Human Resources, People Operations, Talent Management or however it is titled in your organization is tasked with how the people are hired, on-boarded, trained, groomed for their next position, measured, compensated and rewarded, paired with other like minded talent, supported and challenged to meet the goals of the organization. We are change management and organizational development. Whether a sole practitioner employee, an emerging or established manager or a senior executive in your organization, it is HR's sole responsibility to equip each of them with the tools throughout their journey to succeed in their roles. And all the while, ensure the culture of the company is nurtured and cared for so people live it and want to be at your organization. As we all know, and have heard so many times before, culture eats strategy for breakfast.
Then why is it, that we have been seeing articles, dismissing HR's role, as in a recent Harvard article "Splitting HR into two doesn't go far enough" (11/4/14) or raising review view mirror functions such as accounting's relevance in growth strategies, when we also know and see many more articles about how managers needing to participate in the employee coaching process, and how service days such as IBM's sabbaticals are radically changing company loyalty and productivity, and how to unlock performance by making the office safe for everyone? If we all agree that the people are in fact the drivers of performance and profit in any organization, that we should also agree that Human Resources should have a highly visible and vital role in any organization. That said, its also time to expect more from Human Resources.
I have long been proud of what I do, how I do it, and by the passion and energy that I bring to the table. And I LOVE bringing up great Human Resources professionals and working with my team. I align myself with the business of the business, as does my team, and cannot imagine separating block and tackle HR functions from recruiting top talent, they must go hand in hand. The stand alone generalist who does not recruit no longer has a place in most organizations. Moreover, we must constantly be stretching ourselves to better ourselves as strategists, learning from what others are doing, staying on the bleeding edge of training content and delivery, culture initiatives, benefit options, non traditional rewards. When Engineering embraces Agile Technology, we must learn it and adopt it. When novel approaches to traditional exist we must seek them out. Take a look at Zingermans or Valve Softwares employee manuals. Think of what take aways you may want to consider. When you interview your next candidate from a competitor, think of three questions you can ask that can give you insights you can use in considering ways to improve life for your current employees. Or better still, opportunities for your company. Human Resources is not given its seat, more than ever it must earn its seat each and every day. And as Beth Axelrod from McKinsey said all those years ago, welcome to the War for Talent, and this time, it's on. So HR better be ready, because whether your are the VP of HR, Chief Talent Officer, Head of People Operations, while Finance can approve a hire, you will need to find, woo, retain and grow that talent. Go forth with passion, and don't ever let anyone tell you your role is anything but the most vital role in the organization.
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