08.

2014
Vol.2 Issue 8

PRESENTED BY

12162025
Becoming a Relevant
HR Leader
What I learned from
Dave Ulrich

On the Cusp of
Change
The future of HR

Strategic Thinking
And 3 myths that kill it!

Reflections on
HR Certification vs.
Competences
And its role in the
development of a field

Focus on Creating Value not Splitting HR

Dave Ulrichs letter to Ram Charan about splitting HR
Dave Ulrich
What are the HR Strategy and Planning
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 08.2014 Vol.2 Issue 8

PRESENTED BY

Features

12162025
Becoming a Relevant
HR Leader
What I learned from
Dave Ulrich

On the Cusp of
Change
The future of HR

Strategic Thinking
And 3 myths that kill it!

Focus on Creating Value not Splitting HR

Reflections on
Dave Ulrichs letter to Ram Charan about splitting HR
HR Certification vs.
You probably know by now that your commentary on HR on the HBR blog has created a Competences
stir, which may have been your intent. PG.07 And its role in the
development of a field

7 Focus on Creating Value not
Splitting HR
Dave Ulrichs letter to Ram Charan about
splitting HR
Dave Ulrich
9 Great Workforce Planning
A hiring mystery exposed!
John Hagen
12 Becoming a Relevant HR Leader
What I learned from Dave Ulrich
Jonathan Jarrell
15 The Revolution in HR
From Administrator-in-Chief to Minister
of Culture
Liz Ryan
16 On the Cusp of Change 24 Mergers and Acquisitions
The future of HR And the role of HR analytics and
Natasha Dillon workforce planning
Tracey Smith
18 HR Managements Credibility is
Now On the Line 25 Reflections on HR Certification
Important to be strategically pro-active vs. Competences
Richard Dealtry And its role in the development of a field
Dave Ulrich and Wayne Brockbank
20 Strategic Thinking
And 3 myths that kill it!
Nick Tasler
21 Building Business Performance
The truth about trust, engagement
and performance
Rosanna Nadeau
 Guest Editors Note
Theres no question that todays HR lead- a turn of focus towards culture (articulating
ership teams must focus on building value to
maintain relevance and make progress for
shareholders, customers, executives andem-
ployees.
The fact that value can come in many
forms and is pretty well unique in every orga-
nization, creates challenges and opportunities
for HR; challenges in that theres no one-size-
fits-all, and opportunities characterized by
business-focused engagement and consulta-
tions with the clients you serve.
In my line of work, I see first-hand how
innovative, action-oriented and business savvy
HR Leaders create value through fact-based
decision-making and the strategic use of in-
sights generated from workforce analytics
yet there are a multitude of other strate-
gies and approaches out there to help you
understand what value really means for your
organization, and how that translates into
talent, leadership and capability to adopt
the thinking of Dave Ulrich.
In this months issue, which I am thrilled to
be Guest Editor of, the focus is on a number
of fascinating pathways HR Leaders can take
in order to ensure they are creating value for
the business.
Dave Ulrichs cover story Focus on Creat-
ing Value not Splitting HR is an articulate
response to Ram Charans opinion on split-
ting HR (HBR, July-August 2014). Dave
challenges Rams opinion and articulates the
ways in which HR can create value within
organizations. Dave suggests that our current
single-minded focus on talent within HR is,
in effect, obscuring other areas where HR
can and should be making a difference. In
addition to the obvious emphasis on talent
(competence, commitment and contribution
of employees), Ulrich identifies two other
areas of priority - leadership and capabili-
ties - where attention and effort must also be
placed. He makes the case for HR to adopt
an outside-in view perspective. This means
looking at the strategies and actions around
talent, leadership and capabilities from the
point of view of those the company is working
to serve (customers, investors). Simply put,
if HR can deliver employees, leaders, cus-
tomer experiences, and a brand identity that
delight customers or investors, then they are
creating value.
Liz Ryan speaks from experience and puts
her own spin on the Revolution in HR and
encourages HR Leaders to transform them-
selves from acting as Administrators-in-Chief
to becoming Ministers of Culture. For Liz,
4 HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014
Vol.2 Issue. 8
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence
is published monthly by HR.com,
the culture & mission in a way that resonates 124 Wellington Street East
with employees, communicating it, and living Aurora, Ontario
Canada L4G 1J1.
it) represents a powerful way forward for
HR. When employees are aligned with, and Editorial Purpose:
living the culture, this nets us better results Our mission is to promote HR Strategy and
in recruiting, hiring, retention, performance, Planning on constructive
productivity and growth, all of which are values, sound ethics, and timeless
principles.
outcomes of value to the business. This revo-
lutionary perspective starting with culture Article Submissions:
and ensuring we have a strong, shared, and Please send any correspondence, articles,
aspirational one that motivates and supports letters to the editor, and requests to reprint,
employees, will go a long way to delivering republish, or excerpt
articles to:
positive and measurable results. Editorial Department,
In Nick Taslers point of view on Stra- HR Strategy and Planning
tegic Thinking, he eloquently reminds us 124 Wellington Street East,
that theres a major difference between being Aurora, Ontario Canada L4G 1J1.
productive and being strategic given that Phone: 1-877-472-6648
Email: WPA@editor.hr.com
productivity is strategically agnostic. This
means that leaders must understand business Customer Service/Circulation:
outcomes and what value means, make deci- For customer service, or information on
sions about what is important and what is not products and services, call
important, and then act upon this by mobiliz- 1-877-472-6648 or
email: WPA@editor.hr.com
ing the right resources (talent being one of
them) in pursuit of excellence in getting the Internet Address: www.hr.com
job done. Nicely put Nick.
So, even though my Guest Editor jobs HR Strategy and Planning Excellence
almost done and yours is about to begin Publishing:
Debbie McGrath, CEO, HR.com,
with regards to this jam-packed issue of HR Publisher
Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials, Shelley Marsland-Beard, Product Manager
my day-job is entirely focused on helping Adnan Saleem, Design and Layout
organizations focus create and build value
through HR. I encourage you to drive towards Marketing Offices:
HR.com
the same! 124 Wellington Street East
Please share this across your social networks Aurora, Ontario
and please provide your perspective! Enjoy! Canada L4G 1J1
1-877-472-6648
John Pensom is the CEO of PeopleInsight, Copyright 2014 HR.com
delivering cloud-based workforce and business
No part of this publication may be
analytics. He has spent 20 years in the people
business and gained deep knowledge in how reproduced or transmitted in any form
technology, information and analytics drives without written permission from the
business and culture change. publisher. Quotations must be credited.
Visit www.peopleinsight.com
Email john.pensom@peopleinsight.com
LinkedIn John Pensom To submit articles for future issues submit
your article to:
WPA@editor.hr.com
 Sept. 28Oct. 2, 2014
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Focus on Creating Value not Splitting HR
Dave Ulrichs letter to Ram Charan about splitting HR
By Dave Ulrich
Ram:
Hope you are doing well.
You probably know by now that your commentary on HR on the
HBR blog has created a stir, which may have been your intent. I have
had a number of people ask me my reactions to it and encourage me
to send a public rebuttal. I have spent a week thinking about your
comments so that I might offer a thoughtful response and I would
rather share it with you than have a public brouhaha which does not
help me learn nor the profession move forward. So, let me share with
you my thoughts about your HR blog in a spirit of how it helped me
reflect and learn. (Note: Ram has approved sharing this letter to him
with a broader audience to encourage constructive dialogue.)
First, I have such enormous admiration for your body of work. I
have followed your work for decades and find it some of the most
illuminating insights on many important topics. You have a unique
ability to bridge theory and practice, to synthesize complex disciplines
into actionable solutions, and to work across functional boundar-
ies (finance, IT, marketing, strategy, HR). I marvel that you have
