Corona Chronicles #6 Future Role of HR Leader
As part of a brilliant initiative to stay connected and share knowledge using OneNote initiated by a team member, another colleague of mine raised a challenge and asked me to write an article on the above said topic!
The one person, I must quote is undeniably Dave Olson Ulrich - the Management Educator & Guru who's had a HUGE influence on all things HR for me and millions of us HR professionals! In his 2005 best-seller 'The HR Value Proposition' co-authored with Wayne Brockbank and through his various works & lecture series (including a controversial stand in 2016 where he challenged if organizations really required HR professionals!!), Dave has been questioning HR Leaders and practitioners on #HowWeAddValueAsHR.
The infamous Dave Ulrich HR model goaded us HR professionals to alternate our focus on Strategic and Operational topics while striking the right balance between Processes & People. In turn, we realized we add value only when we alternate periodically and wear the hats of the Strategic Partner, the Change Agent, the Administrative Expert, and most importantly, the Employee Champion as required.
In short, Dave has also been asking HR Leaders to view our profession from an 'Outside In' perspective. The expectation from the HR Managers and Leaders has been to have conversations about:
1. The Demand and Supply of Talent - The kind and number of individuals we need to bring on-board and retain for the organization to remain competitive (done via Succession Planning, Strategic WorkForce Planning, building Future Talent Pipelines et al)
2. Creating and Sustaining the Right Culture - The kind of behaviors that we will display and encourage others to display (done via finalizing Organizational Values & Competency Models, undertaking Development Centers for senior leaders & 360 degree feedback et al)
3. Having the right Organization led by Competent Leaders - The right Organization Structures with a set of leaders with differentiated skills & experience that will help us stay competitive in the long-run (via Organization Structuring, Recruitment & Selection, Performance Management, Compensation & Executive Perks, Rewards & Recognition et al)
He's been urging HR Leaders to be equipped to have #ConversationsThatLeadToAction.. Conversations and Action Planning with:
1. Investors - On how we in HR can provide insights & inputs on how the #MostValued yet #Intangible assets in the organization (its people) are creating sustained market value.
2. Customers - On how our work force is responding to their expectations and how we've designed and delivered HR practices that align the organizational values with their (customer) expectations while continuing to engage the employees.
3. Line Managers - On how to prioritize and create organizational capabilities that translate to delivering business strategies and plans more efficiently and effectively while continuing to focus on people's well-being.
4. Employees - Reassuring them (and ensuring) that every time they add value using their skill & will, that every time they create a niche for the organization,the organization will certainly reward and recognize them in an equitable and fair manner; Ties back to the Organization Culture and how it's the #OnlyDifferentiatingFactor for why employees choose one organization over another!
5. Business Leaders - On identifying key HR priorities the team will accomplish this year (the What), the reasons (the Why) and the practices / manner (the How) in which this will be delivered. In turn, s/he tables the expected support & posture required from the leaders & their executive teams to enable #SuccessForTeamHR. This will ensure that the HR team is able to proactively enable the business to deliver value through their most crucial yet intangible resources - PEOPLE- in a collaborative manner!
P.S. An even more 'Equal Conversation' will be when the Business Leader seeks inputs/feedback and checks with the HR Leader what will better enable the HR team to be a true Business Partner (not a mere service provider!)- What are some of their current challenges and the feedback for her/ his team based on inputs provided from the HR Team (rather than assuming all's well!) #PyramidsUnbuilt as #Google calls it! (Source: How Google Works by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg with Alan Eagle)
More importantly, Dave urges HR Leaders to look inward and indulge in conversations, coaching and co-creating solutions like a #RealLeader with #TeamHR on what more they need to further enable them to deliver value..
1. What is currently enabling #TeamHR to fulfill the expectations in their role?
2. How are they demonstrating their capabilities so the Business can trust them with more? For their roles to evolve? For them to feel a sense of achievement?
3. Do the team's Organization Structure and the Reporting Relationships enable seamless partnership with the Business? What's inhibiting us? What more can be done?
4. Are we hiring, grooming and investing in our team members - Are they competitive? Do they have the skills to meet the expectations and stand up to the organizational and industry demands while taking care of their own needs?
5. Are we investing in the systems, processes and focusing on the right analytics to track the right metrics to report the organizational health as true partners would - to help the organization (vs. our competition??
