HR Changing all the time

It is a greatly overused cliché to say that ‘the only constant is change itself’ but it is very clear that business keeps changing and that the HR role within business is changing in many ways.

Business has always changed, of course. The main point today is that change is so rapid.

Some industry commentators call the Human Resources function the last bastion of bureaucracy. Traditionally, the role of the Human Resource professional in many organisations has been to serve as the systematising, policing arm of executive management.

In this role, the HR professional served executive agendas well, but was frequently viewed as a roadblock by much of the rest of the organisation. While some need for this role occasionally remains — you wouldn’t want every manager putting his own spin on a sexual harassment policy, as an example — much of the HR role is transforming itself.

In most large organisations, HR is still responsible for ensuring all departments harness the potential of their people and engage them in the successful delivery of organisational objectives.

HR achieves this responsibility not only by providing world-class services and support for individuals, but by working in partnership with the business to execute people strategy, maximising employee engagement, and leading and managing change.

More recently the focus in many cases has been around efficiency and value for money. However, in addition to driving down costs, HR needs to lead departments in improved people management by enhancing and developing skills and capabilities. Providing effective leadership, and helping managers achieve more by working smarter rather than harder.

The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of the changing organisation. Successful organisations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change direction and customer-centred.

There are an incredible number of pressures in today's organisations including:

• Environmental pressures such as increasing globalisation, rapid technological change, and tougher competition;
• Organisational changes such as new organisational alliances, new structures and hierarchies, new ways of assigning work, and the high rate of change, itself; and
• Changes in the workforce, including employee priorities, capabilities, and demographic characteristics.

Within these pressured organisations, there is a need for (and opportunity for) the Human Resource function to play a critical role in helping organisations navigate through these transitions. In order to play this role, however, HR has to enjoy a real and perceived value that’s appreciated by managers and workers alike.

The role of Human Resources has been evolving for some time. The shift from "personnel" to "human resources," for example, was part of the movement to acknowledge the value of employees as an organisational resource, and was an attempt to remove some of the stigma that was associated with slow, bureaucratic personnel departments.

This shift in label was accompanied by a call for HR to become a strategic partner with the leaders of the business - to contribute to significant business decisions, advise on critical transitions, and develop the value of the employees.

Interestingly, the trend of companies outsourcing Human Resource functions continues to gain steam. There is talk that by 2008 outsourced HR departments will be common.

The mere fact that outsourcing is an option, is prompting some people to reassess traditional HR job functions. And, in itself, that’s not a bad thing. After all, being an HR professional is no longer exclusively about handling payroll issues, negotiating contracts and benefits or training supervisors and executives.

It's more about sitting next to the chief executive, making recommendations about what functions to outsource, developing long-term recruitment and retention strategies and finding ways to save the company money.

HR professionals today need to understand what the products and services are, who the customers are and who the competitors are. It's essential for the HR professional to get out of the office and be involved in making things happen in the business.