consecrated your life to building successful organizations. I appreci-
ate all you have contributed not only to the body of management
knowledge, but to the practice of management. You have personally
coached hundreds and directly influenced thousands of leaders; you
have shaped thousands of organizations to be better. I revere your
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 08.2014
COVER Article
Interactive
body of work. Thanks for doing so much for so many for so long.
Second, while you have an incredible breadth of work, starting with
strategy, I find that much of your recent work has tilted towards orga-
nization and people (books on strategy execution, leadership pipeline,
talent and advice on intensity, change, leadership traits, performance
management, governance) My take on your blog is that it reflects an
increasing CEO and business leader emphasis on the organizational
capabilities required to win. I believe you have pivoted your attention
to these organization dynamics in response to CEOs recognizing that
access to financial capital, technology, operations, or even strategic
positioning statements is less differentiating than their organizations
ability to respond to opportunities. As business leaders demand more
of their organization, they look for counsel to create more competitive
organizations, thus raising the bar on HR. I find your work and this
blog affirming the value of HR to sustained competitiveness.
Third, as the bar on HR has gone up, more is expected of HR
professionals. Your blog (intentionally or not) lambasts the entire HR
profession (Its time to say good bye to the Department of Human
Resources). I think this is both unfair and far too simplistic. In my
experience, I see a version of what I call the 20 60 20 rule. My expe-
rience is that this 20 60 20 rule of thumb (not locked into specific
numbers) could apply to almost any function financial people
moving from cash flow to intangible market value; marketing and
customer professionals moving from product features and market share
to customer share; IT professionals moving from systems to informa-
tion and decision making. In HR (or any of these other areas), 20% of
HR professionals are exceptional, with growth mindsets doing value
added HR work that helps organizations move forward in areas you
have written about. 20% of HR folks are locked into a fixed mindset
and lack either competence or commitment to deliver real value.
60% are in the middle. It is easy to critique the bottom 20%, but it
is not fair to paint the entire profession with this same brush. In my
commitment to help the HR profession move forward, I tend not to
focus on either 20%. The top 20% are exceptional and dont need
help. They can and should be role models for others. You pointed
out a few of these folks in your blog. There are many others in leading
companies in senior, middle, and junior roles. The bottom 20% wont
take help. But, the 60% seem, in my view, to be anxiously engaged
in learning how to help their organizations improve. Sometimes they
are stymied by their personal inabilities to make as much progress as
they could, but I find that often they are also limited by their work
setting and senior leaders who dont understand or appreciate the HR
value. Business leaders are also likely to be 20-60-20 about HR value.
Some get it; some never will; and some can be convinced. I hope we
can build the profession to lift the 60% by showing them what they
can do to deliver value even if in difficult circumstances (e.g., non-
supportive leaders, difficult markets, etc.). So, I think you made a
more blanket statement about the HR field than a differentiated one.
Fourth, as HR professionals engage with business leaders to deliver
value. I think that the conversation is NOT just about talent. My
view is that when the top 20% today (and hopefully more of the 60%
7
 Focus on Creating Value not Splitting HR
tomorrow) engage with business leaders, they focus on three things:
talent, leadership, and capability. You have written about these three
issues extensively in piecemeal fashion, but it is useful to be explicit
and integrated on what unique value thoughtful HR professionals
deliver to the business conversation:
Talent: Delivering competence (right people, right place, right
time, right skills) * commitment (engagement) * contribution (growth
mindset, meaning, and well-being) of employees throughout the
organization
Leadership: Ensuring leaders at all levels who think, feel, and act
in ways that deliver sustainable market value to employees, customers,
investors, and communities
Capability: Identify the organization capabilities (called culture,
system, process, resources, etc.) that enable organizations to win over
time. These capabilities would vary depending on the strategy, but
might include service, information (predictive analytics, metrics),
innovation, collaboration, risk, efficiency, change (adaptability, flex-
ibility), culture change, learning, strategic focus, etc.
Defining HR only as talent limits the value HR professionals can
add to a business.
Our strong view is that talent, leadership, and capability focus
outside/in not inside/out. Outside in means that talent is not being
the employer of choice, but the employer of choice of employees cus-
tomers would choose, that effective leadership is defined through the
brand promise made to customers and the intangible leadership capital
investors value, and that capability becomes defined as the identity
of the firm in the mind of key customers. We have suggested this
outside/in view of HR complements current strategic HR perspectives.
Note that the HR processes (staffing, training, compensation, indus-
trial relations) can be used to deliver talent, leadership, and capability,
but the focus on good HR is on these three simple but demanding
outcomes. Many great organizations are relying on thoughtful HR
professionals architect these three outcomes.
I actually worry that the HR profession has focused too much on
talent. Your advocacy for a talent HR role actually limits the breadth
of what I think HR can and should deliver. My view is that when
HR professionals bring unique insights about talent, leadership, and
capability to the senior management dialogue, they add enormous
value. The top 20% of HR professionals already bring these insights
and hopefully the accessible 60% can learn to do so. In addition,
I think that HR professionals should have unique ability to define
and deliver in each of these areas rather than line managers who get
moved into HR roles.
Fifth, your recommendation for restructuring HR into two groups
has two concerns for me. First, it offers a structural solution (reorganiz-
ing HR) to a more fundamental challenge which is shifting HR focus
to delivering value through talent, leadership, and capability. I think
the solution to moving the 60% of HR professionals forward is not
as simple as splitting HR into two groups. I am a little surprised that
your integrated strategic approach to business that flows throughout
your body of work is simplified into a governance solution to the
HR challenge of delivering more value. Upgrading HR requires more
rigorous redefinition of how HR can deliver value, how to develop
HR professionals, and how to rethink the entire system of HR work
in a company. Simply creating a new HR department in two groups
is not enough.
Second, your recommendation of separating HR into two groups
8 HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014
has been underway for over 20 years. We have talked about finance
vs. accounting, marketing vs. sales, and information solutions vs.
data centers. I (along with others like John Boudreau and Ed Lawler)
have advocated dividing HR into the embedded HR generalists who
deliver talent, leaders, and capability to business leaders, HR centers of
expertise who offer unique analytics and insights into HR knowledge
domains, and service centers who do the administrative work of HR.
The logic of this HR governance model has been around for 20 years.
I am not opposed to your idea of separate HR into two groups, just
surprised that you have not seen the idea being done. All of these
parts of HR need to work together to offer integrated solutions to
talent, leadership, and culture.
In addition, the structure of the HR department should be tied to
the business structure (e.g., a centralized business should not have this
HR governance nor should a pure holding company). It has been
built on the logic of HR departments in diversified organizations being
run like professional services firms. When run well, it has the benefits
of centralization (efficiency, economy of scale) and decentralization
(effectiveness, local responsiveness). There are many lessons to be
