective, there is often doubt on whether HR is there to protect them - or the company. Host Isabel Berwick speaks with Jamie Fiore Higgins, an author and executive coach who spent 18 years at Goldman Sachs, about her experience of HR at the investment bank. Isabel also speaks to Georgina Shaw, a people partner at Lush, a company without a conventional HR department, and discusses HR’s role in the corporate structure with Andrew Hill, the FT’s senior business writer.

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Presented by Isabel Berwick. Editorial direction from Manuela Saragosa. Produced by Novel.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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