Professional Practice, Ethics and Governance
Professional Practice
Be the professional, not just the technician
Professional practice covers how HR delivers: the competency model (strategic contribution, professional credibility, people leadership, relationship management), service delivery models (business partners, shared services, centres of expertise), policy and procedure design, project and change management, consulting skills and evidence-based practice. Know the difference between policy (a governing principle, the what and why) and procedure (the step-by-step how). Sound policy is consultative, clearly communicated, consistently applied and regularly reviewed.
Change and delivery
Change models appear regularly: Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze, Kotter's eight steps and the ADKAR sequence (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, reinforcement). Effective practice pairs them with stakeholder analysis, communication planning, sponsor engagement and readiness assessment. HR technology such as HRIS, self-service and analytics is a delivery lever, not a strategy. Confidentiality, record-keeping and privacy obligations attach to all of it.
Traps
- Answering a change-management question with a communications plan alone.
- Confusing policy with procedure, or governance with administration.
- Choosing a fashionable best practice that ignores readiness and culture.
- Forgetting that HR credibility rests on accuracy, discretion and follow-through.
- Skipping evaluation and continuous improvement at project close.
Worked rule
When asked what HR should do first, choose the step that creates shared understanding and legitimacy: clarify the mandate, assess stakeholders and risk, then design the intervention. Rule of thumb: policy answers why and what, procedure answers how and who, evaluation answers whether it worked.
Ethics and Governance
The standards above the law
Ethics is not legality. Many actions are lawful yet unethical, and the professional standard sits above the statutory floor. Core concepts: integrity, objectivity, confidentiality, competence, transparency, fairness, conflict of interest (actual, potential and perceived) and fiduciary duty, meaning directors and officers must act honestly and in the organization's best interests. HR professionals owe loyalty to the organization while protecting employee rights and the public interest; when these collide, disclose, escalate and document.
Governance
Corporate governance assigns accountability: the board sets strategy and oversight, the CEO executes, and committees such as audit, compensation or governance handle specialized oversight. Know the governance of the HR function itself: delegated authority, approval limits, segregation of duties, data privacy, whistleblower protection and due diligence on vendors and AI tools. ESG and the triple bottom line extend accountability to social and environmental outcomes.
Ethical decision frameworks
A practical test: is it legal? Is it balanced across stakeholders? How would it read on the front page? Who is affected and whose voice is missing? Would I be comfortable if everyone did it? Escalate genuine conflicts rather than resolving them quietly.
Traps
- Assuming that because something is legal it is acceptable.
- Using confidentiality to conceal wrongdoing; confidentiality never covers illegal acts.
- Ignoring perceived conflicts of interest, since perception damages trust as much as reality.
- Protecting the organization's reputation over an employee's legal rights.
- Failing to document disclosure and recusal when stepping away from a decision.
Worked rule
For an ethical dilemma ask four questions: lawful, fair, transparent, and reversible if wrong? If any answer is no, escalate before acting. Rule of thumb: disclose first, decide second, document both.