How to Succeed in HR

Without Really Trying:

A Roadmap for HR Development
in the Coming Decade
Presentation to the Evansville-Area Human Resource
Association
Dane M. Partridge, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Management
University of Southern Indiana
March 27, 2003
Is HR Playing a Strategic Role in
Your Organization?
Whats the best change my organization
can make to prepare for the future?
What makes an Ee want to stay with my
organization?
How are we going to invest in HR so that
my organization has a better HR dept than
our competition?
Source: Halcrow (1988), reported in Noe et al. (2003)
Staffing the HR Function
What are the KSAs of HR staff?
What coursework?
Many MBA programs have no required HR course
What certification?
Bernardin (2003) indicates that only eleven percent of SHRM
members have HR certification via HRCI
DMP not sure this figure is accurate Bates (2002) reports
~56,000 HR professionals have passed a certification exam;
54% of PHR candidates are SHRM members, 72% of SPHR
candidates (HRCI State of the Institute Report 2002).
Staffing the HR Function
Inherent exaggeration of abilities re: people
skills?
Survey of HS seniors
70% believed they were above average in leadership ability;
2% believed they were below average
100% believed they were above average in ability to get
along with others, 60% believed they were in top 10%, 25%
believed they were in top 1%
Source: Ruggiero (2001)
Should we even be teaching people skills at
undergraduate level?
Research indicates UG students have less interest in and
perceive less relevance of OB course than other required
business courses
Mintzberg (1989), Burke and Moore (2003)


Staffing the HR Function
More generalizable phenomenon, re: self-
ratings?
Survey of 92 engineers (Meyer, 1980)
Asked to self-rate relative to peer group, 0-100
(percentile)
Mean: 78
th
percentile
Only two of 92 rated themselves below 50
th

percentile (45)
Some Discrepancies Between
Research Findings and HR Practices
Recruitment
Research indicates that quantitative analysis
of recruitment sources using yield ratios can
facilitate efficiencies in recruitment
In practice, less than 5% of surveyed
companies calculate yield ratios; less than
20% know how
Source: Bernardin (2002)
Some Discrepancies Between
Research Findings and HR Practices
Staffing
Research indicates that
Realistic job previews can reduce turnover
Weighted application blanks reduce turnover
Structured, behavioral, or situational interviews are more
valid
Graphology is invalid and should not be used
In practice
Less than 20% of companies use RJPs in high-turnover jobs
Less than 10% know what a WAB is; less than 1% use
Less than 30% of companies use structured interviews
Graphologys use is increasing in U.S.
Some Discrepancies Between
Research Findings and HR Practices
Performance Appraisal
Research indicates that
Traits should not be used on rating forms
Raters should be trained
The appraisal process should be an important element of
managers jobs
In practice
More than 75% of companies still use traits
Less than 30% train raters
Less than 30% of managers are evaluated on performance
appraisals
Some Discrepancies Between
Research Findings and HR Practices
Compensation
Research indicates that
Merit-based systems should not be tied into base salary
Because size of bonus that can be offered is greater, cost to
org in long run is much less
Gainsharing is an effective pay-for-performance system
In practice
More than 75% of companies tie merit pay to base pay
Less than 5% of companies use gainsharing where they
could
Quiz!!!
Think back to your first day in HR
What were you most confident about, in terms
of your preparation for your responsibilities?
What were you least confident about?
What, in terms of your preparation,
contributed to your confidence or lack
thereof?
How could your development have better
addressed your deficiencies?
TRWs HRM Core Competencies
Leadership and Managing Change
Business Skills
HR Functional Leadership
HR Technical Skills
Source: Milkovich and Newman (1999)
Core Competencies: The skills and abilities in
value creation activities that allow a company to
achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation,
or customer responsiveness.
Source: Jones (2001)
TRWs HRM Core Competencies
Leadership and Managing Change
Integrity
Efficiency
Performing in cost-effective manner
Objectivity
Clear perception of org and political reality
Proactivity
Risk taking
Taking action under conditions of uncertainty


TRWs HRM Core Competencies
Leadership and Managing Change (cont.)
Decisiveness
Professionalism
Consciousness of ones professional image
Negotiation Skills
Facilitating win-win
Communication Skills
Written, Oral, Non-verbal(!)
Brockbank (2003) found interpersonal competencies more
important than verbal and written communication skills
Team Management Skills

TRWs HRM Core Competencies
Business Skills
Industry Knowledge
Value chain, suppliers, competitors, how org satisfies
customer needs
Knowledge of value chain has significant impact on business
performance (Brockbank, 2003)
Strategic Management
Understanding and planning for environmental changes
Organizational Awareness
Understanding business operations, how business competes,
cultural/value systems impacting org performance
TRWs HRM Core Competencies
Business Skills (cont.)
Total Quality Management
Continuous Improvement
General Management Skills
Understanding of finance, marketing, law, IT
Partnership w/mngt team
Note: knowledge itself is insufficient to contribute
to high-performing organization must put
knowledge into practice.Achieving results
more important to personal credibility than
getting along well w/mngt team.
Source: Brockbank (2003)

