Now more than ever, organisations need HR to add genuine value and to get more business-focused. But just how can you prove your strategic worth as a HR professional?
One way to accomplish this is to link the strategy of the organisation to its people, according to Steve Johnson, managing director, Transfirmation Partners, who says HR credibility is “predicated on getting that alignment right”.
“Businesses expect a lot from HR – but quite often, they don’t have a lot of confidence in HR’s ability to deliver. Numerous studies have shown this as it’s been a long-term trend,” he said.
HR often has a perception problem, Johnson added, and whether it’s real or not, it needs to be addressed to ensure that you can effectively do your job.
“The business wants HR to have more strategic impact and get more business-focused and achieve greater ROI on the people-related spend, but at the same time, they don’t have the same confidence in HR’s ability to deliver,” Johnson said.
“So, HR leaders must ensure that the three portfolios of HR work – the transactional, the business partnering and the generative, anticipating and co-developing future business models – are all creating value.”
Johnson believes that in order to earn a seat “at the table that matters, as someone who engages in revitalisation and reinvention”, HR should be able to articulate future industry and sector strategic direction, organisational strategy and design, core processes and key roles, and the core organisational capabilities required for the future.
This requires HR to forward project where the business could be in 5-10 years, considering the competitive landscape, potential business models, and current and future capabilities.
“It is then possible to answer the question, ‘How should we organise our firm for growth?’ which means designing an organisation that fits the strategy – not the other way around, as often happens,” Johnson said.
“In designing the organisation for growth, the time horizon of the strategy is key as it defines the number of required work levels in an organisation, the core business processes necessary and the key roles across the organisation, now and in the future.”
Steve Johnson, registered psychologist and managing director at strategic consulting firm Transfirmation Partners, will discuss ‘Creating the Strategic Organisation’ at our 2014 HR Summit, held in Sydney on April 1-2. For more information,
click here.
