Charles, maybe our first problem is lumping HR departments together. I guess you know they are different, and have different jobs, in different organizations. I certainly know nothing about the one in your organization, so I certainly cannot argue with you or defend them. And it's been almost 30 years since I was in charge of a Personnel Division. I have a daughter who is the "Senior Benefits Administrator" in the HR department of her company, though.
When I was in charge of the Personnel Division, we were involved (along with others from other divisions) in developing a rating system, but then had nothing to do with the individual ratings, which were done by each employee's immediate supervisor, then approved (or changed, but rarely) by the next two levels in the chain of command. The Personnel Division did the interviewing, testing, and hiring of employees, maintained the personnel records, and helped employees with any questions they had about the benefit package. In my daughter's company, in the private sector, it's the same thing.
So I agree with you about who should do the rating.
But if you don't think the HR people get their marching orders from higher authority, either you're sadly mistaken, or you're in an organization that's different from any I've ever known (and I realize that's entirely possible)./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Justify their existence? Well, if you were in charge of a large organization, wouldn't you want some central record keeping function? In my daughter's case, she negotiates with insurance companies to get the best deal (like health insurance) she can for employees (remember whatever she gets for them is what she gets also). And she did have a tough time this year because, as others have said, insurance premiums went way up and she was expecting employees to be upset (just as she was); but then she got lucky and after her presentation to the top management, they decided to pick up the extra cost without increasing what the employees are paying. She also answers employees' questions in person, via e-mail, and by telephone. She may act as go between or representative for employees with the insurance company if there's a dispute. And then she also plans and produces the Christmas Party, annual company golf tournament, and such things./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Maybe she and I were both just lucky. As least as far as we know, we never had the kind of relationship with the other employees that you have with your HR department./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif