HR as a Business Partner Happening, Hope or Hype?

HR as a ‘Business Partner’ – Happening, Hope or Hype?

By Mr. Nishchae Suri, President, SOIL

Should HR be a strategic partner or a strategic enabler? Has HR earned a seat at the decision making table?

Most organizations are well aware of the looming challenges presented by the current economic downturn. HR professionals in particular are searching for new, integrated and creative approaches to Talent Management that will give their organization a competitive edge in the present scenario. In fact, the recession presents a great opportunity for HR to position itself to become a ‘business partner’ to the business and earn a seat at the leadership table within their organisations.

We are definitely in a recession that is likely to be costly in human terms as well. The question is: “Will it get worse for HR?” And the answer is- “Not worse, but different”. The current downturn could present the stimulus necessary to innovate around new, agile ways of working. In fact, in many ways this recession could be the re-making of HR. During this period, HR will be challenged like never before, and it has an opportunity to demonstrate how it can contribute to assessing and managing the talent within the organisation it serves and to provide leadership in creating organisational cultures that motivate employees at a time when they are feeling insecure by events beyond their control.

So how should human capital be managed? What role should HR perform, and how should it be organized in order to add value in the changing business environment? Let’s take a look at what the HR value proposition should be.

Aligning the HR function with the strategic direction of the company.

In organizations where there isn’t a strong involvement of HR with strategy, it can be difficult to make the most of talent (and to retain talent). This is because the HR professionals are not magicians. Unless they are fully involved in developing the long-term vision for the business, how can they know what talent to find and what capability building is required. Many companies develop systematic strategic workforce planning to analyze, evaluate and forecast the talent that they need. To augment this, HR needs to develop proactive career development and succession plans tied to the relevant job descriptions and make the necessary adjustments to excel in the role of hiring, retaining, training and motivating talent.

Engaging the workforce in business success.

The biggest challenge for today’s managers and executives is developing a talent management practice to get employees engaged and motivated to face the uncertainties derived from a tough economic recession that may signify a real threat to the long term financial viability of a company and thus the very existence of the organisation may be in question. So how can HR help that situation? In order to become a strategic partner, HR should

• Excel in developing employer brand management practices
• Generate multicultural workplaces where an employee can feel pride and satisfaction for belonging to an organization and where he/she is considered, respected and recognized.
• Ensure that leaders do not feel apprehensive about delegating work fearing that they might lose their job.

Essentially, HR focuses on each of the above points, whilst weaving it all together for
organisational gain. At workplaces, large or small, the mantra is to sustain and develop the business through people.

Driving the organizational capabilities and individual competencies required for
Business success.

HR is the primary architect of the development and succession plans of any organization. As such, its role should be to guide and coordinate these plans by becoming the “peoples’ consultant” to the business, moving from delivery of services to delivery of competencies. It must also nurture leadership talent by working in conjunction with other managers. Breakthroughs in brain science have shown that there is a direct correlation between a person’s emotional intelligence and organizational performance. HR needs to think of ways to enhance it employees’ EQ. More than emotional intelligence, it is social intelligence (i.e. the ability to listen, inspire, empathize and tune into others) that needs to get integrated into the HR function. HR can do this is by making social capital an important requisite of the evaluation process. HR must also put in extra effort in individual development to help everyone cultivate these abilities.

Fostering a high-performance culture.

Performance management is at the heart of all HR processes. The performance management process needs to provide real-time access to information about what’s working and what’s not, whose performance agreements are being accomplished on time, where the bottlenecks are, and which methods are producing the desired results. One way to improve the performance management process is to encourage a ‘mentoring’ culture within organizations. Using a mentoring process, HR can help employees understand their strengths and calibrate their judgments accordingly.

Synergize diversity

In order to synergize diversity, HR needs to create and get aligned behind a diversity strategy and philosophy. Cultural differences in organizations require the strong, empowered and influential leadership of HR to apply the proper corporate governance practices and homogenize those differences around an inspiring business vision. An important tool could be the formation of diverse teams around company priorities (e.g. product/service innovation, quality, streamlining processes, cost reduction, etc.) to give employees an opportunity to work together, leverage their strengths and achieve success. All HR processes – especially recruitment and selection, employee and management development, promotions, succession planning – need to be carefully analysed for congruence with diversity.

Retaining key employees and managing attrition

There is always a need for talent and the need to invest in the potential of employees,
irrespective of the state the economy is in. HR needs to make investments in coaching and consultancy to provide its employees the managerial support and empowerment needed in order to be motivated and engaged to face the challenges and risks implicit in this economic turmoil. HR should be smart enough to nurture a culture driven by innovation, establish collaborative practices, develop an exciting system of incentives to award outstanding performance, design excellent communicational dynamics to address employees on their career prospects and build senior leadership commitment. These should be enough to make a positive difference in an organization that looks for achieving a sustainable competitiveness in times of crisis.

The Road Ahead

An archetypical Human Talent organization in the coming years will be related differently to today’s organizations, in some if not all of the above parameters. One can foresee a Human Talent organization having different functions to be an effective partner of the business strategy; having a place at the corporate table and mastery in the behavioral issues that being inherent to the corporate culture are substantive to achieve a proper organizational climate. HR should be at the forefront of our recovery, not just a compliant functional support system. It is now time to put into action the often-heard HR rhetoric: ‘The most valuable resource is our human resource'.

About SOIL

SOIL aspires to be a vanguard of change in shaping the future of India through education. We build capabilities, character & enthusiasm, and focus on developing leaders that create and contribute to sustainable organizations of consequence.

SOIL is a business school committed to the cause of sustainability. As the international business environment witnesses dramatic change, it is imperative that education too, reinvents itself to equip the new generation of leaders with the right skills and perspective.

www.soilindia.net

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