learned about how to make the basic structure you advocate work,
but companies have been and are learning those lessons.
Finally, with many others, I have an incredible passion for helping
the HR profession fully deliver value to organizations through busi-
ness leaders. I think that there is a holistic approach to moving the
60% forward. This includes redefining the strategy (HR outside in)
and outcomes (talent, leadership, and capability) for HR as well as
the organization (HR department structure) as well as innovating HR
practices (in people, performance, information, and work) as well as
upgrading the competencies for HR professionals (we have 25 years
of assessing what HR professionals should be, know, and do) as well
as getting HR analytics focused on decisions more than data. It is
not easy to move a profession forward. The top 20% dont always
share their lessons in ways that others can learn. The bottom 20%
become too much the focus of attention and cannot change. And,
the 60% get discouraged when respected colleagues demean and
(unintentionally, I believe) belittle them and their efforts.
This is a much too long response (far longer than your blog) to your
commentary. But, I hope that you can see that your words create
response. I would hope to look forward not backward, to be upbeat
not downtrodden, and to help HR professions who want to deliver
value be more able to do so.
Take care.
And, I hope you continue to produce integrated insights that create
competitive organizations. S&P
Dave Ulrich
Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor of Business at the Ross School,
University of Michigan and a partner at the RBL Group a consulting firm
focused on helping organizations and leaders deliver value. He studies how
organizations build capabilities of leadership, speed, learning, accountability,
and talent through leveraging human resources. He has helped generate
award winning data bases that assess alignment between strategies, organiza-
tion capabilities, HR practices, HR competencies, and customer and investor
results. He has consulted and done research with over half of the Fortune 200.
Visit www.rbl.net
Email dou@umich.edu
Books by Dave Ulrich
Book
Great Workforce Planning
A hiring mystery exposed!
By John Hagen
Can a Workforce plan be developed, implemented and successful
if it cant find and retain the people needed?
We have developed and perpetuated the inability to identify, hire
and retain great people, not find them....
In the 04/2014 issue of Inc. magazine Cait Murphys article Is There
Really a Skills Gap?, should have every companys and HR/Talent/
People heads blood boiling at hearing the dreaded constant refrain of
we cant find qualified people..Because, in a phrase, the skills
gap doesnt exist. except in todays recruiters results and minds!!!
This is supported by the U.S. DOL, the BLS, the Wharton School of
HR, the Federal Reserve and many otherslike me who have been
sounding the alarm and sending the message for a number of years.
Butwe continually hear there arent enough qualified people. That
concern is reflected in numerous recent surveys of businesses--big and
small. Almost four in 10 U.S. employers told Manpower, a staffing
company, that they were having difficulty filling jobs. The feeling is
particularly acute at small and midsize companies. The U.S. Chamber
of Commerce reports, 53 percent of leaders at smaller businesses said
they faced a very or fairly major challenge in recruiting non-managerial
employees. A 2013 survey of Inc. 5000 CEOs, 76 percent said that
finding qualified people was a major problem.
Whos reporting this? I find it hard to believe any CEO has any
actual recruiting or Talent acquisition assignments. Logic would
say the HR department or other well intentioned survey reports are
being ingested and repeated as a statement of fact I believe HR is
reporting their own broken unquestioned application/hiring processes
and practices resulting in a failure to attract, identify and hire quality
candidates. How can a Workforce plan be developed and implemented
if you cant find and retain the people needed?
One possible reason companies and HR may not realize there is
a problem is the number of HR departments who outsource their
Recruitment. The extent to which this has happened is somewhat a
matter of semantics. If they use an outsourced (paid/leased) applicant
tracking system they have outsourced at least part of their recruitment
effort. Taleo and Kenexa immediately come to mind, but there are
many others. When you also include the emphasis on temp workers
handled by temp agencies, employment agencies and outside recruit-
ing firms, the outsourced % really climbs. This puts a great deal of
distance between the applicant, HR and the company.
OTHER POSSIBILTIES: Regarding laborious application processes
and the dreaded ATS -
A 2013 study found only about 17% of those who begin the ap-
plication process on an employers career web site actually complete
it! 17%??? If this is true, and I cant refute it, it is a powerful message
regarding how disengaged company hiring processes are from their
applicants.
The extensive use of online hiring applications, for example, is not
exactly helpful, says Peter Cappelli, an economist at the Wharton
Schools Center for Human Resources. Screening software can and
does filter out otherwise-qualified people who just dont have the right
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 08.2014
title or buzzword in their online rsum--or have six years experience
instead of seven. Research done by the U.S. Federal Reserve revealed a
nice tidbit: When there are lots of applicants, employers tend to raise
their standards, hoping to score a way-above-average hire.
Simply put, employers pile on so many requirements that finding
a match is like hunting for a white elephant: They do exist but are
vanishingly rare. Employers, in fact, are not shy about saying this is
what they are doing. According to a 2013 Career Advisory Board survey
of 500 U.S. hiring managers, 67 percent said they dont feel like they
have to settle for a candidate without the perfect qualifications. So
if they dont find the white elephant, they will keep hunting--even
though there are willing elephants ready to do the job.
When we look at the hard numbers, none of them are so dra-
matic that you get the sense that this is a major, major issue right
now. Another clue that the skills gap is overblown: About 8 percent
of executives surveyed said they were considering moving out of the
U.S. because of issues related to skills. But almost five times that many
were considering moving back to the U.S. because of the presence of
skilled labor. The only evidence of the skills gap, says Peter Cappelli,
is employers saying Ive got a problem.
There are issues finding people for specific jobs in specific industries
in specific areas. For the labor force as a whole, however, the skills-
gap crisis is no such thing. And to the extent that your business is
having problems, to a large degree, the solutions are in your hands.
Specifically: Start training programs, pay competitive wages, and work
with governments and community colleges. Of course whats really
being said, and some of us have been saying this for quite a while
the recruitment and retention process is broken. We have developed
and perpetuated the inability to recognize, identify, hire and retain
great people, not find them.
The old saying about no matter how hard you try to polish a
sneaker.its still a sneaker (the cleaned up version).... seems to apply
here. The ATS may be the greatest recruiting innovation ever, but it
was designed for volume, speed, metrics, record keeping and tracking
(hence the name Applicant Tracking System). It is neither the greatest
for finding great candidates for the company or recruiters nor for the
Applicants. Otherwise it would be called the SCS (Superior Candi-
date System) or SCMS (Superior Candidate Matching System)!!! Is
there an app for that?
Finally, although actually a prerequisite, the holy grail and at
heart of a Workforce program is the question, How are you going to
keep em once you get em? Failed Employee Retention represents
about 40% of current openings in the professional and management
arena alone!!!! 40%!!! What type of successful Workforce plan can be
developed and sustained if 40% of the trained thought and manage-
ment leadership leave annually? So.now what???
To question the Why results of poor retention requires questioning
the fundamental culture of your company/organization, way down deep
at its heart. Without that answer, a plan to change the fundamental
attraction and retention structure of your company will result in the
9
 Great Workforce Planning