6. What are some Commitments and Investments required to create a more competitive, capable and motivated HR team? How will we ensure:
a. We practise Performance Management in a fair manner - We encourage people who go the long haul (even when the outcomes are not met!) and equally weed out people who display bad behaviour?
b. We utilize the right mechanisms for Rewarding and Recognizing when team members adds value?
c. We resolve Grievances effectively?
d. We create the right role models in and around the HR team?
e. We expand our Range as David Epstein in his name-sake best-seller Range would say -
1. Whether to Recruit? If yes, Who and How to recruit?
2. How to connect with and ensure (emotional) well-being of People (as an
a. Do we trust them when they say "I'm alright"?
b. Will it seem unempathetic if we don't follow up with a 2nd round (cos that's when people actually share their real feelings!)
c. Will it seem intrusive (or as though we're digging up non-existent skeletons) if we follow up with an otherwise guarded individual?
3. How will we deal with employees that genuinely need more hands to help yet are hesitant?
a. Will we need degrees in psychology?
b. Will our Employee Assistant Partners be able to create magic while ensuring confidentiality?
c. How do we connect the dots and gain closure on these open cases..
3. How do we reiterate (all the more!) the need for Performance Management
a. Will we be (re) seen as the heartless (in)human resources?
b. If we go lax, will we be blamed of being too much of an Employee Champion than a Business Partner?
4. How will we communicate OR negate the looming fears - Of zero pay hikes / bonuses - worse still, pay cuts? Of job cuts?
5. What next and how do we upskill the work force!?
........ So many unanswered Qs and more...and the Biggest of them all..
Are we upskilled enough to #AddValueAsHR? Are we equipped enough to beat the increased levels of #ImposterSyndrome (we face day-in, day-out)?
For NO single book defines the exact set of competencies that HR must possess and the exact formula for Employee Engagement - and yet our successes depend on exactly these parameters!!
So yeah.. that's a REAL challenge that the Current and the Future #HRLeader must unravel for the team to #AddValue as an #EqualBusinessPartner while retaining the role of a #ProactiveChangeAgent, a #CapableAdministrativeExpert and a #GenuineEmployeeChampion..
The one person, I must quote is undeniably Dave Olson Ulrich - the Management Educator & Guru who's had a HUGE influence on all things HR for me and millions of us HR professionals! In his 2005 best-seller 'The HR Value Proposition' co-authored with Wayne Brockbank and through his various works & lecture series (including a controversial stand in 2016 where he challenged if organizations really required HR professionals!!), Dave has been questioning HR Leaders and practitioners on #HowWeAddValueAsHR.
The infamous Dave Ulrich HR model goaded us HR professionals to alternate our focus on Strategic and Operational topics while striking the right balance between Processes & People. In turn, we realized we add value only when we alternate periodically and wear the hats of the Strategic Partner, the Change Agent, the Administrative Expert, and most importantly, the Employee Champion as required.
In short, Dave has also been asking HR Leaders to view our profession from an 'Outside In' perspective. The expectation from the HR Managers and Leaders has been to have conversations about:
1. The Demand and Supply of Talent - The kind and number of individuals we need to bring on-board and retain for the organization to remain competitive (done via Succession Planning, Strategic WorkForce Planning, building Future Talent Pipelines et al)
2. Creating and Sustaining the Right Culture - The kind of behaviors that we will display and encourage others to display (done via finalizing Organizational Values & Competency Models, undertaking Development Centers for senior leaders & 360 degree feedback et al)
3. Having the right Organization led by Competent Leaders - The right Organization Structures with a set of leaders with differentiated skills & experience that will help us stay competitive in the long-run (via Organization Structuring, Recruitment & Selection, Performance Management, Compensation & Executive Perks, Rewards & Recognition et al)
He's been urging HR Leaders to be equipped to have #ConversationsThatLeadToAction.. Conversations and Action Planning with:
1. Investors - On how we in HR can provide insights & inputs on how the #MostValued yet #Intangible assets in the organization (its people) are creating sustained market value.
2. Customers - On how our work force is responding to their expectations and how we've designed and delivered HR practices that align the organizational values with their (customer) expectations while continuing to engage the employees.
3. Line Managers - On how to prioritize and create organizational capabilities that translate to delivering business strategies and plans more efficiently and effectively while continuing to focus on people's well-being.
