Dear Workforce Why Is HR More Visible And What Does This Betoken

Q

Dear Workforce:

Why is the role of human resources becoming more visible within organizationsand what are the implications associated with such visibility?

— Corporate sales director, hospitality, Lake Mary, Florida.

A Dear Hospitable in Lake Mary:

There are a number of reasons the human resources function is gettingincreased visibility.

• Across the entire economy, jobs are becoming more knowledge-intensive.Many jobs we would previously have considered to be “unskilled” nowrequire the use of computers or other technology.

• Businesses need to get more done with fewer people. New technologies havepaved the way for dramatic staffing reductions in large organizations, but fewerpeople means those that remain must be highly competent and reliable.

• The workforce is more mobile. The era of downsizing in the 1980s and 1990sshowed that workers no longer could expect job security in exchange for theirloyalty. As a result, individuals realize they need to continually expand theirportfolio of in-demand skills, and they will change jobs as needed to build thatportfolio.

• People have greater expectations for their quality of work/life.

These trends have magnified the benefits of having (and keeping) the rightperson for the job, meaning HR professionals need to adopt more reliableprocesses and tools for recruiting, selecting, developing, motivating, andretaining workers.

This changing landscape has wide-ranging implications for human resourcesprofessionals. More than ever, HR professionals need to understand theirbusiness, both at the operational and strategic levels. On the operationallevel, they need to make time to learn how the work really gets done, out on thefront lines. On the strategic level, they need to understand where the industry,competition, and organization are heading, and anticipate the implications forthe organization’s talent.

HR needs to fundamentally change the way it makes investment decisions. Toomany times, I have heard clients say, “We don’t need to justify this HRprogram. We have top management support.” Many HR professionals decide todo a program because it is fashionable (“GE does it. We should, too!”)or the CEO wants it.

Then, when business results turn downward or the CEO is replaced, they haveto scramble to come up with a reason the program should be spared. To avoid thattrap, HR needs to identify investments that will create value for theorganization, evaluate each investment against a standard set of criteria, anddocument the business rationale for the proposed investment.

As HR increases their reputation as strategic thinkers, they willincreasingly be in a position to influence the strategy formulation process,ensuring that the organization weighs the human capital implications of proposedstrategies.

SOURCE: Donna Neuman, senior consultant, Personnel Decisions InternationalCorporation (PDI), Minneapolis, Minn., May 15, 2001.

LEARN MORE: See “Strategic HR Won’t ComeEasily,” to learn more about the evolving HR profession.

The information contained in this article is intended to provide usefulinformation on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice ora legal opinion. Also remember that state laws may differ from the federal law.