continuation of these same problems. This is whats causing the new We have a major company (HR) to people disconnect AND we,
3Rs (Ridiculous Recruiting Results) in the first place.a catch 22 HR, did this!!!
the definition of insanity.continuing to do the same things over IN SUMMARY
and over, but expecting a different outcome or result. It wont change if we think its fine. It wont change if we dont
Rather than to continue erroneously reporting the results of broken recognize it as a problem.
systems and processes as a skills problem and our nation failing at How do we fix it? What can we do? Do we need additional steps?
supply an educationally rich system to fill real skills gap needs, busi- Are there other solutions?
nesses should be getting involved and make a difference (this should THIS?
be an HR mandate). Why not start with fixing obvious $0 cost items
like job descriptions and the dreaded ATS pass through conundrum.
POOR OR POISONOUS VALUES
Asking real and insightful questions about why things arent working
would be the easiest $0 cost step..One just has to have enough POOR / POISONOUS
knowledge and awareness to ask the right questions to begin with. No
quality
Candidate
poor/disconnected
Talent
Acquisition
poor
people
core people
company culture lack of average pay

However, you just have to ask the right questions and be willing to lack of poor quality
attraction processes policies Poor employee
reward candidate
retention
negative & fear based referral
commit to and make the right changes. internal brand people policies

