HR strategic and consulting roles

Topic 1: Trends in Human Resources Management

and the Strategic Importance of Adapting to Those

Trends

This course is based on your having had an introductory course in human resources

management. In addition to that course, many of you have taken other human resources

management courses and have experience working in human resources. With that knowledge,

you already know some of the tasks performed by human resources managers, as well as some

of the changes and challenges they face. What you should contemplate and become conversant

with in this section is how those activities, changes, and challenges fit into an organization’s

strategic process.

What differentiates managers from line workers is that managers coordinate the people in their

organizations so that those people’s activities contribute to the organization’s strategic goals.

This coordination is strategic human resources management (HRM). Most managers spend

more time on HRM than on any other part of their jobs.

We know how to increase productivity in most organizations, yet many managers persist in using

old methods that do not necessarily increase productivity. One of the best ways to increase

productivity is to use validated methods to select, staff, train, and motivate people, which helps

to create high-performance work systems. Making these validated methods part of an

organization’s culture and contributing to strategic goals are important HRM functions.

Academic preparation is important to being the best human resources manager you can be, but

what we learn academically is not always implemented in the workplace. Although practical

considerations often prevent the implementation of purely academic solutions, knowledgeable

managers nonetheless learn how to increase productivity in an organization.

A human resources manager’s major responsibilities can be categorized as follows:

• organizational design

• staffing

• performance management and appraisal

• employee training and organizational development

• reward systems, benefits, and compliance

Good management of each of these areas is important to an organization’s smooth functioning,

and each contributes to the successful achievement of its strategic goals.

Many changes affect HRM and being aware of and ready to react to these changes is imperative

to the successful management of a workforce for an organization. Trends in HRM include:

• increased globalization

• technological changes

• the need for flexibility

• increasing litigation

• changing character of the workforce

Increased globalization is one of the greatest challenges human resources managers face. A manager must know not only how to manage people who work in other countries but also must

be aware of the laws, regulations, and customs of those countries. Globalization also has major

effects on other functions in the organization that in turn affect HRM. If its product is marketed

in other countries, the organization may need to hire for other skills to help in adapting that

product to the cultures of those countries. Being aware of these other functions helps the

organization achieve strategic goals.

Technological changes in the last few years have affected all human resources managers. It is

a great challenge for human resources managers to keep up with the possibilities that

technology offers. Managers must find people with the latest skills; and if those people are not

available, we must design a training program that will provide our organization with those skills.

Human resources managers also should be aware of technological advances that make HRM

more effective, including the latest databases and software that can make HR functions more

efficient.

Flexibility is more important than ever before. The outsourcing of jobs to other companies and

often to other countries continues to be a practical but political issue in many organizations.

Increased use of outsourcing, part-time employees, temporary employees, and contract

employees has a great effect on what a human resources manager does. While the use of these

staffing techniques makes an organization more flexible, it can also be a real headache for a

human resources manager—flexibility often comes at the price of having a less loyal workforce.

Increasing litigation emphasizes the need for human resources managers to be familiar with

laws and regulations related to HR issues such as equal employment, compensation, and liability.

With ever-increasing frequency, human resources managers are expected to take actions to keep

an organization out of legal trouble. A human resources manager often must educate those

involved in developing strategic plans as to how the legal environment may limit or promote

certain organizational actions.

The changing character of the workforce is one of the most important changes of which

human resources managers must be aware. A generation ago, there were fewer women and

minorities in the workforce. The presence of two-income families affects the efforts of human

resources managers to recruit and promote many individuals—workers are more mobile, but

mobility often must take into account the flexibility of two-income families. A more highly

educated workforce means that managers must manage people differently than they have in the

past. There is less loyalty between workers and organizations than there was in the past, which

means that there will likely be more turnover of employees. Part-time and contract employees

are being used more than ever before.

Each of the issues detailed in this first topic is part of an organization's strategic planning. The

development of high-performance work systems through the use of academic knowledge is

important in developing an effective strategic plan. The basis for successful production of a

strategic plan is an awareness of what human resource managers do. Having a strategic plan

with true long-term effectiveness demands knowledge of the trends in HRM. All of these factors

must come together if the organization is to develop a strategic plan that will give it a

competitive advantage, and it is only through a good strategic plan that an organization can

maintain its uniqueness and keep adding value for its customers. The human resources manager

is a key player in developing the strategic plan.