business-hr alignment action plan
TRANSCRIPT
The Business-HR Alignment Action
Plan©
If it’s not about the business, it’s not about the business
Do we really need
this kind of PUBLICITY
?
Our Bad Grades*
• 61% of HR leaders and 72% of business leaders rate HR performance as adequate, getting by or underperforming
• Only 25% of business leaders think that HR plays an important role in strategy formulation and operational success
• Only 16% of HR leaders think that their senior managers highly value HR
*Bersin/Deloitte, “Global Human Capital Trends” 2014 and 2015
What We’ve Done to Earn The Bad Grades:
“Can you do a three-hour training module on leadership?”
“We couldn’t let the first line managers communicate with staff about compensation. They’d make a mess of it.”
“We hired an agency to source candidates so our managers don’t know how to interview anymore.”
“Our managers aren’t discussing performance and career development with employees so we created a form for them to document the conversations four times a year.”
“Yes, we do onboarding. It’s a two-hour class about company policies and to fill out forms.”
What We Let Organizations Do That Confounds HR’s Effectiveness• Bury HR in Finance, Legal or Administration
• Put a salary price tag on an HR role before assessing the requirements from the role
• Fold Facilities Management in the HR job
• Assume that anything related to people can be handled effectively by any HR skill set
• Hire ‘nice’
• Use HR as the Policy Police
Who ever said it’s a ‘Best Practice’?• Ranking employees on 1-5 performance scale and a bell
curve and doing all company performance appraisals at the same time each year
• Requiring a set number of training hours each year
• Work from home implemented by putting a schedule on your office door
• Employee surveys
• 360’s
• Town Halls
The Reality of HR Transformation Results
• Calling HR staff by a new name (HRBP) without changing the role expectations nor skills required
• Outsourcing HR administrative functions
• Creating centers of expertise/excellence inside or outsourced
• Having a cost-cutting/FTE orientation rather than a results and impact for the business orientation
Talent Issues that Negatively Impacted Business Performance*• Inability to innovate
• Inability to pursue market opportunities
• Canceling or delaying business initiatives
• Falling production or service quality
* 2012, HFS Research, PwC, “Human Resources Transformation: Is It Driving Business Performance?”
Top 2 Business Objectives Behind Company’s Strategy*
95% of CEO’s stated:• Gaining access to talent and capabilities
• Driving cultural change
*2012, HFS Research, PwC, “Human Resources Transformation: Is It Driving Business Performance?”
Key Human Capital Issues Reported by Senior Leaders*1. Culture and Engagement2. Leadership (30% gap between need and
readiness)3. Learning and Development4. Reinventing HR5. Workforce Capability6. Performance Management7. HR and Human-Capital Analytics8. Work Simplification (The Overwhelmed
Employee)
* Global Human Capital Trends, 2015, Deloitte University Press
It’sAbout PEOPLE’sAbility to Connect and Deliver
Are YOU ready and able to tackle these issues?
“While blocking and tackling remains important, engaging strategically requires advanced analytical skills, a solid understanding of the business, and superior organizational development capabilities.”2012, HFS Research, PwC, “Human Resources Transformation: Is It Driving Business Performance?”
Open Position for HR Manager at Unisys Advertised on LinkedIn 8/27/15*
“…lead a variety of HR programs and initiatives that support business objectives and employee engagement across various corporate staff organizations.
The ideal candidate will be able to lead multi-functional change efforts, build partnerships, and offer creative solutions to human capital and business issues.
They will have a solid aptitude for people and business analytics
with experience and knowledge in multiple discipline areas (i.e. Organization Development, Employee Relations, Compensation, Staffing, and Learning & Development).
Candidate must have a strong ability to challenge and influence”
*https://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/60266289?trk=jobs_home_click_jymbii&refId=a6419ddf-ca4a-453a-8909-fffa74511e91
Be a Knowledgeable and Effective Business Person• Know the company’s business strategy,
financials, competition, and marketing strategy
• Have financial literacy and use meaningful human capital analytics
• Build cogent and effective business cases for HR initiatives
• Work on strategic business initiatives, not just administrative or reactive
• Know and understand the implications of Financial Reports
• Read the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s, Forbes, the Economist. Read the McKinsey Quarterly on a diverse range of topics, not just HR. Listen to business-oriented TED talks. Watch Shark Tank.
• Learn all you can about the nascent field of Human Capital Analytics. Start using analytics immediately so you can learn
• Study and understand the Stock Market; watch CNBC, Bloomberg
• Network outside HR. Join professional organizations in your company’s field and general business organizations.
Improve Workforce Capability and Capacity
• Build capacity, productivity and effectiveness, especially where it most matters
• Build leadership skills and develop strong talent pipelines
• Create exceptional front-line managers
• Engage employees meaningfully
• If you do not have extensive expertise in talent and organizational development, GO GET IT, or, if that skill set does not interest you, do not take a Generalist or HRBP role. If you are flaky, stop.
