HR functions continue to be tested on their commercial astuteness and added value contribution to the businesses they support. High performing organisations have high performing HR teams who successfully balance commercial imperatives with employee centricity.
Out of this has emerged evolving themes:
- Internal Centres of Excellence
- Human Capital Measurement
- Employer of Choice propositions and Employee Engagement
- Reward and the psychological contract
- Continual Process Improvement & Change Management
- Organisational Capability and Talent Strategies
- Authentic leadership
In this context, from an HR professional's career perspective:
Business Partners form an essential operational and internal consultancy offering to business leaders and management teams-a pivotal conduit between technical expertise; commercial pragmatism and reality.
OD and Change specialists enable the constant flow of life blood as they touch on every aspect of the organisation - structure, capability, process, employee development, motivation, behaviours, attitudes to change and the psychological/emotional contract.
Recruiters/Resourcers have benefited from technological innovations but the real skill for HR is to be true Resourcers and talent brokers - creative, innovative and flexible in response to demographic changes and increasingly discerning populations. Attraction and retention strategies which hit at the heart of the psychological contract are critical.
Compensation and Benefits/Reward/HRIS remain essential technical functions. The art here on the one hand linking the mechanistic with the psychological and behavioural for true employee engagement and on the other being an internal consultant to business leaders driving to the multi-faceted debate - using robust data to make informed decisions.
ER and IR has become increasingly complex due to legislation and the increased voice and power of the individual. Technical experts need to be attuned to the organisational culture and climate tailoring solutions to meet a range of needs - a knowledge alone is not enough. Managing internal and external relations and working collaboratively is at the heart of success.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS continues to flex between PR/Marketing and HR, either way, what is evident is the recognition that this area is increasingly important and it comes with its own bespoke levels of expertise.
The skills and appreciation of multi-faceted approaches to communication to accommodate individuals preferred style in assimilating information is far superior in many cases to those of an all round HR generalist.
Titles and semantics vary from organisation to organisation, as does allocation of responsibility, but the common theme for HR teams and individuals to excel is enabling their organisation and its most valued resource - people - to excel and in turn ensure that their performance and behaviours impact positively on the bottom line.