Strategic HR A different slant
services and managing
leadership relationships.
The HR delivery function
needs to be focused on the most
effective delivery method,
harnessing technology, selfservice
and world-class
operational management
techniques to be able to execute
the people strategy. The skills
required to do this role have less
to do with the content (HR
knowledge) and more to do
with operational delivery and
customer service.
This is a radical proposal for
HR not to see itself as one but
two professions – with two
uniquely different set of skills
and competences.
Leadership, culture, talent and
hiring, employee engagement
and experience, transformation,
and people management are all
areas that should be the focus of
a competitive people strategy.
The new approach requires
practitioners to immerse
themselves in businesses strategy
and innovation in hiring,
developing, engaging and
rewarding people that are fully
aligned to the achievement of
businesses goals.
It shows how strong HR
interventions that are aligned
to the business’ strategy will
eliminate the one-size-fits-all
approach of good HR practice.
Leaders and people practitioners
need to stop hiding behind
policies, practices and
procedures that often just add
cost and complexity without
providing any discernible
business benefit.
The future belongs to
organisations that can build
a culture where individuals are
recognised for their unique
talent, where great teamwork is
an everyday experience and
where people understand why
what they do matters.
From research to reality
The HR profession has not
evolved in the past two decades
Key recommendations for
HR professionals
1 Clarify service offering
2 Assess capabilities
3 Change mindset
4 Use data, analytics and insight as an enabler
5 Transform line manager capability
and certainly not at the same pace
as the business environment. In
1997 David Ulrich in his
book Human Resource Champions
pioneered a new focus and
structure for the HR profession.
One of the core
recommendations of this text was
for a shift in HR professionals’
mentality from ‘what I do’ to
‘what I deliver’.
Since this seminal text, however,
the HR function on the whole has
not innovated or reimagined how
it undertakes its work. To deliver
Ulrich’s agenda the profession has
a moment of truth; either it ups
its game or others will take
responsibility for strategic people
activity, leaving the HR function
as an operational delivery unit.
The HR profession is now at a
tipping point as the world of work
changes at a faster pace than ever.
Quoting a co-authored report,
HR on the Offensive on behalf of
LACE Partners, I found that 78%
of HR leaders perceive their own
HR function to be average or
worse. This highlights the huge
opportunity available to the
people function to make a
significant step change in
exists, the more people are
engaged and motivated. It also
proves that a great employee
experience leads to improved
productivity and performance.
By thinking about difference
and advantage rather than
best or good practice, in the
future HR can be the driver of
competitive success. This
requires HR leaders to operate
differently; spending more time
and resources on activity that
makes a positive impact while
eliminating any people process,
policy or procedure that adds cost
and complexity with no
organisational benefit.
Taking this approach will
help many organisations develop
a people strategy that creates
a purpose-driven culture,
provides greater value to
customers and achieves superior
business results. HR
About the author
Source: HR on the Offensive, LACE Partners
their capability and contribution
they make to their organisations’
performance.
As you observe the behaviour
of most organisations, the vast
majority behave just as they did
in the early 20th century. They
still predominantly focus on
shareholder value, efficiency,
effectiveness and cost
reduction. While focusing on
these areas will deliver an
improvement in short-term
financial performance, they
do not enable long-term
sustainable value.
Successful businesses are
better at responding to customers’
wants than their competitors. This
point of difference often gets lost
as an organisation grows and
inherently becomes more
complex. As part of a competitive
people strategy businesses align
their people to the value that they
are providing for customers. The
customers are the people who pay
our wages after all. This links the
people to the organisations’
purpose and strategy.
The evidence is overwhelming
that the more people understand
and buy into why the organisation
Kevin Green is the
author of Competitive
People Strategy and a
non-executive director
and strategy adviser
to seven fast-growth
human capital
businesses. He was
previously CEO of the
Recruitment &
Employment
Confederation, HR
director at Royal Mail
and founder of Qtab,
a leading HR
consultancy.
References
l Acratopulo, C., Green, K., and
Leonis, E. (2019). HR on the
Offensive. Available at: bit.ly/
HRLACE Accessed 26 March
l Bock, L. (2015). Work Rules!: Insights
from Inside Google That Will
Transform How You Live and Lead.
John Murray: London
l Wiersema, F., and Treacy, M.
(1997). The Discipline of Market
Leaders: Choose Your Customers,
Narrow Your Focus, Dominate
Your Market. Perseus Books: New
York
l Timms, P. (2017). Transformational
HR: How Human Resources Can
40 HR April 2020 hrmagazine.co.uk
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