TRWs HRM Core Competencies
HR Functional Leadership
Network Building
Working effectively w/others, both inside and outside org
Setting the Vision for HR
Selecting and Developing Staff
Identifying and implementing org and individual
developments plans
Value-added perspective of HR
Communicating to mngt how HR can contribute to org
TRWs HRM Core Competencies
HR Technical Skills
HR Planning
Competencies in org design now fundamental, including org
and job restructuring (Brockbank, 2003)
Communications
Fostering understanding of key business and HR issues
Work Force Diversity
Selection and Placement
Including effective performance mngt system
Training & Development




TRWs HRM Core Competencies
HR Technical Skills (cont.)
HR Information Systems
Compensation and Benefits
Performance-based, linked to performance mngt
Health, Safety, and Security
Org Effectiveness
Managing cultural change within org to impact org
effectiveness
Note that culture management makes strategic contribution
(Brockbank, 2003) [focusing internal culture on meeting needs
of external customer, aligning HR w/ desired culture, facilitating
quick change]
Ee and Labor Relations

Additional Competencies
International
Infusing org culture w/local talent worldwide
Integrating foreign Ees into U.S.-based
businesses
Balancing differentiated pay scales/benefits
levels to achieve internal equity
Restructuring recruiting practices to ensure
org is capturing best talent globally
Source: Patel (2002) [SHRM Workplace Forecast: A
Strategic Outlook]
Top Ten Workplace Trends as
seen by HR professionals
Use of technology to communicate with
Ees
Rising health care costs
Increased vulnerability of intellectual
property
Managing talent
Greater demand for high-skilled workers
than for low-skilled
Top Ten Workplace Trends as
seen by HR professionals
Labor shortage
Change from manufacturing to
information/service economy
Increase in employment-related
government regulations
Focus on domestic safety and security
Ability to use technology to more closely
monitor Ees
Source: Patel (2002)
Implications
Given these trends in organizational
environments, what are the implications
for HR function?
How do we get from where we are to where
we need to be?
What organizational and individual development
needs to be provided to facilitate change?
Are there additional competencies that need to be
developed so as to effectively manage these
trends?
Evolving HR Function
Some traditional roles, e.g., HR generalist, benefit
specialist, likely to become less common and less
important
Will be increasingly important to be able to illustrate cost
effectiveness, value-added contribution of HR practices
And will need to manage relationship w/providers of outsourced
activities (transactional functions)
Know finance!
Will business degree be a requirement in the future?
What would be the implications?
Human capital strategist?
Source: Bates (2002), Glister (2000)
Challenges (Potholes?)
David Ulrich (U of Michigan): We have to
shift the focus of HR away from training
and process to the outcomes, away from a
people function to an organization
function. Im not optimistic about all HR
people making that transition.
Source: Bates (2002)
Staffing the HR Function (revisited)
KSAs for HR?
Preparation (Education and Experience)?
Certifications value and nature
Specialist certifications (e.g., ACAs Certified
Compensation Professional and Certified Benefits
Professional, IFEBPs Certified Employee Benefits
Specialist)
Staffing the HR Function (revisited)
HR Competencies Build or Buy?
Re: HRIS, most HR certifications attest to non-
technological body of knowledge. PHR, SPHR not
intended to address individual systems or software
(Glister, 2000)
Software-specific training (e.g., PeopleSoft)
New International Association for Human Resource
Information Management (IHRIM) certification (purported to
be both technical and functional)
Knowledge relevant to choosing right vendor
HRCI due to include more technology emphasis in revised
curriculum
MBA w/ HR concentration? (Note that USI has moved
in opposite direction)

HRCI Core Knowledge Areas
Knowledge of needs assessment and analysis
Knowledge of third-party contract management,
including development of requests for proposals (RFPs)
Knowledge of communication strategies
Knowledge of adult learning processes
Knowledge of motivation concepts and applications
Knowledge of training methods
Knowledge of leadership concepts and applications
Knowledge of project management concepts and
applications
Knowledge of diversity concepts and applications


HRCI Core Knowledge Areas
Knowledge of human relations concepts and applications (for
example, interpersonal and organizational behavior)
Knowledge of HR ethics and professional standards
Knowledge of technology and human resource information systems
(HRIS) to support HR activities
Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for
analysis, interpretation, and decision-making purposes
Knowledge of change management
Knowledge of liability and risk management
Knowledge of job analysis and job description methods
Knowledge of employee records management (for example,
retention, disposal)
Knowledge of the interrelationships among HR activities and
programs across functional areas
Source: http://www.hrci.org/certification/spec-core.html
Conclusions and Challenges
As business organizations and the business environment
continue to evolve, the competencies required of HR
professionals are also evolving.
Knowledge is necessary but not sufficient prerequisite
for success; skills and abilities are critical (i.e., the ability
to put theory into practice).
Key org and individual development question pertains to
those skills and abilities build or buy?
To great extent, both degree programs and certification
are indicators of knowledge, not necessarily
competencies.
Hmmm