2 Things that Surprised Me about HR in Baseball

I work in HR for a pro baseball team.  I don’t typically tell people a lot about my job, other than the fact I work in HR.  If they probe, I usually say that I work for a small family business, which is true.  The reason is that reactions tend to be extreme – either a lot of excitement, a lot of negativity, or people want something, like a job or tickets.  People also assume that I hire players and give me grief about team performance (I do not hire players).  However, I am able to occasionally have a serious conversation with someone about the matter – typically other HR pros – and they always ask me the same question (or a version of the same question).

When you started your job, what surprised you about working in HR for a baseball team?  I have two answers. 

1. Firstly, I’m surprised the role that worker’s comp plays.  This may not seem that exciting or sexy, but in all of my previous roles, worker’s comp was a fairly small component of HR.  Someone tripped, you fill out the paperwork.  Someone cut themselves, you fill out the paperwork.  I know it sounds silly and I risk sounding clueless here, but it truly didn't occur to me that when players are injured during workouts, practice or games, that the injury is an HR matter.  Granted, some teams organize themselves differently, and player worker’s comp can be handled within baseball operations, but it’s still an HR function.  The scope also covers all major league and minor league players, and it also covers them from the time they play for you, into the future.  What I mean is that a player may have had injuries that were treated in the 1980’s, but may develop a condition today that a doctor can attribute to their years playing baseball or previous injuries.  It’s quite complicated, particularly when a player moved between several teams.  Additionally, when you consider the reality that most sports teams are actually small businesses, the worker’s comp claims represent a significant line item on the budget.  For this reason, most teams develop strong relationships with both medical providers and injured players, in order to facilitate the best recovery at the best price.  Teams who facilitate the worker’s comp process well can save hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
2. Second, I’m surprised at how much talent development is at the core of the business.  Many organizations considered to be “world class” are known for their talent development, and great HR people tend to be drawn to those organizations.  However, few organizations can say it’s truly vital they do as a business and what they provide to customers.  Some organizations have a core competency of engineering, others health care, others customer service or information.  In baseball, your ability to become or remain competitive is based upon how well you develop talent, baseball talent that is.  Some people argue that in sports, media and hospitality are equally central to the business as competencies.  But, if you break away the layers of today’s more sophisticated sports empires, the game is still at the heart of it all.  As an HR pro, it’s not a far stretch to bring talent development to other areas of the organization in a robust way, which is something I’m grateful for. 

Are you interested in hearing more about HR in sports or baseball?  If so, let me know in the comments.