lack of trust & respect

HERE IS ANOTHER MYSTERY
Most applicants react terribly to the lack of input or response TM
and it has been happening for years. It has become a real applicant
issue in the recruitment process. There have been long running and
varied discussions testifying to the extent of the feelings surrounding
this absence of or poor human to human interaction in the Human
Resource application process. The ATS embodies this and recruit- OR THIS?
ing firms, RPOs, HR and their companies continue using it as Their
Primary Matching Tool rather than a tool.
To simply say this is the way we do it, fails to address the issue - the great values

bad results of these processes, regardless of whether it is efficient or

not! The ATS is very efficient - at its designed purpose.Tracking quality Great
GREAT core
GREAT TOTAL pay quality
Great company culture TOTAL
applications historically for federal reporting purposes. Whether or Candidate
attraction
Talent
Acquisition
processes
people
policies (internal brand)
employee
retention rewards
recognition
candidate
referral &
ATTRACTION
not it is a reliable candidate matching system as it is being used in
most companies, is the heart and soul of the disconnect issue. trust & respect
Simply because companies hire people from the process doesnt
TM
address this issue, either in terms of its results internally to the orga-
nization .or. to the applicants perception and feelings about that
organization, and its reputation, having gone through it. Because, the S&P
results are most applicants/candidates hate the process, how they
are treated and how it makes them feel both personally and about the John Hagen has headed Talent and People Services (HR) for Fortune 300,
Private and Family Owned retail and vertically integrated manufacturing,
company, regardless of why it is happening! wholesale and delivery, developing both start-up to maturity scalability and
Or as Tucker Miller, Esq. at ELI said on Fri, Aug 01, 2014, Trying transforming $Multi-Billion brand cultures.
LinkedIn Johnr Hagen
to convince people that their feelings dont matter, particularly in the Email johnr.hagen@comcast.net
face of our own anxiety and frustration or busyness, is absurd. Feel-
ings matter; they matter a lot. And as I am frequently reminded by
a wonderful friend and colleague, success is best measured by how
we make people feel, not by what we check off of our to do list or
add to our resume.
If the companies use these systems, but the applicants/job seekers/
candidates hate it, no good justification or reason can ever be made
to that candidate/applicantyour customer or potential customer!
From a purely company customer/consumer sales perspective, what
company could justify alienating customers???
The result is HR/companies are allowing an ATS to speak for
them (or in this case not speak). How oxymoronic it is that the ONE
department tasked with applicant to company and people to people
contact, interaction and communication has allowed a software system,
RPO or recruiting firm to not communicate for them!!
As the late great poet, Maya Angelou, said I have learned people
will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people
will never forget how you made them feel.

