Talent Management - September 2008 - (Page 24)

recruitment & retention assessment & evaluation compensation & beneﬁts performance management learning & development succession planning What is needed is an HR function that combines administration with expertise in human capital management and organizational effectiveness. Administrative Demands The administrative side of HR has been and continues to be an increasingly complex and time-intensive activity. When somebody doesn’t get a paycheck or is having trouble with medical coverage, it is hard for HR to say, “We’ll get to that later; we’re currently working on a new competency model for the organization.” But before falling into the trap of describing HR as a victim, it often is a willing participant in its relegation to an administrative role. HR managers tend to be comfortable dealing with administrative activities. Such issues provide HR with a tangible reason for existence and an area of competence that no one else in the organization has. What HR Should Do HR leaders in HC-centric organizations need to redeﬁne the core purpose of their functions, and then use it to inform decision making going forward. HR should be assessed on their performance in three major areas of responsibility: • HR administration: Provides high-quality, low-cost HR services to all employees of the organization. • Business support: Helps managers and leaders of the organization become more effective and make better human capital management decisions. • Strategy development and implementation: Aligns human capital management, organization development and organization design with the organization’s business model. These product lines build upon one another. It’s worth looking in more detail at what’s involved in delivering each of these three product lines and how they can be delivered effectively. HR Administration Providing a high-quality, low-cost HR administrative service is not optional. It is fundamental to the organization’s expectations and to the credibility of the HR function. Failure to provide good service can lead to the HR organization being discounted in other areas and can undermine its ability to be an effective strategic and business player. HR administration has to be done in a cost-effective, timely and high-quality way. In the past, this has not always been easy to accomplish because HR administration involves a lot of detail and complexity that make it labor-intensive and slow. Technology can help. Information technology can provide a way to get HR administration done more effectively, and at a lower September 2008 cost. Web-based applications can do virtually all HR administrative activities while lending themselves to self-service. Employees can visit a Web site and sign up for beneﬁts. Managers can give out bonuses and raises and ﬁnd internal talent to ﬁll positions with a visit to their company’s intranet. A great deal of what used to be done in a slow, paper-intensive way can now be done faster, quicker and more efﬁciently. An enormous opportunity exists for the leaders of HR functions to enhance their departments’ roles. HR’s administrative performance must be assessed to be sure it is cost-effective and high-quality. In addition to gathering ﬁnancial and operational data, organizations should collect user-satisfaction data. Business Support In HC-centric organizations, the ultimate business support role for the HR function is to improve organizational performance by improving managerial behavior and the quality of decision making about talent management and organizational design. Members of the HR function cannot and should not manage and lead people throughout the organization. What HR can and should do is improve the leadership and managerial performance of those individuals. In addition to the obvious business skills managers need to be effective in running a business, they need to be effective at talent management. They need to coach, train, develop, select and appraise the performance of the individuals they manage. Many managers lack the skills to do this effectively. Often they have little experience working in a peer role with individuals or in a situation with subordinates. It is up to HR to help managers develop their skills. HR needs to be measured on how well it does this by assessing the skills managers develop, as well as the cost-effectiveness of development programs. Strategy Development and Implementation A study by the Center for Effective Organizations, titled Achieving Strategic Excellence,” found senior HR execu“ tives in only about 40 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies studied felt their HR functions were a full partner in developing their companies’ business strategies. Executives were particularly likely to feel HR is a full partner if they worked in an organization that tried to gain competitive advantage through knowledge and information 24 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - September 2008

Talent Management - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Human Performance: Stop Wasting Money on Training Leading Edge: No Whining, No Excuses Learning Connections: Do You Get It? The Untapped Resource Reinventing HR Doing Compensation Right: The Winning Spread Managing Performance in the Knowledge and Innovation Worker Age Stop-The-Clock Time Management Preparing for the Future in the Public Sector SAS: Connecting People, Process and Products Talent Transformation at Textron The Price of Finding the Right Gen Y Candidate Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential: Do What You Love, Love What You Do

Talent Management - September 2008

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