I’ve spent over a decade at Accenture in NA in many capacities, from client facing Strategy and Consulting to internal HR. Given that people are at the core of this organization, working in HR here has by far been the worst and saddest that time I have had here. It is quite frankly very nasty at times, An area of the org I once admired is actually quite in disarray and lacks transparency. My naive thinking that a switch into HR would be welcoming and this group would truly understand matters as it pertains to true humanity has been proven to be completely wrong. At this point in my career, I can honestly say that I have now seen the best and worst of human beings. It is a sad place and an even more heartbreaking realization. I would compare it to the point in your adolescence when you realize your own parents have made major mistakes that have impacted outcomes in your life and mangled your psyche and perhaps those same parents are not those iconic super-heroes you once held on a pedestal in your mind, all this time.
Do you remember in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow were being mesmerized by a massively enlarged, projected image of the wizard, who talks with an amplified, booming voice, light effects and smoke designed to create the aura of great larger-than-life being???? That was me before. And then remember in the movie when Toto runs back and rips the curtain to the side, and the Wizard of Oz realizes he's been found out, and tries to cover it up by shouting over his loudspeaker, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" Yeah, that me now - I see you now for what it really is.
Beyond the pretty internal branding and messaging of themes being pushed from the top down, what I have experienced time and again and watched others through and how we treat people, have brought the truth to light of the extreme flaws at the very core in the HR org. The lack of transparency will never change. Harsh decisions are made, which we expect, but be honest. how does the saying go that you can put “lipstick on a pig.”
It makes me sad to come to this realization. Now that it has been seen, it just can’t be unseen or felt. I’m left with that icky feeling in the pit of my stomach each and every day. I ask myself if this place has gotten too big and lost its secret sauce, and think it is about time to move on.