10 HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014

 Nominations NOW OPEN!

For the past 30 years, Leadership Excellence has identified and recognized the top 500
leadership organizations and their strategies and solutions in our yearly ranking issues.
Nominate your organization for their Excellence in Leadership Development at
www.hr.com/leadership500

1. Small Company 7. Educational Institution

2. Midsize Company 8. Small Leadership Partner & Provider
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4. Government/Military 10. Large Leadership Partner & Provider
5. Non-Profit Organization 11. International Leadership Partner & Provider
6. International Company

Get your name on the list with some of the 2014 winners, including: GE, Cisco Systems,
MasterCard, FedEx Services, General Mills, Qualtrics, TD Bank Group, Association
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www.hr.com/leadership500
CONNECTING HR EXPERTS GLOBALLY For more information phone: 1.877.472.6648 email: leadership500@info.hr.com

Becoming a Relevant HR Leader
What I learned from Dave Ulrich
By Jonathan Jarrell
A few weeks ago Joyce Chastain (President of HR Florida)
and I had the opportunity to interview Dave Ulrich specifically
on the topic of Becoming a Relevant HR Leader. Not only was
it an honor to interview a man who has had a great impact on
our profession, but listening to his advice really made me reflect
on my own career and forced me to ask myself am I doing the
things that make me a true relevant HR leader?
To give you a brief overview, Dave Ulrich is a university professor
at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. He is a
management coach and consultant and he co-founded The RBL
Group, a leadership consulting company. He is also a speaker
and an author, having written over 25 books on the topics of
leadership and human resources.
There is no doubt that he has made a mark in the field
of Human Resources, being dubbed as the father of human
resources, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award fromHR
Magazinein 2012, for which he was also honored as the most influential
person in HR for three years.
So what have I learned from the Father of Human Resources?
The 20-60-20 Rule
In the interview, Dave shared that HR people are categorized into
three groups. Those that belong to the top 20% are considered as
the best of the best. These people are strategic; talent focused and
understand business results. The next is the middle 60% who may
have the ability to transform themselves into the top 20%. And lastly,
the bottom 20% which consists of those who will never understand
that their role integrates with the organization they serve. In short,
they will never get it. These are the people who do not bother to learn
the details of their business.
So which among these three should you focus on?
Dave says that we should focus on the 60% and it does make
absolute sense. The first group basically knows what theyre doing
and theyre the ones whose goals are synchronized with that of the
companys so minimal supervision is required. On the other hand,
directing most of your attention to the bottom 20% may only prove
futile, because theyre not going to get it. These are the people who
still focus on command and control and love to find ways to stifle the
organization with all the reasons why an initiative wont work or why
we cant fire someone. In short they love to be the department of NO
or the HR police. Sometimes, taking off your HR Cop Uniform is
not really an act of defeat or surrender, but rather an act of strategic
thinking. Instead, focusing on the majority of your time where you
will get the best business results is what you should strive for.
Focusing on the 60%
Now that you know where to focus your efforts on, the next
challenge is HOW?
Dave outlined two points to help us accomplish this. First is to
start working on the intellectual agenda. This entails shifting your
mindset in the way you see who your real customers are. As a HR
professional, who is your customer anyway? Recently I was recruiting
12
FEATURE
for a HR Manager in Atlanta. I asked all the candidates that exact
question. Who are your customers? EVERY single one of them
replied the employees.
What most HR people think is their customers are the employees
of the company because after all its them that we serve or cater to.
Wrong!! If you are a relevant HR professional you know the customers
of HR people are the customers of the company itself those people
that pay for the bills and buy your products and services.
So instead of thinking about how you can help your employees,
think about how you can help your business with the overall goal of
making money. Believe me by supporting the goal of making money
you are supporting your employees.
The second point comes from a behavioral perspective. This means
starting with simple behaviors and directing your focus on building
talent, leadership, and culture to make growth happen. We as HR
professionals should act as both pastors and parents to the employees
we serve. As pastors, we focus on the social side. As parents, we take
care of the business side.
Potential of HR as CEO
Interestingly, Dave talked about the tremendous value HR can add
to any company and I am a believer of that. Whats more interesting
is that Daves study suggested that the profile of an effective CEO
actually matches that of an effective Chief HR Officer. So if we as HR
people have that business skill set, then we certainly can be candidates
for CEO. Let me ask you what one thing can you do today to get
yourself to the next level?
Long Term Commitment
Another important lesson that I have learned from Dave is
transforming how we lead from a choice model to a commitment
model. Sometimes, weve got so many things on our plate each day
that we get caught up in our daily choices that we tend to set the
more important aspects aside. We are too preoccupied with making
the right choices everyday i.e what does the handbook tell us, what
does the labor attorney tell us, while we should instead focus on the
long term commitments that we need to make in order to achieve
long term business success.
Lastly, we should act as anthropologists. We are not called Human
Resource professionals for nothing. Hence, you should interact
with your employees as humans instead of treating them like they
are our numbers. The best value you have as a HR professional is to
invest in yourself and then invest in others. I always like to say in my
leadership presentations that the action is in the interaction we have
with people. S&P
Jonathan JJ Jarrell is a Regional Human Resources Manager for one of the
largest food distributors in the United States and one of a select few leaders to
be trained and certified as a coach, speaker, and trainer by The John Maxwell
Company. JJ has successfully blended his passion for leadership, human
resources, and people into a career that inspires, guides, and supports the
growth of others.
Email jjarrell@pfgcd.com
Visit jonathanjarrell.com
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014
 PERSONAL EXCELLENCE FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

