Future of work 2.0

Tom Malone, professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of the HBR article "The Age of Hyperspecialization," explains why breaking jobs into tiny pieces yields better, faster, cheaper work -- and greater flexibility for employees.

On ROI, HR Skills & Perception about HR Function

ROI on Training and Leadership programs

Training evaluation usually takes into account the following factors.

• Reaction-How the participants reacts to the program

• Learning-Depending upon the nature of the program ways to measure the learning has to be worked out.

• On Job behavior -To access the effective changes for the desired result on the team and the individual.

• Business result-how the change in behavior has positively impacted business result.

• Calculating the return on investment (ROI).

Most of the organizations focus only till stage 4 of the evaluation process. Typically there are 3 aspects which are considered to be looked at under ROI.

• Desired Impact- has the training program been effective it facilitating change as it was desired. Training is one of the many tools available; it must justify its effectiveness as a viable business solution to remain relevant and viable.

• Cost –to substantiate that the cost incurred leads to positive impact of profitability.

• Improve the design and content of future training programs on the basis of feedback received.

The best way to evaluate the ROI on training is to do a control group experiment and evaluate the performance of both the teams on the basis of pre identified hard and soft data points like absenteeism, productivity, morale, enthusiasm etc. Only if the pre determined targets are achieved for the group which has undergone training is evident it would be viable to have effective ROI assessment. However ROI assessment has its own challenges since the effectiveness also depends on individual willingness and openness to change behavior through structured intervention.

In my personal experience the best training programs are run by people who have demonstrated exceptional leadership ability and have proven track record of being a performer and great achiever in any field of life. Only those who are exceptional achievers can inspire others raise the bar and achieve new heights.

New Skills for HR Professionals

HR function in itself is the core of any entrepreneur activity. For any organization to be effective it needs great managers and great managers must be great team leaders having exceptional people capabilities. However Marketing (Business development and Sales) and finance are two functions which HR professionals must have to become quite essential entrepreneurs. In one of my earlier post on my blog I had opined on “selling skills for HR professionals”. Cross functional expertise is a core competency for HR professional as it is involved in Hiring, training, mentoring, developing career path and designing robust performance management system and policies for all functions in the organizations. Unless it has the necessary know how of business, functional, operational and strategic goals of teams it will never succeed in performing its role effectively.

Perceptions about HR department

Depends on what we are trying to achieve, we keep reading lot of surveys and findings on the role of HR in organizations and what is expected from HR teams .Perception of employees will change only if the expectations are aligned to the common goal. As long as HR leadership in your teams are able to differentiate and successfully execute the employee value proposition and integrate the same with organizations people’s philosophy ,in my view it would have done its core function.

HR must re-define and change the way it sees itself, it ought to articulate its business value proposition and strategic contribution more effectively. It should become a viable change agent in driving the strategic goal of organizations. Only when these goals are achieved we can expect changes in the way HR function is perceived.

HR benchmarking and systems

Recently my interview appeared in SCOOP an online HR magazine, it covers industry news , analysis and features the latest from the HR world. The interview covered wide ranges of issues ranging from HR strategies, processes and various other issues which organizations are grappling today. Here is the first part the interview.

On Benchmarking in the field of HR.

Benchmarking in today’s business environment has different context for different organizations.HR practices have also been keeping pace with ever dynamic business environment and every industry presents unique challenges for HR professionals. There are two important aspects which every HR team must try and benchmark against:

Innovative HR Practices: HR practices needs continuous change and innovation, it is key to the competitiveness of any industry. HR teams have to lead in setting new trends in attracting and engaging talent. Today the best places to work are those which have Innovative and engaging HR practices. If you are looking at benchmarking HR practices you need to review the existing practices and then indentify high impact areas which you think are critical for the execution of your business goals and long term employee philosophy.

Humane Processes: I have deliberately used the word humane as we tend to standardize and reduce the human touch in the name of standard HR processes. This is especially true for large organizations as they find it difficult to resolve unique situations through their HR processes.HR teams must set up processes which are more fungible and responsive to employees need rather than just operation ease.HR process benchmarking should focus on creating unique employee experience, in this regard small upcoming companies can provide valuable examples to emulate.

On successful HR system and its implementation?

In my view it’s not just the successful “system” per say which makes the difference. It’s all about the people you have in your team and the way they go on to do their daily job with great excitement and enthusiasm which is the mantra for any successful system. Some of the best organizations have doomed after their best leaders and team members have quit while some of the very ordinary organizations achieve remarkable results by sheer team effort and promoting a culture of co-operation and collaboration.

