Only 4% of mid- and top-level managers outside the HR department rate their comp
ID: 420066 • Letter: O
Question
Only 4% of mid- and top-level managers outside the HR department rate their company’s human resource programs as excellent in an international survey by the Deloitte consulting firm. Another 24% say the performance is good. That leaves more than 7 out of 10 who consider the performance just adequate or worse. Their colleagues in the HR department tend to agree, with just 5% rating their department’s performance as excellent and 34% calling it good. What is going wrong? The analysts at Deloitte see the problem as a failure to align HR work with the company’s strategy. Many managers and employees in these departments are sticking to their old, familiar roles as specialists in particular functions. Departments are spending more on technology but underinvesting in improvements to their people (through hiring, training, and development) and processes. For this situation to improve, HR managers and employees need to educate themselves about the business, so they understand how they can contribute to solving business problems. HR professionals who want to take a leadership role may even plan career paths in which they take a turn in line management, responsible for sales or production, so they have a fuller picture of what makes the company tick. Questions 1. Imagine that you work for a manufacturing company where the HR department’s performance on providing the necessary talent is just “adequate.” From a business standpoint, what might be the consequences of this less-thanexcellent performance? 2. Imagine you run the HR department in that same manufacturing company. What is one step you could take to improve your department’s performance?
Explanation / Answer
1. If the HR department is not functioning adequately, following can be the consequences in business:
2. One step that can be taken to improve HRD’s performance is aligning the department’s strategy with that of the business strategy. This way, the roles and responsibilities of all the members of the HR department will be in sync with the business processes, thus facilitating in getting the best from the business processes and resources.
Aligning the department’s strategy with business strategy will clear the expectations that the company may have from the employees of the HRD and thus the members will feel more responsible for the organization.
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