One of the first things I did when I lead my department was tell HR that I want veto power to anybody they added to my team.

Rejected. They said they need to be in the loop.

I then said I want the power to help filter applications.

Rejected. They didn’t want me to feel “burdened”, and even when I said it’s important, they rejected.

I went to the CTO to hire a handful engineers without HR approval. I needed them for a specific project, and going through HR would take weeks. He approved and we went above HR’s stupid hiring process.

It’s a endless battle against HR.