HR Answers: What’s in a title?
A vice president of people and culture weighs in on the changing roles of human resources.
Over my three decades in human resources, I’ve gathered a pretty good library on the subject. In its titles I can see the evolution of the field during that time, an evolution that I can also see in the titles I and other HR professionals have held over the years.
We used to be just Human Resources or Personnel Managers. Then we went through a period where we were Human Capital Managers. I think that was a well-intentioned attempt to position the function as more strategic, but it never felt good to me. It communicates the importance of people as an asset, while simultaneously dehumanizing them.
That’s why I’m delighted with my current title, Vice President of People and Culture. I first remember hearing titles like this about five or six years ago when friends in my professional network started migrating into the tech industry. But, new naming conventions are not just the latest tech trend. I think these titles reflect real changes in the way we think about the profession and do our jobs.
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