Today's successful organisations, more than ever before, require the skills and expertise of HR professionals. And yet, HR continues to be rated by many managers as the worst of all business functions. Why is this?

Readers will be familiar with many of the criticisms levelled at HR. In fact, you've probably even said some of them yourself. In a recent survey, not even the notoriously-unlovable IT department came close to being as unappreciated as HR. And the truth, although I hate to admit it, is that too many HR departments fail to deliver.