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The Revolution in HR
From Administrator-in-Chief to Minister of Culture
By Liz Ryan
There is a revolution going on in HR, quietly but insistently.
HR chiefs around the world are seeing that they cant policy
their way to greatness, or performance-manage their way there.
In order to have the impact they want and need to have on their
organizations, they have to take a completely new approach.
These HR leaders are ditching the old frame for HR, the mental
model that taught them HR is the function that keeps track of
employee matters, and keeps our organization out of court. That
is the palest version of the colorful and vibrant influence that
your HR function can have on your organization, not to mention
on your employees, customers, shareholders and community.
When HR leaders step out of the old Administrator-in-Chief
job description into a new role as Minister of Culture, the job
becomes a lot more influential and a lot more fun!
Video
For years weve been told that our mission as HR leaders is to
get a seat at the table. That begs the question Once Im at the
table, what will I talk about? Well, what are the other leaders at
the table talking about? Theyre talking about the organizational
win. Your Sales leader is talking about how to hit his or her sales
goals and keep the company growing. Your Manufacturing leader
is talking about using new technology and innovation to keep
your manufacturing processes ahead of the competitive curve.
You have the same agenda to move your company into the
future and to grow your own flame in the process! We are all
learning and growing at work, and if were not, then the paycheck
cant possibly be compensation enough for the time and energy
that we expend. When you look at the impact that a Minister
of Culture can have on his or her organization, the possibilities
are immense.
A great organization brings in the best people in the talent
marketplace, and keeps them excited. When your culture is
widely known as open and friendly, people seek you out as an
employer. Your employees bring in their friends to fill your open
spots. Everything is easier. People have more fun and trust one
another more. They trust their managers and they trust HR.
When you embrace your Minister of Culture role, youll still
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 08.2014
Interactive
have to look after regulatory compliance issues and take care of
daily fire-fighting, but those tasks will become easier.
When employees are excited about the organizational win
and their own win as intertwined goals, they wont have time or
interest in internal politics. Petty squabbles will become less of
a focus, and the informal grapevine wont be as essential a com-
munication network. When people know what theyre working
for and know that the company is behind them, naturally they
bring their best to work.
How do you morph from Administrator-in-Chief to Minister
of Culture? Start with the organizational mission. If the mission
isnt clear to employees, start to yell it from the rooftops. Im
not talking about the Mission Statement on the wall in your
boardroom. Most Mission Statements are boring and evergreen
they never change. No ones going to get excited about making
your company The leading provider of yada yada with excellent
customer service. Thats every companys mission statement.
Rather, what are you trying to accomplish over the next year
or two? Let the employees know about it. Let them in on the
win. Let new employees know what youre driving toward and
how their job helps everybody win.
Once the mission is clear, look at your policies. Most com-
panies have way too many policies and procedures. Its nearly
impossible to make an independent move, and thats incredibly
frustrating to the smart and capable people you hire. You can
have fun dismantling and re-evaluating every policy in your
Employee Handbook. Do all of those rules and restrictions
really serve their purpose, or do they merely slow down your
operation and keep the brilliant people on your team from using
their brains and energy?
Lastly, talk about fear and trust at every opportunity. Make it
easy for people in your company to share concerns. Go past the
annual Employee Engagement Survey to ask every employee how
theyre doing, all the time with a confidential email address for
reporting problems, a confidential telephone hotline and even
an old-fashioned suggestion box. Make it easy and organic for
your employees to speak up. If you start with these three shifts
in the energy, youll soon see the benefits of creating a human-
powered workplace.
Youll grow your HR leadership flame in the process, too! S&P
Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 HR SVP and the worlds most widely-read
HR and workplace commentator. Liz is CEO and Founder of Human Work-
place, a publishing, coaching and consulting firm whose mission is to reinvent
work for people.
Call 650 276 6088
Visit www.humanworkplace.com
Email liz@humanworkplace.com
15

