HR is integrated into line in World class organisations

How traditional HR transforms to that of strategic partnering

The interdependence of Customer Service, Product Quality and Price are three of the most significant barriers to competitor entry and success in just about any business and is a continual ‘top-of-mind’ guiding philosophy in 'world class' business organisations.

Such organisations rely on their people to give effect to their philosophy to unlock the value contained in their organisations. It  underpins and gives substance the organisation’s change strategy to create a paradigm shift in the psychosocial contracts of the organisation’s human capital from one of a ‘coercive relationship’ to that of ‘business partnering’.  

‘World Class' organisations know and understand that committed, motivated, and productive people have a sound relationship with the organisations that employ them and that this has a direct positive rub-off as to how they treat their customers. This view concludes that poor relationships become the breeding ground for destructive attitudes, poor commitment and poor customer service.

One of the main keys to unlock a ‘passion’ for unrivalled customer service is therefore undoubtedly the management of a sound employment relationship between employer and employee.

 Aware that line management is logically best positioned to manage this ‘employment relationship’, 'world class' organisations endorse the intent that line management should take full ownership of managing individual and collective relationships with their people. This, in turn, casts the spotlight on the Human Resources function to re-assess its role and function in the organisation with a view to integrating the management of human resources practices into line so that line can assume the responsibility of managing their relationships with their people with increasing competence and effectiveness.

 This view has long since been reinforced by Beatty and Schneier (1997: Vol 36:1:29) who report that the latter half of the last decade of the 20th century saw the most popular emerging role promoting HR being that of a “business partner”. They point out that this process has led to the re-engineering of HR processes – one of which has been exporting of some HR work back to line management. Describing the process that HR must follow in becoming a strategic business partner.

 This implies  that

  Line management need to undergo a ‘paradigm shift’ in their thinking and practice in that they have to assume responsibility for some fundamental HR (people) practices which directly impact on the employment relationship.

HR have to undergo a similar shift in their thinking to dismantle the structure of the traditional HR Department and skillfully integrate HR practices into line where HR plays an integrated role as business partner, guiding and supporting line with a “HR Toolkit” and systems that become enablers for line to fulfill this role.

HR ‘have to let go’ and outsource low level value-adding work to a centralised shared service center so that it can focus on value adding strategic business decisions and tactical implementation plans … and in the process, integrate and operationalise sound HR practices into these plans.

In their new roles, HR have to broaden their skills, knowledge and hence competence in every area of HR and that of the business as a whole. For example, in this new role, a HR practitioner will no longer be able to ‘hide’ a weak side to say, Industrial Relations or Learning and Development by referring such work to a specialist managers in their discipline. Simply put, HR practitioners will have to become multi-skilled. More than that, HR practitioners will have to develop a relatively deep understanding of business processes and principles to be effective. This implies transcending from being solution providers to becoming business partners.

 Summary;

 'World Class' organisations are ranked 'world class' by their customers who are served with a passion by their people. This passion is driven from a deep commitment to and alignment with the Mission, vision, Branding and values of the organisations in which they are valued partners. In these organisations, HR is not a Department, but a discipline that is practiced and owned by everyone in the organisation and which provides guidance in how to best manage relationships along the entire values stream, transmitting effective moments of truth into unrivalled customer satisfaction.