The best HR executive in the world is from Shropshire, according to the
American Business Awards.
Paul Turner, general manager (people) at West Bromwich Building Society, was
named the ‘Best International HR Executive’ at the awards in New York.
He beat competition from 66 other countries after he and his team
spearheaded cultural change at the building society, using a programme of
specialised coaching, which placed HR right at the middle of the business.
Under a four-year culture change programme – which is now in its second year
– every manager is obliged to attend coaching workshops. The workshops followed
a staff survey of attitudes towards management. After the two-day sessions,
employees were again asked to measure the effectiveness of their managers to
chart progress.
Bosses will be continuously assessed for the remainder of the project to ensure
a high-performance culture is embedded into the organisation.
Turner said the culture change was successful because HR was working in
close partnership with management, rather than imposing a process on them.
"We asked senior management to identify the business culture they
wanted for the organisation," he said. "We then created a programme
to deliver the kind of culture they wanted."
He added that companies should avoid a ‘one size fits all’ approach, where
businesses bring in a generic culture-change programme without making sure it
is the best way to release the potential in their staff.
By Michael Millar
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