HR’S STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH LINE

MANAGEMENT

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOURFINAL REPORT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

NAME REGISTRATION SIGNATURE

MAHNOOR SOHAIL 1311185

MARIA NADEEM 1311187

ROZAIN JAMALI 1311199

SAIF SULAIMAN 1311200

INTRODUCTION

As times change the needs of corporations change too. More and more businesses want to

focus on their core objectives rather than waste time on business functions that are not so

important.

CASE ANALYSIS

One such function is that of Human Resources (HR) Department. It is very important to

understand that HR supports and helps implementing the goals of corporate strategy and does

not by itself run the company. HR, not being at the center of business activity must understand

fully the aims of the corporation and work towards fulfilling these aims to create an effective

partnership between executive leadership and HR professionals. When executive leadership

and HR work together they can achieve far more than if both went their separate ways. For

example, Texas Instruments (TI) made a decision to reduce costs and low morale of workers by

introducing employee outsourcing to provide flexibility. This was a combined decision of HR and

company managers hence HR becoming a ‘strategic partner’ of TI and helping the company

achieve its set targets.

In addition to understanding the needs of the corporation it is also extremely important for HR

to align its activities with set goals and make adjustments in their calendar accordingly. To

become a strategic partner HR must have answers to certain questions like what capabilities

must the organization possess to achieve success, capabilities that are needed of HR personnel

so they understand goals of the business, how HR activities can be organized most effectively

and how to best create an HR strategy that will help the company succeed.

In order to set, implement and then evaluate performance managers play a very important

role. They are the leaders who guide the organization in a certain direction with a set purpose.

They also have a very important task of reviewing performance and recognizing potential

leaders of a company who will take their place in the future. Some companies take this issue

very seriously and start programs to develop their employees who can prove to be an asset in

the future. General Mills for example uses a tool called Individual Development Plan (IDP) that

is used to help understand the needs of employees for better understanding of management

and leverages a 360-degree feedback. Good leaders have more than just necessary skills, their

values are just as important. According to Genworth Inc. potential leaders have a mix of

qualities that include technical skills, personal attributes, ability to work in teams and

understanding the needs of the company. Employees must also fully understand the values of

the company and how flexible they can be when the needs of the organization come up. Most

good organizations take this task of employee development very serious and believe it is their

responsibility to groom leaders of the future. When companies spot potential leaders early on it

gives them more time to train them effectively. Talent can only be spotted if the company hires

the right people in the first place. Hence HR’s role of recruiting and then training employees is

crucial.

Recruiting does not only mean hiring employees. In fact it is a complete process that begins first

by identifying what skills are needed to execute the firm’s goals. Firms have to figure out the

number of employees that will be needed with a certain level of skill and experience, how they

will be attracted to the firm and what tasks and responsibilities are to be assigned to them. In

addition to this companies need to analyze their current employee count to determine how

many will be retiring or leaving the firm in order to bring in a replacement if needed. General

Mills believes that employees leave companies because they are not satisfied with how their

bosses treat them. Thus whenever they hire a new employee a mentor is assigned to them so

they get completely familiarized with the work environment. Therefore the concept of retaining

is highlighted here. Also a part of HR management and hiring is how employees can be retained

in the organization for the long-term. Good companies spot potential talent early on which is

around 20% of the employees and then give them special attention though they are not always

told they are in the list of high potentials so the other 80% employees do not get discouraged.

After successful recruitment and retaining, HR’s next most important task is to assess the

individual performance of employees in order to determine whether they are in line with the

strategic objectives of the company. Firms compare reduction in turnover rates, recruitment

costs per hire or employee engagement survey scores. These are then compared with results of

competitors in order to get a better analyses.

In the present day, organizations believe having key leadership is the most basic need as

opposed to the past where Peter Drucker said the ultimate purpose of business is to ‘create a

customer’. Without leadership people will not be motivated enough to innovate or work

towards set objectives therefore there will be no customers to create.

CONCLUSION

HR’s role in achieving corporate objectives is crucial. From analyzing current employee needs to

hiring, training and then retaining employees all in line with the overall goals of the company is

very important. If the organization does not have the right mix of people to work with it will not

take time for them to sway away from their goals. Hence HR keeps things in check. They cannot

simply do what they please rather have to understand thoroughly what’s best for the

organization as a whole. Hence HR is a very important strategic partner for managers.