Dr.L.Short's views on "Future of HR"

OK, don’t shoot the messengers – I agree with the responses I’ve read thus far. In fact, I’ll go one step further and state that the future of HR, as we know it today, is clearly “doomed”. Most HR professionals are not agile enough to develop the business acumen and competencies required by today’s dynamic business environment. “There are no HR problems, but business problems with HR implications [Dr. John Sullivan]!”

There’s a "grass roots" push to eliminate HR departments here in the US. Dryer’s ice Cream (before merging with Nestles), and the Container Store, both have and recognizes human resources functions, but refuse to entrust them to an internal organization named Human Resources. Each insist that these functions can best be performed by line managers, who are responsible for the tactical, strategic and operational aspects of business as well. Why entrust the management of human resources into the hands of those who are unaware of the consequences of their actions, and are unable to integrate their recommendations into the whole? Perhaps this is the reason why some HR functions are not represented at the strategic planning table?

Hands-down, today’s HR professionals superbly accommodate the human services responsibilities associated with their work, e.g., “I like working with people”, but fail to understand that HR isn’t an organization unto itself, but that HR functions within an organization. Therefore, it must know the “ins” and the “outs” of that organization/business in order to effectively and meaningfully fulfill its HR mission.

So that I don’t talk just about the problem without addressing solutions, please consider the following. This is a list of business and financial measures that I recommend as a starting point for HR professionals in their quest to absorb the business environment:

agility/flexibility/speed
attracting/retaining employees
costs (while maintaining quality)
customer satisfaction
EPS
market share
PR/image
product development cycle
product-to-market cycle
productivity
profit
quality of product or service
ROI
sales or revenue
stock price

As a business professional, those even in HR should be competent in discussing his/her company’s standing with each, and should be able to trace the company’s historical and forecasted standings with each (i.e., for the company and its industry). These are the same measures that the other functions, within your company, use.

Michael Zigler (“Ziggy”), CEO of Pride Industries in Sacramento, California, made famous his admonition to his team, “no money, no mission”. A non-profit organization that finds jobs for the disabled, clearly on the human services side, recognizes that organizations aren’t successful by the “soft” side alone, but need to recognize the importance of the “bottom-line”. Now, if non-profit teams recognize this, how do HR teams in for-profit communities excuse its lack of a bottom-line orientation? (Incidentally, bottom-line doesn’t always focus on bottom-line profits, but may be bottom-line service, bottom-line products, etc., but in the for-profit community, bottom-line typically refers to money, i.e., profit, revenue, etc.

Finally, there’s a reason why most HR management programs fall under schools of business in the universities, not social services. Even academia recognizes as its mission first, to train future leaders for business and management, then the specifics of human resources.

Again, don’t shoot the messenger, but do consider the message!!!!!

Larry