At present HRIS (Human resources Information System) is the critical backbone of any HR system. In most the of the organizations ccurrently Human Resource Management Systems covers following functions:

• Recruitment & Selection(Applicant tracking and short listing systems)
• Training & Learning Management system
• Talent Deployment
• Compensation and Benefit administration
• Separation and feedback process

HR solutions like client-server (distributed system comprised of both client and server software), Application Service Provider, and SaaS(software as a service) Human Resource Management Systems has enabled HR processes to be structured and streamlined. The manual effort has reduced considerably and helped HR operations to scale their services effectively. These HR systems have helped HR teams to focus more on engaging and developing employees more effectively.

5 ways to get more done in your Workday

A major complaint among HR professionals these days is a severe lack of time. This is a common concern across the professional landscape and something that we all combat every day. You probably find yourself hoping for more hours to get more done. This isn’t going to happen but there are ways you can make more productive use of your time to make sure that your “to-do” lists are completed by the day’s end. Here are five ways you can create this needed time:

1. Switch your hours. If the 9-5 shift isn’t providing you enough time to get everything done that you need to then consider working longer. Wake up an hour earlier and get to work that much earlier. The earlier you get to work the less interruptions you’ll encounter. While your free time will be cut into you’ll feel more satisfied that you got more done.

2. Multitask. This is the catchword of the day and it’s here to stay. If you’re trying to further your career then listen to audio textbooks while in the car. Waiting for a doctor’s appointment or your car to get fixed? Bring a book that is appropriate for your job or paperwork.

3. Cut out activities that eat up time. Turn off the television if you have one in your office. Cut out the twenty-minute chit-chat session in the morning with your friends by the coffee maker. Don’t surf the internet for anything not related to your job. Resist these temptations! These extraneous activities can severely cut into valuable time that you could be spending on getting stuff done.

4. Work faster. This may sound like a no-brainer but it’s hard for people to change their work habits. Learn to type faster by taking a typing course or tutorial online. Be a better reader as you scan for the details that you need and cut out the meaningless text that takes up your time. Make your own deadlines that are independent from the natural deadline attached to a project. This will create a sense of urgency that will make you work faster.

5. Preparation is crucial. If you have tomorrow lined up before you leave work today then you’re in good shape. The worst thing you can do is come into the office in the morning and have little to no idea what you should be doing. It will take you an hour to plan your day. Be prepared with your tasks for the next day and you’ll get off to a running start when you arrive!

This article is contributed by Heather Johnson, who regularly writes on the topic of career exploration. She wanted to share a guest post on HR Funda and I was more than happy to feature her post .She invites your questions and writing job opportunities at her personal email id: heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com . If you have any guest post to contribute, please drop me a mail on ajitchouhan@gmail.com

HR Challenges -Time to act

Prioritizing key activities and focusing on strategic areas of concern continues to be a challenge for majority of HR professionals. Most of the studies which focus on challenges faced by HR professional continues to highlight the ever increasing pressure of attracting, engaging in retaining talent.

In a recent study by i4cp when respondents were asked about the main barriers facing HR in 2008, 44% of the 355 responding companies rated lack of time as having a high or very high impact on HR’s ability to achieve its goals.

“HR professionals are singing a familiar refrain,” said Donna J. Bear, senior research analyst at i4cp. “They’re citing not enough time, talent or money and too many conflicting priorities as top impediments to accomplishing their employers’ goals.”

Besides not having enough time, nearly four in 10 respondents cited “conflicting organizational priorities,” “scarcity of workforce talent” and “financial resources” as having a high or very high impact on achieving their goal of filling their employers’ ranks with high-potential workers.

Regarding their own ongoing development, HR professionals recognize the need to develop competencies that are both broad and high-level. The study’s respondents ranked leadership first among all the competencies needing further development, with 55% of all organizations ranking it as high or very high in importance. Also, 50% of organizations ranked change management as a high or very high priority, and innovative thinking is also a competency that HR professionals must develop, according to the 47% of respondents who said it ranked high or very high in importance.

HR Value Proposition

Where should HR focus more - on internal customers, business partners or external vendors .It’s a catch -22 situation which many HR teams are unable to crack, some just can’t figure out the areas the top areas of priority. They continue to be driven by change, rather than playing the change agent role.

Dave Ulrich has called on HR to be more in tune with business issues to deliver real value.

Speaking at a Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) annual international conference based in Rome, Ulrich told more than 400 HR practitioners to focus on outcomes - ie, what they deliver for their organisation and key customers, rather than what they do inside.

