Are you an effectiveteam player?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390580000594 |
| Date | 01 March 2005 |
| Published date | 01 March 2005 |
| Pages | 2-2 |
| Author | Josie Salkey |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Volume 4 Issue 3 March/April 2005
2
FROM THE EDITOR
,
CONTACT
Josie Salkey
E-mail: josie.salkey@melcrum.com
,
Are you an effective
team player?
From capable to prepared
There is perhaps no better way to test HR’s expertise in
measurement and analytics than by implementing a
new organizationwide performance management
system. In Implementing the Balanced Scorecard at
Lloyds TSB, Adrian Ward describes how an investment
in expert training on the Balanced Scorecard for all the
company’s HR business partners was vital to success.
First, it gave practitioners greater confidence to support
and challenge their line colleagues. Second, HR’s high
level of insight into the commercial value of this new
way of thinking motivated senior executives and
managers to find out more for themselves.
At Lloyds, HR’s capability in this specific area was
vital to its success. Steve Miranda, however, suggests
that HR should be thinking beyond capability to
consider “preparedness.” In Creating the indispensable
HR function, he suggests five non-traditional ways to
ensure HR is essential to business performance. One of
these is to proactively develop its operational and
strategic skills to be prepared for any situation. See
page 34 for six ways to develop the preparedness of
your HR team.
The Strategic HR Summit 2005
Finally, I’m proud to announce the launch of the third
annual Strategic HR Summit. Held on 22-24 June at
The Royal Garden Hotel, London, this is the premier
event to ensure your preparedness is up to scratch and get
the latest thinking and practical advice in strategic HR. I
hope to meet many subscribers who attended last year’s
event as well as some new faces. Take advantage of our
early bird discount by booking before 25 March. To
reserve your places or request a copy of the full agenda
e-mail shrsummit@melcrum.com
If HR is to make a true impact on the performance of its
organization, it must be a team player. Working in the
HR equivalent of the ivory tower, with little or no
awareness of your industry, customers or competitors, let
alone other internal business functions, is no longer
good enough. What’s required is a new set of skills for
the HR practitioner and a new approach to working life.
How many of you can say you have a close working
relationship, for example, with your peers in
marketing? This, suggests Diane Gayeski, is a good
place to start if HR is to ensure organizational culture
can deliver on the company’s external brand promise.
In HR’s role in developing brand personality, she
explains why HR needs to work with marketing and
branding colleagues to make sure the company’s brand is
communicated not just by its products and services, but
by its people.
Developing analytic skills
Most senior HR professionals are aware of the
importance of metrics. This is another area where close
collaboration with another internal function is
important. In this case, finance. In Developing the
human capital balance sheet, Jeffrey K. Cordes shares
his experience of involving the CFO to develop metrics
which help drive out HR “administrivia” and prove the
value-add of every HR employee.
Many approaches to HR evaluation have been
suggested – none without their pitfalls. In his article
Harnessing the power of HR analytics, Alec Levenson
goes one step further to suggest that HR needs to begin
by developing its own skills and expertise in this area.
Some organizations have begun to develop both broad
and deep analytic skills in their HR function which
could give rise a new phenomenon: the HR analytics
center of expertise. See page 28 for some practical steps
on how to start building analytic skills in your
function.
Josie Salkey
© Melcrum Publishing Ltd. 2005. For more information, go to www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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