Forcing hiring managers out of the picture. In many companies, HR won't let the hiring managers get involved until recruiters have selected a short list of candidates. But the hiring manager is often the very person who has the best industry contacts. Not spending time in the trenches. If a recruiter is going to help hire people for a certain department, he needs to know what that department is like and what kind of people thrive in that environment.
Most HR departments become collections of rules that continue to grow in size and complexity.
I remember that at one of my former employers, pages of paperwork were required to open a job requisition, let alone actually hire somebody. IT managers need more control over the recruiting and hiring process, helping HR to locate top candidates who aren't currently job hunting. Meanwhile, IT must spur HR to eliminate needless paperwork and bureaucracy. The downturn in the tech economy isn't as gloomy as you might expect. West Coast Bureau Chief Pimm Fox offers a list of 10 positive aspects from the tech wreck.