He urged HR to have an opinion on external changes in technology, economic trends and demographics, and to understand their chief executive's expectations of the business.

"The challenge in HR is not what we do, but what we deliver how we add value," he said. "For decades we have been too focused on what we do. The world of HR for the future should not start with HR it should start with outcomes of HR."Ulrich urged HR to ask how they can use the knowledge they have to help their business leaders.

Ask any business leader and chances are that they will all agree that HR teams continue to deliver day in day out on transactional activities. They meet the expectations and partner effectively on all key deliverables, but when it comes to contribute in leading from the front on strategic areas they are just unsure of the role they can play. They just don’t dare to take up challenges which are up for grab; sometimes they just feel it’s not their cup of tea.

As Ulrich rightly says that instead of starting a discussion with chief executives on training, staffing, recruitment and so on, it is better to start with the outcome - how what HR does adds value to the customers, which ultimately should shape the business agenda."It's important to get customer and investor focus - not what HR thinks should happen, but what's the external reality facing this company in the next 10 years?"

More than just HR...

Veritude came out with a survey titled “Working together, Working apart”which looked at business and HR leaders working relationship and common understanding of each other issues.

Overall, the research reveals that in many companies, HR must improve their business leaders' perceptions of theirs skills and abilities and business leaders must learn to turn to HR for support in addressing workforce issues. There is ample room for optimism that both business and HR leaders in this study recognize these trends are working toward effective plans.

1.Strategic Business Challenges: Both business and HR leaders agree that talent acquisition and recruitment top the list of strategic business issues, but one in five business and HR leaders see HR as only involved in "implementing " strategy, not participating in plan development. What's more, a common perception is that HR is lacking adequate financial aptitude and therefore is not asked to contribute to strategy development because they do not speak the language of business.

2.The Relationship between Business and HR Leaders: Many business leaders indicate they do not have an established relationship with HR or it world not occur to them to include HR in implementing workforce plans. In general HR leasers agree that business leaders minimize the role that HR plays in workforce planning and don't consider the full scope of HR's ability and expertise.

3.The Impact of Business and HR Leaders' Relationship on Operations: Business leaders perceive HR as "resource constrained" and, as such, unable to effectively implement workforce plans. In turn, HR believes business leaders set unrealistic timeframes, lack an understanding of workforce issues, and are inconsistent in implementing initiatives.

Frankly to me all these survey reports don’t come as a big surprise. I guess I’ve been reading about such “observations / findings” and “recommendation” and the more things change the more they remain the same. Off late I’ve become a big critique of the word “strategic HR” and terms like “HR leaders”. To me it doesn’t make any sense to have them in the best organizations around. No organization today would be great just because it has “strategic HR plans” or it has the “best HR leaders”. Any business challenge today is also a “strategic HR challenge”.

It can either be the growing competition to acquire talent or develop competencies or even explore new market opportunities. Its time so called HR leaders talk about business strategy and take ownership for the business plan rather than just the HR plan. No CEO of an organization expects that functional leaders like HR, Finance or quality should stick only to their piece of pie. Only the ones who dare to break the shibboleth and take the stride to add values with business insights are truly recognized asthe Business leaders and go beyond the cliché of “HR leaders”. I think the expectation today is very different as so called HR challenges are not just being handled by HR leaders .It’s a decision taken by the think tanks as the impact of such decisions are huge. So apart from owning the execution of the HR business plan, today’s expectation is what value one can bring to business plan and its execution.

Even the client model of HR partnership is something which needs to be re-looked at considering the varied situations which the decision makers may find themselves. As far as the transactional and operational activities are concerned the client approach works well to bring about speed and quality in execution and resolving operational issues. However when it comes to business decision making the “consultant approach” is something which HR leaders must do away with. It reinforces the notion that the HR continues to adopt “global approach” to solve and own challenges. The funda is simple “take ownership, go beyond your role, and challenge the conventional wisdom”. Trust me you’ll never be called just another “HR leader” as you would be respected for being a business leader who knows HR and comes from HR background :)

The 3C Matrix of performance

"It" is talent, which is evolving into a science for some HR professionals and a passion for many line managers. A multitude of programs and investments have been made to attract, retain and upgrade talent.

HR guru Dave ulrich gives his 3C mantra of competence,committed and contribution on the talent cafeteria.

In this talent equation, these three terms are multiplicative, not additive. If any one is missing, the other two will not replace it. A low score in competence will not ensure talent even when the employee is engaged and contributing.

Talented employees must have skills, wills and purposes; they must be capable, committed and contributing. HR leaders can engage their general managers to identify and improve each of these three dimensions to respond to the talent clarion call.

