Staffing Issues Critical to

Business Strategies, SHRM

Report Finds
By Kathy GurchiekMay 28, 2008

Staffing, employment and recruitment are among the most critical HR function areas
that contribute to their organizations business strategies, according to a Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM) report released May 28, 2008.
How HR functions are viewed within organizations depends on factors such as the size
of an organizations staff, its employment sector and the dynamics of how the
organization operates, according to HRs Evolving Role in Organizations and Its Impact
on Business Strategy.
The findings are based on responses from HR professionals SHRM surveyed online in
September 2007. Respondents were employed by organizations operating in the United
States.
The studys aim was to understand how HR is approached in the organization in which it
operates, which is crucial to understanding how HR contributes to business strategies
and the value that it is poised to bring to the organization, according to the report.
The top three critical HR function areas, the study found, are:

Staffing/employment/recruitment, cited by 52 percent of respondents.

Training and development, 29 percent.

Employee benefits, 29 percent.

This indicates that HR is most likely to support the organizations business strategy
through human capital-related areas such as building, developing and maintaining the
workforce, the report notes.
Staffing and employment benefits issues often are intertwined, according to John
Lewison, SPHR, a SHRM Organizational Development Special Expertise Panel member
quoted in the report.

We are constantly examining our benefits programs, not only from a competitive
perspective but in terms of cost-effectiveness, said Lewison, HR director for MDRC, a
large policy research organization in New York City.
Another member of the Special Expertise Panel member sees the top three function
areas that were identified as intertwined with Generation Y.
The first critical area confirms the challenge HR professionals have in recruiting and
retaining Generation Y employees, says Fernan Cepero, vice president of HR for the
YMCA of Greater Rochester, N.Y., in the report.
The second critical areatraining and developmentvalidates the training and
development initiatives that must appeal to that generations desire to learn and the
technological applications that are involved, Cepero added.
Benefits, as the third critical area, requires HR to attract/sell Generation Y on benefits
such as flexible schedules, telecommuting and full tuition reimbursement because HR
professionals do not expect to win their loyalty by talking about traditional benefits such
as pension vesting or funeral leaves.
Function areas that are of lesser critical importance, according to HR professionals
surveyed, are equal employment opportunity/affirmative action (3 percent), international
HR management (1 percent) and research (less than 1 percent).
Other key findings in the report:

Performance management; employee communication plans/strategies; policy

development and/or implementation; and strategic business planning are most
likely staffed in-house.

Employee assistance/counseling and flexible spending account administration

are HR responsibilities most likely to be outsourced.

61 percent of publicly owned for-profit organizations and 41 percent of private

owned for-profit organizations had formal systems to collect HR metrics.

Budget (56 percent) and headcount (46 percent) are the top organizational
factors limiting HRs efforts and effectiveness.

Their organizations business strategy contributes to deciding whether to staff,

outsource or eliminate various HR roles, 50 percent said.

Responsibilities that are not directly related to HR but that are necessary to an
organizations operations are folded into HR by default at many organizations, the report
found.
One half of those surveyed have other non-HR duties that might include facilities,
information technology and administration. This is especially true for small organizations
(79 percent) compared with medium-sized (48 percent) and large organizations (22
percent).
Understanding how HR is approached sheds light on HR professionals career
progression expectations in their organizations, and on non-HR business leaders
perceptions and mentoring of HR professionals in an organization, the report noted.
HR needs an awareness of the various ways it can assist the organization in meeting
its goals, the report notes, pointing out that departmental mentoring can help HR
professionals become strategic contributors to the organizations business strategy by
increasing their understanding of other key functions within the organization.
Exhibiting a willingness to expand focus and gain broad understanding not only of HR
functions but also of the business operations, the report concludes, will increase HRs
scope of influence and promote recognition of HR for having the potential to support and
enhance organizational operations.