Human Resources - Integrated --- A Discussion

“No man is an island ”

And so it is with disciplines, each of which are the outcomes of intertwining thoughts and opinions. Traditionally the Corporate world has been divided into HR and non-HR, with Human Resource Management seen as a cost centre and only as a support function. But slowly things are changing. Now, organizations are frequently looking towards HR for solutions to their problems, new wave is emerging, that of: Human Resource - Integrated.
Human Resource Management is intricately woven with other disciplines of Management to perform all its functions. Each branch of learning whether finance or marketing is reflected in the routine workings of HR.
I would like your view points as to th role of HR today specifically new functions as to what HR has taking up to become a strategic function.
Regards,
Mallet.

Hi Rajat,

A good discussion point to share and discuss.

Allow me to share my perspective on the Integrated HR Approach with one of the processes in my current organization: Recruitment.

Being part of the Top Management Team, I interact with all the HODs on a regular basis. When it comes to Recruitment, whether for new or replacement positions, I work closely with the Departments in understanding the whys and hows. I don't just rely on the job profile or JD alone but seek to understand the process and dynamics behind the same and how these positions would add value to the organization.

For key positions, I am in touch with all the top-notch performers in the industry we operate in.

Reference checks - I personally handle the same and check the candidates through the past companies they worked for and do not rely on the references provided by the candidates alone.

Talent Bank - I regularly ensure that we induct talented professionals and create positions for them.

I remember four years ago, while interviewing candidates in Punjab for the positions of Field Activity in rural areas, I came across a lady candidate - very talented and she had a spark in her. My colleague, GM - Field Activity, instantly rejected her candidature, stating concerns about how she would work in rural areas and in a male-dominated profession. However, I didn't agree with him. I shared my views with the MD and emphasized her candidature. The MD was impressed with her, and we created a new position in R&D for her! She did a great job and is now working with Nestle.

That's all for now, my perspective on Recruitment adding value to the Organization.

Over to you, and I look forward to further comments/views.

Regards,

Rajat Joshi

Hi Mallet,

Sharing some more information on HR as a strategic partner.

Dear Workforce: How Can HR Be a Strategic Business Partner?

Figure out what constraints threaten to keep your organization from reaching its goals and then see what HR can do to help overcome the constraints.

Dear Workforce:

I would like some guidance on how HR in my company can successfully shift its focus from being largely administrative to engage in more facilitative, consultative, and developmental work. We want to embrace the concept of HR as a strategic business partner, change agent, and leader. My company is a light and power company with a little over 1,500 employees in several locations island-wide.

- Sharon

Dear Sharon:

Shifting HR from an administrative to strategic focus requires a change in organizational mindsets, and that's not easy to accomplish. Over the course of the past century, decision-making has been driven by the finance and marketing functions, which was fine when financial capital and customers were the most constrained resources.

These days, we all know that good people are hard to come by, and it's the ability to manage these human assets that will determine whether or not organizations will reach their goals. If I had to boil the process down, I'd put these three items at the top of my transformational to-do list.

The first and most important task is to adopt a common language and framework within the HR function for developing and communicating the HR activities that build value for the organization. You can't be strategic unless you know how to connect to business issues, and you won't be perceived as strategic if different members of the HR function are using different methods and language in an attempt to become strategic partners. Several frameworks exist today. For one example, check out the work at Cornell University by John Boudreau as illustrated in the working paper case study about Encyclopedia Britannica.

The second step is to use this framework to think and act top-down rather than bottom-up. This means figuring out what constraints threaten to keep your organization from reaching its goals (and these are almost always people issues now) and then seeing what HR can do to help overcome the constraints. This process will create a pull for HR services, provide HR with the opportunity to take the lead in solving business problems, and put you in the strategic, facilitative, and consultative position you're looking for.

Finally, and this is hardest, focus on changing the way your organization makes human capital decisions. This is important because most big human capital decisions are made outside of the HR function. If you don't improve the way others in the organization make decisions that have people implications, they will continue to make poor decisions.

I have two suggestions regarding this focus shift. One is to use your framework with other functions regularly. Pull it out in every conversation and use it to explain what you are doing and show how the decisions affect employees. The second is to spread accountability for human capital issues like turnover, training effectiveness, etc. Holding people accountable for the human capital we have entrusted to them is a big step in getting people to make better decisions.

Transforming an HR function into a true strategic partner is not an easy task and it takes time, but it can be done. Start with some baby steps, and before you know it you'll not only be aligning your activities with the organization's strategy, but you'll be helping to formulate that strategy.

SOURCE: Paul Bly, Ph.D, consultant, PDI's Organizational Solutions group, Minneapolis, MN.

Dear All,

Human Resource Management (HRM) is both an academic theory and a business practice. It is based on the notion that employees are firstly human, and secondly, they should not be treated as a basic business resource. HRM is also seen as an understanding of the human aspect of a company and its strategic importance.

Human Resource Management is seen as moving on from a simple "personnel" approach because it is preventative of potential problems, and secondly, it should be a major aspect of the company philosophy, in which all managers and employees are champions of HRM-based policies and philosophy.

The basic premise of the academic theory of HRM is that humans are not machines. Therefore, we need to have an interdisciplinary examination of people in the workplace. Fields such as psychology, sociology, and critical theories such as postmodernism and post-structuralism play a major role.

Critics of HRM have noted that HRM suffers from the problem of the connotation of its name: treating humans as a resource.

Human Resource Management is part of a business or company which recruits, develops, and utilizes an organization's personnel in a way that would benefit the firm's objectives. Creating alignment between an organization's HRM strategy and the core objectives of a business is seen to be essential.

Human resources management's functions extend to deciding the type of staff needed (manpower, labor, office staff, etc.), evaluation of the personnel's performances, and granting the appropriate compensations and benefits to them. The human resource manager holds the personnel's data, records, policies, and has access to the pool of other applicants when the company's need for new/additional staff arises.

The human resource staff is the foremost implementer of the company's rules and regulations regarding staff/personnel behavior and discrepancies. The human resource department also covers the regular updating and improvement of personnel performances through development activities, surveys, and evaluation exercises.

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