Just indicates how HR functions in the organisation plays the most critical role of revisiting and reviewing the competencies and talent required to perform in organisations.HR role need not end with defining the competencies required for talents to give superior performance,it needs to be revisited and reviewed keeping in mind the new challenges and business requirement. Performance in the long run can be sustained and competencies can be developed only if the 3C’s are present.

What HR does ?

This Business week article made me think how challenging and diverse can be the job of a Human resource professional.

Apart from conveying really bad news—a workforce reduction or a painful reorganization—there are a few other less-than-sensational aspects of an HR career, depending on your temperament and the companies you work for. Lots of HR people I know, for instance, complain about the constant cost-cutting that turns them into the bad guys who must inform employees on a regular basis of reductions in everything from travel allowances to flavors of tea in the break room.

Other HR people wish that the role they play could be more instrumental in making the company a great place to work and less focused on policy and documentation. Still other HR folks spend more time than they'd like protecting the company from employee-relations lawsuits and wage-and-hour claims.

The attention which HR gets, challenges it faces and kind of impact which HR actions have on the employees in the organization is profound and long lasting. I am sure if we all look back at our career as in HR we truly cherish those moments of great joy when we see people dreams come true and also have learnt few lessons when we have to take some tough human decisions at time.

Be it business partner, decision enabler, championing people’s cause or defending policy decisions it’s a challenging and ever demanding job. One has to walk on a tight rope; you are everyone friends yet can’t afford to take sides. You have to stand for fairness and consistency, be mentally prepared to face challenges and answer all odd questions. You are the quintessential nice guy yet some may look at you as part of them (management). You are the change agent and also the custodian of culture and values.

The role has been evolving continuously and best part is that you have the scope and space to scale new challenges by bring about change and move from trusted business partner to transformation partner.

On HR Metrics

A century's worth of MBAs would seem sufficient to propagate a by-the-numbers approach into every nook and cranny of the business world, but it hasn't worked out that way. By most accounts, companies have done a respectable job of mastering financial metrics, but have largely taken a flier on measurements of operations or intangibles such as customer satisfaction or brand loyalty.

Fifteen years ago the advent of the "balanced scorecard" sought to redress this imbalance by demonstrating how nonfinancial metrics could be captured and used to help managers "see their company more clearly — from many perspectives — and make wiser long-term decisions," according to its creators, Robert Kaplan and David Norton. But despite the popularity of that approach at a strategic level, many consultants and academics say it left thorny questions unaddressed at more tactical levels.

Use of HR metrics for measuring the impact and efficacy of practices and policies seems to be similar problems. Measuring the Intangible has multiple challenges and the success lies in identifying the top metrics which captures the critical indicator of organizations deliverables. Identifying key HR functions like recruitment metrics, training metrics, performance management and employee engagement metrics are widely believed to capture the deliverables for HR function.

As Sullivan rightly said “The most common error that I find is that of HR managers trying to create and implement metrics in a vacuum. Instead, I recommend a collaborative approach, in which you take a list of strategic HR metrics that you can live with to the CFO and let him or her select the specific ones that are most likely to measure business impact and be easily understood and considered strategic by top management. By letting the CFO play a role in the selection process and allowing them to make the final decision on what metrics you will move forward with, you eliminate many of the roadblocks you may encounter — and you'll recruit a high-level champion at the same time.

It’s important to understand how you are reviewing and analyzing the metrics and then setting new measurable realistic targets to improve on the key metrics. Sometimes we intend to address too many issues at the same time and then loose focus. Metrics under functions like recruitment and employee engagement which has a more direct impact of business performance can be linked to organizations overall metrics and also made performance measures for various roles so that it has a more direct linkage with individual and organizations goals as well.

HR as Leading Indicator

I'm sure some of us have seen or heard it before in our profession.

Makes me wonder how many of us come forward and take ownership of our actions.

Accept failures when things go wrong.

Come forward and say yes this is my idea and I have a plan to achieve this result and have this target in mind for this action plan.

One can't expect HR to be a leading indicator unless we have leadership which is driven by metrics and linked to bottom line results of the organization. I’m sure we need more HR leaders who lead by end results rather than mere thoughts.

In case if you are doing this then you need to share your experiences and train the rest of the HR folks around. I’m sure we can do better as a professional community by sharing our learning and experiences on this account and raise the levels of HR benchmarking and best practices.

Global HR Transformation

“The definition of HR transformation has evolved out of a number of perceived and real pressures on the HR function. The function is expected to support the business, provide the right direction for the people management strategy and then execute the strategy. It also has to demonstrate an improvement in value, yet at the same time carry out cost-heavy administration.

