Today’s HR Mission includes Human Resources that are:
- Integrated;
- Aligned;
- Accountable; and
- Compliant.
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Integrated HR
Human Resources is no longer another staff department. In order to ensure maximum business impact and to allow HR management principles and expertise to inform business plans, today’s CEO engages HR as part of senior leadership. HR leaders are a part of modern strategic planning both through input regarding external demography, trends and issues affecting human beings at work but also reports of internal talent strengths and weaknesses.
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Aligned HR
Human Resources deconstructs every company strategic goal in terms of the ability of employees at every level to support their successful achievement. For example, if the goal is profitability improvement, all of the following must be analyzed:
- Fixed expense reduction
- Variable expenses associated with sales increases
- Variable expenses associated with adding human resources
- Inefficiencies in all company functions
- Comparison of the relative profit margins of each line of business
- Sales procedures and processes
- Product and service pricing strategies
- Downsizing or divestiture options
Human resources management contributes to these potential improvement strategies through proper leadership and supervision focused on the right things, job analysis and design, compensation, proper training and development, performance evaluations and organization culture which either enhances or detracts from goal achievement. Do employees have the right training and motivation or is it tools and materials access that are slowing down production? If you can’t answer this question, strategies are not programmed for success.
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Accountable HR
Every business function, including Human Resources, must demonstrate its effectiveness. Are the performance evaluation tools getting at technical results, conducive work approach AND behavior consistent with the company’s stated/desired culture? Do retention strategies reduce “bad” turnover? Are candidate assessments positively correlated with future sound performance on the job? Finally, do your programs and strategies reflect the needs and demographics of your workforce today and in likely future scenarios? Proper quantification and HR metrics answer these questions and provide data that allows improvement and refinement over time.
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Compliant HR
Employee relations litigation is increasing in nearly every area: discrimination, harassment and all aspects of employee termination disagreements. The statutes, case-law and regulations at the state and federal level present considerable challenges for the average business executive. Human Resource professionals have the information needed to think about the big picture, triage risk management strategies for maximum effectiveness and to prevent the ugliness that can result when miss-steps are publicized instantly through social media.
Working closely with HR for many years as a Behavioral Analyst & Consultant, I can approve this timely message. We worked with a company’s HR Director in Orlando, FL several years ago through behavioral profiling and attitudes and values within the C-Level team. We ultimately saved the organization 48,000.00 per month because of inneffective and misplaced personnel; something HR wasn’t even aware of.
Thank you Suzi for these excellent points to ponder!
Steven:
Great compliment indeed from a person whose work I greatly respect. I appreciate your taking the time to post a comment.