A few years ago, our office had a Halloween costume contest. I went as Toby Flenderson from The Office. Brown blazer, cream shirt, orange tie, name tag. The whole thing.

People knew who I was right away. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. I didn't win, either. I blame that on nobody wanting to vote for Toby.

It was a fun costume, and a little ironic since I actually work in HR. I just don't want to do the job the way Toby does.

Who is Toby?

If you haven't watched the show, Toby is the HR Business Partner at Dunder Mifflin. He usually shows up right when people are having fun and reminds them about a rule. He doesn't seem to care much about selling paper. Michael Scott can't stand him.

The joke works because a lot of people have worked with a Toby. To them, that's what HR is. You go to HR when you're in trouble. HR knows every page of the handbook but couldn't tell you how the company makes money.

When managers see HR like that, they stop calling us. They hire, promote or fire someone on their own, and we hear about it after. Then we're stuck cleaning it up.

Yes, the rules matter

A big part of my job is protecting the company and our employees. Pay rules, safety, leave and harassment are serious, and somebody has to own them. In most companies, that's HR.

I'd much rather have a hard talk with a manager today than sit in a lawyer's office a year from now.

But if rules are all HR does, the company is paying a lot for a department that mostly says no.

Run HR like the rest of the business

Every other team gets judged on results. Sales has a number to hit. Operations watches margin and whether jobs get done on time. HR should be judged on results too.

To get there, you have to know the business. How do we make money? Where are we losing it? Which open jobs hurt us the most when they sit empty? When HR can answer those questions, leaders start bringing us in early.

It changes how HR helps, too. When a manager brings HR a problem, start with one question: what are you trying to get done? Then talk through the ways to get there and what could go wrong with each one. Sometimes the answer is still no. Most of the time there's a way to do it, and finding it is HR's job.

I say this a lot: HR is not the No Police. Managers should want to call HR first because it makes their day easier.

And pick up the darn phone.

You might be Toby if...

• Managers learn about a new policy when they break it.
• You can quote the handbook, but you can't name your company's biggest customers.
• Your first comment in most meetings is why something won't work.
• Leaders tell you about big decisions after they make them.
• You count how many trainings got done, but you don't track utilization rate or who's quitting in key jobs.

If a couple of these sound familiar, check your closet for a brown blazer.

Hang it up

Toby was a fun costume for one day at the office. Protect the company and your people. Then go learn how your business makes money, because that's the part Toby never bothered with.