In response to these challenges, the transformation process that many companies have embarked on involves examining the HR strategy and how it supports the business strategy, and then changing the HR operating model to achieve optimum delivery.”

According to the 2006 Global HR Transformation Study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, half (50%) of organizations are in the midst of transforming their HR functions, while 12% completed a transformation within the past year and another 10% plan to begin the process within the next year.

HR transformation is the process of recreating or reinventing the HR function with the specific intent of enhancing HR’s contribution to the business.

Technology and service delivery improvements were the focus of the first wave of transformation activity, 5 to 10 years ago, coupled with an expectation that this would enable HR to transition into a more strategic role," says Mike Theaker, principal in Mercer's HR Effectiveness Business. "HR functions are now challenged with delivering against the expectations set--to deliver human capital strategies and initiatives that demonstrate a significant contribution to business operations and the achievement of business goals."

HR leaders reported that their top challenges are: acquiring key talent (43 percent), driving cultural and behavioral change in the organization (40 percent), and building leadership capabilities (40 percent).

Just as HR activities have remained traditional, so has its skill sets. According to Mercer’s survey, 53% of organizations worldwide list skills and competencies of the HR staff as one of the most significant obstacles to enhancing the overall role of the HR function. The capability of line managers to supervise staff and the business’ perception of HR’s value are other leading barriers holding back the development of HR.

“In order for the HR function to move forward with its transformation, organizations must implement a talent strategy that arms HR with a range of skills, especially those that relate to finance and business, so that they can be more effective business partners,” explained Ms. Piercy

HR competencies and future ahead

HR competencies and its impact on the role performed by HR has been evolving at a very fast pace, the fast pace of business growth has meant that HR function also reinvents and moves from basis transaction oriented role to more meaty and result driven function having tangible impact on business results and facilitating organization growth and talent development .

SHRM article talks about Dave Ulrich, and his associates who have been on a quest to provide the answer to the competencies required for HR professionals. This year, they’ve released an all-new 2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS). The findings and interpretations lay out professional guidance for HR for at least the next few years. The study outlines six future competencies for HR professionals in the days to come.

The six competencies and the elements that make them up offer the outlines of what it takes to be successful. The Credible Activist is respected, admired, listened to and offers a point of view, takes a position and challenges assumptions by:
• Delivering results with integrity.
• Sharing information.
• Building relationships of trust.
• Doing HR with an attitude (taking appropriate risks, providing candid observations, influencing others).

The Cultural Steward recognizes, articulates and helps shape a company’s culture by:
• Facilitating change.
• Crafting culture.
• Valuing culture.
• Personalizing culture (helping employees find meaning in their work, managing work/life balance, encouraging innovation).

The Talent Manager/Organizational Designer masters theory, research and practice in both talent management and organizational design by:
• Ensuring today’s and tomorrow’s talent.
• Developing talent.
• Shaping the organization.
• Fostering communication.
• Designing reward systems.

The Strategy Architect knows how to make the right change happen by:
• Sustaining strategic agility.
• Engaging customers.

The Business Ally contributes to the success of the business by:
• Serving the value chain.
• Interpreting social context.
• Articulating the value proposition.
• Leveraging business technology.

The Operational Executor administers the day-to-day work of managing people inside an organization by:
• Implementing workplace policies.
• Advancing HR technology.

It’s also interesting to see how the role of HR has been facilitating and encouraging the culture of Innovation, productivity and high performing organisationals.Consider this , according to a survey by Human Resource Executive over half (54 percent) of respondents to a survey on "HR's Role in Fostering Innovation" indicated innovation is very important to their businesses' success.

In other areas, the significance of HR in the processes was rated as follows:

* Fostering innovation -- 36 percent indicated a somewhat significant role.
* Training and developing talent -- 49 percent indicated a very significant role.
* Making innovation a part of the performance-management system -- 47 percent indicated a significant role.
* Establishing incentive and reward systems that are tied to innovation -- 44 percent indicated a significant role.
* Communicating successes to management and employees -- 56 percent indicated a very significant role.
* Tying innovation to succession and promotion - 41 percent (the highest percentage) indicated a significant role.

When asked whether the HR leaders in their organizations participate in brainstorming sessions related to business and product innovation, over half (56 percent) of respondents indicated yes, while 39 percent said no and 5 percent of respondents were not sure.

Clearly indicates the significant impact which HR can have on future of business as Innovation is has been driving growth for organizations.

Previous Posts on Innovation.

Future of Innovation

Key to innovation

Focus on Innovation