• Ask, “What will ____________ do to enable the business?” – ask this first, last and always
• Develop EVERYTHING with your line managers and employees
• Focus most of your efforts on the effectiveness of front-line managers
Acquire and Use Outstanding Consulting Skills• Engage leaders in dialogue regularly
• Diagnose accurately what’s really going on in the organization (causes, not symptoms) and create valuable insights for your leaders
• Be a Change Leader and Enabler
• Implement the HRBP role effectively or don’t bother
• Don’t do surveys, EVER, unless you know what you’re doing, and that the leaders will respond effectively to the input
• Work with a Mentor with highly developed skills in talent and organization development
• Inhale and implement ideas from, “The Trusted Advisor,” “Flawless Consulting,” “Human Resource Champions,” “Process Consultation,” “Managing at the Speed of Change,” “ The Skilled Facilitator,” “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”
• Implement an internal HR change strategy and skill enhancement program with a skilled facilitator who will tell it like it is
• Attend HCI’s “The Strategic HR Business Partners Certification”
Professionally Administer Human Resources• Differentiate strategic from ‘back-office’ HR
functions. Manage and staff them differently
• Keep it Simple – don’t overburden your organization with process, content, forms and activities
• Create transparency of HR processes throughout the organization
• Outsource to manage/reduce costs, optimize services and leverage external expertise. Make better buying decisions
• Meet with business leaders and ask them to tear apart what you are doing in terms of impact, relevance and cost. JUST LISTEN!
• Differentiate strategic impact, compliance and tactical activities
• Develop a set of critical questions to evaluate everything you do
• Read all of the Bersin/Deloitte publications about the state of HR and what to do about it.
• Blow it up and start over if you have to; or incrementally change
“HR functions that develop the ability to provide their leaders with data driven insights on the people component of business decisions are invaluable.”**Bersin, “High Impact HR”, 2011
Stories from those who successfully lead HR every day
Jeff Dobbs, Vice President of HR, Terumo Medical
Nancy Lauby, Global HR Business Partner, Teva Pharmaceuticals
Amanda Richards, HR Consultant, Converge, Inc.
Small – Midsize Companies, including Privately Held with small HR DepartmentTo the CEO and peers, it’s primarily about the money. So,
• Understand the CEO’s vision, the organization’s big picture and position in the marketplace. Help the CEO operationalize the business strategy internally through effective HR.
• Use language about the bottom line. Talk about how what you propose is good for the business.
• Learn how to communicate a strong business case and assess the cost vs. the impact of everything you propose and do. Use numbers and analytics effectively.
• Advise and influence effectively. Being right is irrelevant.
Mid-Size Multinational, Small HR Staff• Create strong, authentic relationships and curiosity about the
business to create credibility
• Translate that into how HR positions itself, i.e., HR doesn’t do anything that isn’t linked to the business and focused on the business
• Formalize a planning process including linking HR to improving the productivity of the business
• Model an ‘enterprise contributor’ mentality
Mid-Size Multinational, Small HR Staff
• Model one’s conversance about the P&L within HR
• Be a role model for connecting with the business
• There are NO HR initiatives, only business initiatives
• Focus on the business first and the Administrivia won’t take over your role
• Always talk IMPACT and RESULTS, not activity
Large, Multi-National Company,Large HR DepartmentCreate TRUE HR Transformation:
• Analyze what you are currently doing in a time study. Measure and quantify everything
• Align with leaders to understand and articulate the results they need from HR and the results HR is capable of creating in the organization
• Use the results of the analysis to dialogue with line leaders and HR staff about what HR should be doing vs. what it is doing
• Use a model of HR effectiveness to communicate to HR and the line about new roles and delivery methods
Business Driven (increasing the value of the business)
• Strategic Workforce Planning• Leadership Effectiveness and
Development• Organization structure and
redesign
Employee Driven (employee satisfaction, needs and issues)
• Pay and Benefits• Leaves of absence• Performance• Supervisor and employee
relationships• Wellness
Compliance Driven (reducing risk and adhering to external requirements)• Affirmative Action• Benefits reporting• Safety training
Department/Company Driven• Budgeting• Writing and communicating
policies
HRBP
With Deepest Gratitude to:The HR/M&OD team at SMS where we created it all back in the day:Miller DetrickCarl ZegaliaHarry GriendlingSue BernheimNancy LaubyChris GiangrassoJohn HendricksonGrant Beauchamp
To the Inspiration for and Contributors to this Presentation:Jeff Dobbs, Vice President of HR, Terumo MedicalHarry Griendling, CEO, DoubleStar, Inc.Nancy Lauby, Global HR Business Partner, Teva PharmaceuticalsAmanda Richards, HR Consultant, Converge, Inc.
©Valerie Smith Pease