Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

HR strategy

Sink or swim in the talent pool

by Personnel Today 1 Feb 2005
by Personnel Today 1 Feb 2005

The identification, retention and development of talent is a priority likely to feature on the plans of most HR functions. Yet when we come to review these talent pools, how many people will come from HR? There is a feeling that there will be too few. This situation needs to change.

As HR and people development professionals seek to transform – deploying e-hr, implementing shared service centres to deliver transactional and advisory HR activities, outsourcing and establishing a new business partnership with line managers – we see a significant opportunity for HR professionals to get themselves noticed by their business colleagues.

Many critical business issues involve significant people and organisational challenges. To tackle these issues, managers need a strong contribution from HR, and that contribution must be broader than the ‘traditional’ HR areas. For HR professionals, our challenge is to develop and deploy new capabilities.

New HR capabilities

In researching our new book, Transforming HR: Delivering value through people, we identified three critical capability areas that HR professionals need to develop to enhance their core HR skills:

– Client relationship management

– Strategy and change management

– Project management.

Client relationship management should underpin everything that we do. We will be effective when we build and develop strong relationships. If we are trusted and respected, we will be heard, and will then be in a position to influence.

We also need to develop our process consultation skills, so that we can take clients step by step from the problem diagnosis through to the solutions.

Strategy and change management is about developing and deploying the tools and techniques that work with our clients to help shape strategy and manage change more effectively. This means getting to grips with material around organisational development and knowing how to apply it in ways that will help our organisations.

Project management is about how we organise our work to demonstrate value. The world of consultancy has much to offer by way of example.
Let us pose a question: how would you feel if a consultant made a proposition for work without terms of reference, clear scope and deliverables, a project plan, and time and cost estimates? They probably wouldn’t get your attention.

The same applies to HR professionals. Project management is not about being proficient in using MSProject or PRINCE2, but about developing a project mindset so we can show the value of our work.

Line capabilities

The challenge for our colleagues in the line is that the new HR delivery model offers few excuses for them to avoid their people management responsibilities. The role of HR is to create an architecture within which managers manage people. In general, line managers are better than they were 20 years ago – they are better educated and acquire greater responsibility earlier on.

Technology can put much information in to the hands of managers who need to make decisions. HR has two roles: to demystify HR, and to build line manager confidence through coaching, training and clearer policy advice.

Implementation

It is no good just saying to HR professionals, ‘go forth: contribute strategically and add value’. Part of the implementation must include clarifying the performance expectations around the new professional HR roles, and being prepared to invest in the development of HR professionals and managers.

Summary

The real value of HR transformation occurs when HR professionals work in partnership with the business. Implementation of the HR value model does not just happen. It requires, at its heart, the development of HR capability, both within the HR and line management communities.

For HR professionals, this means developing capabilities that will put them at the heart of the business and on the radar screen as future business leaders.

This article is based on a new book, Transforming HR: creating value through people, by Martin Reddington, Mark Williamson and Mark Withers. It is published by Butterworth Heinemann Elsevier this month. Readers of Training Magazine will get a discount of 10 per cent off the cover price of 24.99 by phoning 01865 474 010 by 28 February



Avatar
Personnel Today

previous post
Rising house prices make compulsory pension saving impractical
next post
CIPD hopes new document will raise its profile

You may also like

CIPD Festival of Work: ‘Use crises as catalysts...

15 Jun 2022

Does a four day week work? Charlotte Lockhart...

1 Jun 2022

Davos 2022: ‘Invest in social jobs to save...

27 May 2022

Davos 2022: Upskilling workers necessary to overcome business...

26 May 2022

Davos hears that ‘wages can rise’ without creating...

26 May 2022

Adapt culture to hybrid work: do not force...

20 May 2022

Women in FTSE 350 leadership: ‘A lot of...

20 May 2022

Squishy, flabby, foggy HR? Andrew Bartlow talks to...

20 May 2022

How the Global Business Mobility visa will overhaul...

14 Apr 2022

How workplace culture should support employees’ wellbeing

13 Apr 2022
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more
  • Strathclyde Business School expands its Degree Apprenticeship offer in England PROMOTED | The University of Strathclyde is expanding its programmes...Read more
  • The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls PROMOTED | The Great Resignation continues unabated...Read more
  • Navigating the widening “Skills Confidence Gap” in 2022, and beyond PROMOTED | Cornerstone OnDemand conducted a global study...Read more
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+