4. Employees - Reassuring them (and ensuring) that every time they add value using their skill & will, that every time they create a niche for the organization,the organization will certainly reward and recognize them in an equitable and fair manner; Ties back to the Organization Culture and how it's the #OnlyDifferentiatingFactor for why employees choose one organization over another!
5. Business Leaders - On identifying key HR priorities the team will accomplish this year (the What), the reasons (the Why) and the practices / manner (the How) in which this will be delivered. In turn, s/he tables the expected support & posture required from the leaders & their executive teams to enable #SuccessForTeamHR. This will ensure that the HR team is able to proactively enable the business to deliver value through their most crucial yet intangible resources - PEOPLE- in a collaborative manner!
P.S. An even more 'Equal Conversation' will be when the Business Leader seeks inputs/feedback and checks with the HR Leader what will better enable the HR team to be a true Business Partner (not a mere service provider!)- What are some of their current challenges and the feedback for her/ his team based on inputs provided from the HR Team (rather than assuming all's well!) #PyramidsUnbuilt as #Google calls it! (Source: How Google Works by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg with Alan Eagle)
More importantly, Dave urges HR Leaders to look inward and indulge in conversations, coaching and co-creating solutions like a #RealLeader with #TeamHR on what more they need to further enable them to deliver value..
1. What is currently enabling #TeamHR to fulfill the expectations in their role?
2. How are they demonstrating their capabilities so the Business can trust them with more? For their roles to evolve? For them to feel a sense of achievement?
3. Do the team's Organization Structure and the Reporting Relationships enable seamless partnership with the Business? What's inhibiting us? What more can be done?
4. Are we hiring, grooming and investing in our team members - Are they competitive? Do they have the skills to meet the expectations and stand up to the organizational and industry demands while taking care of their own needs?
5. Are we investing in the systems, processes and focusing on the right analytics to track the right metrics to report the organizational health as true partners would - to help the organization (vs. our competition??
6. What are some Commitments and Investments required to create a more competitive, capable and motivated HR team? How will we ensure:
a. We practise Performance Management in a fair manner - We encourage people who go the long haul (even when the outcomes are not met!) and equally weed out people who display bad behaviour?
b. We utilize the right mechanisms for Rewarding and Recognizing when team members adds value?
c. We resolve Grievances effectively?
d. We create the right role models in and around the HR team?
e. We expand our Range as David Epstein in his name-sake best-seller Range would say -
"It's all about Mental Meandering and Personal Experimentation to create sources of Power"Especially in times like these (in the uncertainty brought about by #Covid19), challenges will be more unique and more complex for the organization, its leaders and particularly for #TeamHR! In the post #Corona era, #TeamHR is posed with Qs such as:
1. Whether to Recruit? If yes, Who and How to recruit?
2. How to connect with and ensure (emotional) well-being of People (as an
a. Do we trust them when they say "I'm alright"?
b. Will it seem unempathetic if we don't follow up with a 2nd round (cos that's when people actually share their real feelings!)
c. Will it seem intrusive (or as though we're digging up non-existent skeletons) if we follow up with an otherwise guarded individual?
3. How will we deal with employees that genuinely need more hands to help yet are hesitant?
a. Will we need degrees in psychology?
b. Will our Employee Assistant Partners be able to create magic while ensuring confidentiality?
c. How do we connect the dots and gain closure on these open cases..
3. How do we reiterate (all the more!) the need for Performance Management
a. Will we be (re) seen as the heartless (in)human resources?
b. If we go lax, will we be blamed of being too much of an Employee Champion than a Business Partner?
4. How will we communicate OR negate the looming fears - Of zero pay hikes / bonuses - worse still, pay cuts? Of job cuts?
5. What next and how do we upskill the work force!?
........ So many unanswered Qs and more...and the Biggest of them all..
Are we upskilled enough to #AddValueAsHR? Are we equipped enough to beat the increased levels of #ImposterSyndrome (we face day-in, day-out)?
For NO single book defines the exact set of competencies that HR must possess and the exact formula for Employee Engagement - and yet our successes depend on exactly these parameters!!
So yeah.. that's a REAL challenge that the Current and the Future #HRLeader must unravel for the team to #AddValue as an #EqualBusinessPartner while retaining the role of a #ProactiveChangeAgent, a #CapableAdministrativeExpert and a #GenuineEmployeeChampion..
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