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“I always behave in a professional manner,
and my colleagues think of me as such.”
The other response is, “I am always professional
in what I do, but there are others
in our profession who give the rest of us a
bad reputation.”
But what does “professionalism” mean
in the HR context?
Borrowing a definition of professionalism
created by the Chief Justice
of Ontario’s Advisory Committee on
Professionalism (which was developed to
help define professionalism for lawyers),
let’s examine HR professionalism through
several “building blocks”:
Scholarship: This what HR professionals
refer to as “competence.” What
distinguishes professionals, however, is a
sense of obligation to maintain competence
in their field linked to an independent process
to determine what that requires.
Integrity: This is a cornerstone of
professionalism and goes beyond the obligation
to observe ethical standards
established by the regulator. HR professionals
must be counted on to act
according to their espoused values despite
opportunities to do otherwise.
Honour: This refers to the sense of “higher
purpose” or serving some broader societal
good beyond the immediate interests of
clients and employers that distinguishes professionals.
The real test of professionalism
comes about when the professional must
“safeguard the higher societal value” when
the interest of the employer conflicts with
the broader public good.
Leadership: Here, leadership means
taking a proactive role on matters relating
to the profession and its impact on society.
This may include speaking out to address
a systemic injustice.
Independence: Professional autonomy
is a challenging area for HR professionals.
The phenomenon of “client capture” has been
documented in regards to lawyers. Client
capture refers to the situation where a professional
begins to identify more with their
employer and less with the profession to the
extent that the professional begins to lose
their independence and their professional
judgment becomes clouded.
Civility and collegiality: This is an interesting
element for HR since some HR
professionals will be members of a professional
regulatory body while others will
not be. And yet, HR professionals (whether
members of the regulatory body or not)
cannot stand apart from the profession
– individual HR professionals cannot divorce
themselves from the rest of the
profession. Whenever an HR professional
behaves in a way that falls below the expected
level of professionalism, it reflects
poorly on all HR professionals.
Service to the public good: This refers
to the balance between the duty to serve the
client and the obligation to serve the public
good. Business ethics and professional
ethics are not the same and this dichotomy
presents challenges to professionals
who are guided by a commitment to serve
the public good, but are embedded within
an organization that may only be interested
in maximizing profits.
Balanced commercialism: Income and
status cannot become the primary goals of
professional life – the primary goal of professional
life should be service to others.
The process of professionalization includes
the evolution of the attitude and
approach to an occupation that members
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ FEBRUARY 2016 ❚ 27