A lot of us have taken a verbal swipe at the HR profession occasionally; some have written about it. After all, they are the “people people” not the hard-driving, analytical, results-oriented business influencers that the rest of us are. Right?
I had an amazing experience a couple of weeks ago when I volunteered for SHRM-Atlanta at a call in Help Desk for job seekers hosted by a local TV station. Here are some of the things I observed about my HR colleagues:
• They Get It. They not only have a good grasp of business strategy but also are good at formulating it. The organizers developed a mission critical style and approach to this event that was awesome to watch. During our two- day call-in, the organizers were tracking call types and other metrics to analyze how best to follow up and improve for the next call in. I know they also will be tracking and analyzing call resolution.
• They Are Savvy About Business. This group of HR professionals developed a program, including training, researched resources, screened volunteers and marketed the heck out of this event using every channel available including social media; on time and with a shoestring budget.
• They Give Back. SHRM-Atlanta has a vision of Working For a Better Atlanta and from the Board down to individual members; they are trying to live out that vision in all that they do. I don’t think this approach is limited to our local people.
• They Believe in Education and Development. HR professionals are credentialed and take their own professional development very seriously. I never sat for the PHR or SPHR designation but I understand that the curriculum is rigorous and maintaining the credentials requires annual continuing education including strategic coursework. How many of us can say that about our own professional development?
• They Are Collaborative. These HR professionals worked closely with the Department of Labor and the television station as a seamless team; adding their own particular talents to create something bigger and better than anything they could create alone.
• They Can Execute the Heck Out of an Initiative. That says it all.
Is there a theme here? I believe it’s that HR isn’t “Personnel” any longer or the group that processes benefits and payroll or nags us about performance reviews. There has been a sea change and it can only benefit businesses that are challenged to do more with less and yet do it with the best talent available. Your HR department just might be an untapped source of what it takes to lead an engaged company:
- Strategy Development and Execution
- Identifying and Developing Leaders
- Creating a Culture of Collaboration and Teamwork
- Providing guidance and influence in human capital development and management
- Selecting, developing and training customer-focused employees through a performance management system.
So, before we put our HR colleagues back in their box on the organization chart, take another look at your HR department. Talk to them; invite a dialogue. Better yet, invite them to your next strategy session. You wouldn’t dream of leaving out the Finance person, would you?
Is your HR Department leading the way to organizational engagement? What are some of the ways you utilize its strengths in non-traditional ways?
Posts
Of course, I will be biased in my comment, but I do so a bit of a shift. I believe HR has heard the messages loud and clear, "Know the business and be more metrics focused." I see so much more of this in the HR professionals I intereact with. I am excited for our profession and incredibily optimistic!
ReplyDeleteBarbara:
ReplyDeleteGood stuff.. I am encouraged to read your statements. Maybe there is hope afterall... Now if we can just get the C-suite to see what you saw and hire these great people and get rid of the slugs they have working for them. Or at least realize that "lousy HR department" is too broad-a-brush to paint the profession with.
Thanks for the comment, Cathy. I think that HR has been stereotyped and unfairly so. If you topgraded other functions, you'd find the same bell curve of stars, stalwarts and those who just fog a mirror. It's just that HR professionals are only now finding a voice or maybe they are just letting their work speak for itself. And, along with Marketing, they have not had the analytical tools until recently to be either metrics-focused or predictive. That is all changing and for the high performing HR people, their day is here.
ReplyDeleteMike, you are forthright as ever! As companies face critical talent shortages and move toward pay-for-performance and greater predictive analysis, I think the non-HR executives will have to see that this is an area that deserves high performers in the same way as the other functions. When successful companies design their organizations around people as a competitive advantage, they will be taking on the HR stars. Interestingly, it's the newer companies headed up by Gen-Xers that are moving in this direction, I think.
ReplyDelete