Speaking this morning at the HR Forum on board Arcadia, Martin Tiplady, HR director of the Met, said: "My organisation didn't have an HR department before I came, so I know it can survive without one. My job is to make the organisation more effective but nationally HR needs to understand and facilitate their businesses. If we don't do HR with attitude, we will be dumped."
Speaking two-months ahead of the rollout of Tiplady's new HR model at his own organisation, he said: "[HR] has to take a good hard look at itself and ask ourselves if we have got it right. We need to continue to be relevant and cheaper and measure ourselves as the best.
"Let's not get carried away with whether or not HR sits on the board. I think HR has become obsessed with job titles and what it is called - does anyone else care? We need to ask ourselves if this is a worthwhile argument.
"HR needs to give the business good, pragmatic, common-sense solutions. They need to give a response today. It must be swift and jargon-free."
Discussing the topic of diversity, Tiplady explained a diverse police force can help the public have confidence in its work. But he added: "We are not yet fit for purpose on diversity. But we in HR plan our responses. We do overstate the cost and implication of a diversity initiative - this is about our culture and we need to raise our performance."
And in closing he issued the stark warning: "Some times HR departments advertise jobs three months after the vacancy becomes available. If the function is to survive we need to work quickly and there has never been a better time to do this. HR is not just about being advocates for the workforce. We need to have our own independence of mind.
"The future of HR is about realising how what you do can affect your organisation's finished product."