We all hear the same comments about HR: "Why can't HR get the people I need?", “HR says we can't do it or we will get sued." or "We need HR to do more than Employee Relations" How do we get HR out of the box they are in?
People Profits Principle #18
The Chief HR Officer should have the same
degree of impact as the CFO - but seldom does
How can you identify "Traditional HR"? The symptoms are easy to spot. Processes are transaction heavy with lots of paper. They are always on the treadmill of activity with little focus on results. Many HR professionals will use the “We are too busy” excuse. However, if you look at their processes, many times they have activity for the sake of activity. The focus is on employee relations and compliance. There is little to no financial ROI responsibilities and a lack of a results orientation. Most other departments are obsessed with their goals and the achievement of those goals. (Think Sales.) A disconnect between organizational operations and HR. Many times HR is in a completely different building. There is a lack of business and organizational acumen. Review the Deloitte Human Capital Report of 2015 among many others and decide for yourself.
HR must become adept at developing a strategy, plans and measuring success. As with the rest of the organization they must become obsessed with process improvement. This leads them to where everyone else is in the organization - focused on results not activity. Too many HR departments see themselves as employee advocates or policy cops versus drivers of business strategy. HR has to become much more comfortable with numbers - how to read a P&L and their effect on it. They are the managers of the “greatest asset” – they need to drive that asset to the results the organization needs.
What are the five ways we can help them become the drivers of organizational results?
- Identify those areas they need development and provide coaching to help them learn how to develop strategies and plans.
- Set standards and goals, demand results and increase the goals when attained. (This is nothing different than other business functions.)
- Demand status reports focusing on results and all but ignoring activity.
- Coach and develop on the business issues and how they can and will help.
- Coach and develop on how the numbers interact and help attain the results we need with the above issues.
People Profits case study: A manufacturing company was not getting the results from their HR department they needed. Recruiting was not succeeding, engagement and employee retention was very low. Employee turnover was ridiculously high. The cost of employee benefits was very high and increasing dramatically. There were no documented strategies, plans or goals. They were simply fighting fires - hiring as many as they could as fast as they could to try and keep up. Documented strategies, systems, plans and goals were put in place, results were measured and realigned as time passed. Soon the results were in line with the organizational requirements.
People Profits mission is to elevate your HR department to where you need them to be. The strategic driver of your greatest asset!! We do this by building a comprehensive Human Capital Strategy and Plan including all 7 elements of HR with no conflicts and focused on business and financial principles.
Profits and Growth through Human Capital Strategy and Systems
See HR differently
Clark Ingram, MBA, SPHR, CEBS, CPCU is the principal of People Profits, www.PeopleProfits.com ©2015 People Profits, LLC
#strategy #turnover #profit
