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It depends if you have 1 HR person or something like 10,20+. If it is a large department, having someone from a programming background that is looking for a change could be a big asset if the HR department is primarily dealing with programmers.

Programmers have all sorts of side interests. I wouldn't mind studying and potentially working in linguistics for a while; I don't see why there wouldn't be someone who's into working with people in an HR-ish role.

Digressing for a moment, what about the reverse, i.e., how long would the average HR consultant last as a programmer? They'd have to organize a swap: the programmer hands over their brain, the HR consultant their mendacity.