Musings on the Spirit of HR LeadershipMay 18th, 2010 |
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Recently I read with interest an article in the Huffington Post by Jon Younger, a Partner at The RBL Group, a firm providing consulting and executive education in strategic HR and leadership. Jon had recently completed a series of engagements with HR leaders of several global corporations. His observations centered around what HR leaders are doing to make better connections with company team members and, in doing so, increase their role as business partners.
Jon’s feedback shed light on how little time HR managers are spending (not for lack of trying?) on getting to know their specific business’ industry:
In a recent HR business partner workshop with HR managers in the insurance industry, we asked how many HR leaders had spent time with real customers in the past month. The answer was a dismal 10 percent. When asked how much time they had devoted to researching and understanding current events in their industry - the external trends that were impacting customers, competitors and investors - 80 percent of HR professionals spent less than one hour a week.
Then he pointed out how HR leaders can unwittingly cause a hands-off attitude to knowing a company’s people:
A colleague in our firm… was recently invited to talk with the HR team of a large brokerage firm about how to fix talent management. When she asked whether talent management was a deep concern to line management, the response was a resounding yes. But when she suggested that line managers be involved in defining the needs for change and visioning a new approach to talent management, my colleague was told: “Oh no, we’d never directly involve line managers. They expect us to fix it.” The message this HR leader sent her team: don’t engage directly with the line managers!
This got me thinking back to a post Heather wrote a few months ago about fear of HR technology. I’m wondering if much of the apprehension around using strategic talent management tools to roll out programs such as pay-for-performance or goal alignment isn’t actually about technical details, but rather about what it means for the role of the HR practitioner.
Once you begin working within a strategic talent management framework, your engagement and relationship with your organization’s staff and line managers naturally skyrockets. You’re suddenly seen by everyone as a resource, and sometimes a gatekeeper. And that can be very scary for an HR professional who doesn’t have a good handle on the business or who has historically thought that employees are difficult to deal with.
So what’s an HR pro who wants to be more strategic, but is scared to step forward supposed to do? According to the article, look upward for support:
HR leaders play a critical role in helping - or impeding - the creation of a real sense of business partnership… Organizations like AXA in France, Maersk in Denmark, Statoil in Norway, Novartis in Switzerland and Mars in the U.S. have established a different kind of relationship - where human resources professionals operate as “stewards” of the business and culture rather than as “servants” to line managers and executives. The starting point is the behavior and example set by HR leaders.
Figure out what’s holding you back from being a true business partner in your organization whether that be learning more about your industry, finding ways to be more strategic with your HR programs or conquering your fear of technology. Stewart or servant – it’s your choice, and I think I know which one most HR pros would rather be.
Tags: HR, talent management |
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