HR is as HR does!
IT DOESN'T matter what HR professionals believe, it only matters what they prove.Honestly speaking, many HR professionals admit that neither the management nor the employees feel HR adds value to the business either directly or indirectly.
"Strategic value is no longer built around product, but around people. And it is here that the HR function comes into its own. It is for this that the HR professional was born.
The human resources function has been sadly underrated - and nobody is more to blame for this than so-called human resources professionals themselves," says Ulrich.
The common problem with all HR folks is that they think respect comes from maintaining confidentiality and secrecy. But the fact is they get respect by telling it in a professional manner. They focus mainly on functions like recruitment and selection, training and development, pay roll and HRIS, and so on. If HR professionals think that they are doing a favour to the management by carrying out these activities, they are making a big mistake. If you look into these functions closely, all these can be outsourced. Thus, if HR has to add value, it has to concentrate mainly on those activities that cannot be outsourced. Organisational Diagnosis is one such important HR function that can bring value to company business. It provides an edge to the HR person. Alas, this activity unfortunately is not given importance either by the Management or the HR department.
Now it's high time for HR folks to think about their career.
The following points should play a key role in the career growth of an HR person:
Make the employees and the management believe that you add value.
Most HR professionals are good at HR concepts, but lack knowledge of business of the company they are working for. If the HR person is not aware of his company's business, the Management or other departmental heads have no reason to listen to him.
If you cannot measure activities you cannot manage
The qualitative factors need to be quantified. However, in each and every department there will be some activities and tasks that cannot be quantified. Show the departmental heads a way to quantify the qualitative factors through Balanced Scorecard.
Establish separate image for HR
Develop separate mission and value statements for the HR department, from the overall Mission and Vision statements of the company. If possible establish a separate logo for HR that expresses your commitment to delivering promises.
Focus on Organisational Diagnosis
This has to be understood clearly and communicated properly to all the employees. This is done to tap the capabilities of the organisation and employees based on the company strategies. Diagnosis is the first step in this process; we should be able to identify people's competencies and the gaps between the existing and required policies or structures. Some changes will have to take place as part of restructuring in the company in line with the changing needs. Here, HR has to help the departments as a facilitator; to communicate, explain and manage the change.
Identify competent and committed employees
In every company you will find competent employees. Some are very good at their core competencies; but some are in the eyes of the management, because they are more committed to the organisation. It is HR's duty to distinguish between them and help out the management from time to time during contingencies.
Measure the impact of HR activities on Overall Business Objectives
If you cannot measure activities you cannot manage. The qualitative factors need to be quantified. In each and every department there will be some activities, tasks that cannot be quantified. Show the departmental heads a way to quantify the qualitative factors through Balanced Scorecard.
Attracting and retaining highly skilled employees
Remember that there will always be some amount of professional ego. Executives at higher level will always have complaints against one another, directly or indirectly. It is HR's duty to gauge how serious the complaints are. Further, HR should never look into the negative aspects of the employees unless required. HR should motivate employees by offering them career development plans. . To reduce the level of risk, it should prepare succession plan for key positions in the organisation.
Focus on internal and external communication
If some HR programmes are developed, communicate the impact of that programme in quantitative terms through organisational announcements, newsletters or special performance reports. Market the company's HR image through publishing articles in magazines.
Training and development
Prepare a training calendar for all the employees fixing the man days and provide them some in-house or external training programmes like Executive Education Programmes or Management Development Programmes. Nearly 9 out of 10 HR professionals ignore evaluation after the employees take the training programme. It helps prepare career development plans for the employees.
Build trust through constant feedback
Feedback should be honest, frank and spontaneous. If a HR manager can give honest and frank feedback, the trust an employee builds in him increases by a factor of 10.
SIDDIVATAM RAMESH
faqs@cnkonline.com
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Opportunities
