HR must walk the talk, survey reveals

HR
lacks foresight, influence and credibility, according to research.

Roffey
Park’s survey of 400 line managers shows that six out of 10 believe HR to be
reactive rather than proactive. Four out of 10 believe HR lacks credibility and
a third claim personnel professionals are not influential.

Linda
Holbeche, director of strategy of Roffey Park, said: "HR is still
perceived to operate in a piecemeal, reactive way, with too many initiatives
being undertaken that don’t fundamentally make a difference to the
business."

Only
a fifth of line managers think HR adds value to the business. Respondents who
were positive about HR’s role believe the most valuable areas of work include
supporting cultural change, organisational cohesion, training and development,
performance management, benchmarking and change management.

Holbeche
believes the current workplace culture of “presenteeism” and mounting pressure
provide an opportunity for HR to drive change.

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“There
is a real opportunity for HR to walk the talk. It should be lobbying hard in a
focused way for changes that will make a difference to employees. HR should
also be providing a role model, with excellent innovation and learning
practices,” said Holbeche.

By Mike Broad