Once upon a time, there was a company with 600 employees but no
human resources (HR) staff.
Management had never considered how
HR expertise could add value.
The top executive, who was a people
person, assumed the other top managers
were people-oriented, as well. And, for
the most part, they were. But a staff that
is strongly people-oriented must always
also possess a “let’s-get-the-job-done”
attitude. In that event, getting the best
people to do the best job possible is the
preferred situation.
“That’s where human resources comes
in,” says Bob Preziosi, a professor of management in the Huizenga School of
Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova
Southeastern University. “Human resource professionals use their knowledge
and skill to help a business find success.
“The role of HR has become pivotal in
today’s organizations, regardless of size.
An intense desire to be more productive
and efficient has led corporate managers
to the HR department’s doorstep.”
Typically, HR staffers are involved in
arranging corporate benefits packages,
helping the company follow employee-related laws, organizing employee health
and fitness programs, coordinating risk
management procedures and much,
much more, including miscellaneous
employee and labor relations.
Smart Business talked to Preziosi
about how to find the other, hidden, values of a human resources department.
How do HR professionals help a business
achieve success?
There are five major tasks HR performs
that really make the department worthwhile.
- HR acts as a strategic business partner, learning the goals, objectives and
business results that each line of business
seeks.HR works to make each business unit
the focus of the department’s actions
rather than looking for ways to addressits own processes and procedures. Within
the boundaries of the law and corporate
policy, HR provides the services that support department strategy. There is always
a direct link between an HR operational
approach and one or more aspects of the
business strategy. - HR also takes the lead in organization
change initiatives. These can include
issues driven by technology, new product/service introduction, restructuring,
regulations or market pressures, just to
name a few.HR contributes in a big way because of
how it handles the people aspect of
change, which is always the most difficult
part. HR can provide direct, specific,
take-charge approaches, including training in change management, or it can be
more consultative. - HR is a pulse-taker and knows how
employee opinions about the organization are stacking up. HR makes specific
recommendations to management if
improvement is needed.Even when HR outsources the data collection aspect of pulse-taking, its man-
agement of the many aspects of employees’ business life is a huge contribution to
business success because both productivity and quality are affected by these
efforts. - HR also impacts business results by
being a technical expert. The tasks HR
departments oversee have grown over
the years in both number and complexity.Projects such as recruiting and hiring,
compensation and benefits, training and
the legal aspects of a business require
great expertise. The dos and the don’ts
that reduce pitfalls and risks are best handled by professionals, especially those
with degrees in HR or Society for Human
Resource Management accreditation. - Finally, HR adds value to the efforts
of managers and executives through performance management. This goes well
beyond the normal performance-appraisal process that requires policies, forms
and signatures.HR is positioned to be a performance
management consultant throughout the
organization. This includes training,
advocating best practices and troubleshooting performance issues and
problems. HR helps individuals and work
groups identify gaps in performance
requirements and offers solutions to
overcome those gaps.As organizations strive to be more competitive, improving performance puts HR
in the spotlight.
HR is the catalyst for better business
results through the above five elements.
There are other ways that HR impacts
business results, but those discussed here
have the most impact and are the most
needed in today’s organizations.
BOB PREZIOSI is a professor of management in the Huizenga
School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern
University. He has been delivering leadership training and
education for more than 30 years. You can reach him at
[email protected] or through the school’s Web site,
www.huizenga.nova.edu.