On the Cusp of Change
The future of HR
By Natasha Dillon
Did previous generations of HR transformation end up too
big? Too expensive? Too standardized? Too systems-driven?
A March 2014 whitepaper published by the Hay Group global
management consulting firm found that many in the field
believe this to be trueand that the HR function is on the
cusp of change.
It is clear that HR needs to be responsive, solutions focused,
and proactive, with hard business acumen, looking not just at the
short term, but one, two or three years ahead, states the report,
On the cusp of change: The future of HR, which published the
results of an extensive research project conducted with Z_punkt,
a German foresight analysis firm.
According to the study, the HR field will look radically dif-
ferent by 2030 thanks to six converging megatrends that will
impact people, work, and business:
Globalization 2.0: Western firms will find opportunity in
the rapid urbanization and growing middle class of emerging
marketsbut with new and significant competition in these
local workforces, partnerships, joint ventures, and collaboration
will become more critical to these firms success.
Environmental crisis: A scarcity of natural resources like
water, food, and rare earth minerals will challenge companies
supply chains and product development operations. More sus-
tainable operations will be critical, both for environmental and
commercial reasons.
Individualization: Customers and employees now expect
systems to flexibly meet their needs, and they often switch
between brands and employers that dont adapt to meet this
newer reality.
The digital era: With social media and other tools, customers
and employees can endorse and help build a brand. Since the
opposite is also true, businesses must become more responsive,
more accountable, and more engaged. Further, as digital data
grows, companies must address questions of privacy and ethical
behavior with employee and consumer information.
Demographic changes: Increased life expectancy means people
can work longer, and the addition of smart young talent to the
employment market is testing organizational policies and ap-
proaches. Together with a more diverse workforce and increased
employee mobility, organizational structure and management
will need to adapt.
Technological convergence: Cloud computing, personal
devices, nanotechnology, and biotechnology are increasing new
commercial opportunities, but theyre also requiring organiza-
tions to collaboratesometimes with competitorson research
and development.
As part of the study, which included organizations with less
than 100 employees and those with over 50,000 employees, thirty
HR leaders were interviewed and professionals at 86 organiza-
tions in the public and private sectors were asked to rate the
16
FEATURE
Interactive
quality of their organizations current HR practices.
While a majority rated their own organization as progress-
ing, many felt that more focus or investmentfor example, in
recruitingwill be required across almost all functional areas.
Enterprise and Verizon are named as organizations that have
brought core recruitment activity in-house to drive employee
brand recognition, take control of the recruitment experience,
and better manage recruitment costs.
Those who are recruiting the best and have the best brand
names look to prefer an in-house recruitment model, Ralph
Tribe, Organization and People Development Director for British
telephone services company BSkyB, said in the report. Survey
responses about attracting, recruiting, and retaining employees;
workforce planning; performance management and reward; learn-
ing and development; and four other categories were analyzed.
Since the industrial revolution, and onward through to the
present day, workers motivations and perceptions of work and
the organizations that employ them have changed, the report
statesa trend that is likely to accelerate.
Change is the defining characteristic of each of the mega-
trends, the whitepaper states. Their other dominant attribute
is a significant impact on people.
Key principles for being fit for the future of change include
aligning HR with business strategy; finding the right balance
between standardization and differentiation; organizing cor-
porate activities around customer needs; and building an HR
function with analytical capability, technological savvy, and
business acumen.
The HR function is uniquely positioned to help organizations
adapt to these trends and will need to be at the heart of these
changes, the report concludes. The challenge for the function is
how to simultaneously play a leading role in the transformation
of the organization while managing its own evolution. S&P
Natasha Dillon is the Associate Director of Hay Group. She works with
senior leaders to develop and implement strategic change solutions. During
her 17-year career in HR and consulting, she has built a particular specialisa-
tion in organisational change and business transformation, working with
clients in the consumer, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and oil and gas
sectors. Natasha joined Hay Group from Ernst & Young, where she was
responsible for new business development and transformation in the field of
people and organisational change.
Visit www.haygroup.com
LinkedIn Natasha Dillon
White Paper
Hay Group
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014
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 HR Managements Credibility is Now On the Line
Important to be strategically pro-active
By Richard Dealtry
As a Senior Executive Manager and Corporate Director, I
have always benefitted from the advice and resources that HR
Professional Managers have contributed to important decision
making and organisational transformations. In addition, I am
certain that many people will be the first to acknowledge the
career skills and benefits that they have received as a result
of dedicated HR services. More recent experience indicates,
however, that the HR management role and resources are being
side-lined, to the detriment of many different facets of individual
18
and organisational development.
There are many possible reasons for this, but our on-going
research shows that the over-riding factors are the lack of an
enhanced HR role perspective and a clear identification of
the diverse changing needs of organisations and their business
activities beyond what some people would see as core traditional
HR disciplines and activities. In simple terms its about the
perceived boundaries of the HR function and the declining
status of its relationship with burgeoning developments in
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014
 HR Managements Credibility is Now On the Line
other organisational activities such as CIT, security and safety
matters, business performance, changing company values and
international competition.
There is a lack of plain understanding of the impact of the
new dynamic forces at work in organisations - or is it just an
unwillingness to move out of traditional career comfort zones?
Simply stated, to get a handle on the seismic shift that is
taking place wherever there are people actively and productively
engaged, there is a need for a higher level of HR strategic
management expertise.
Take a good hard look today at the distribution of people in
your different locations and their skills base haves and needs.
Compare this with an audit taken five years ago to reveal new
centres of intellectual capability, their weight, location, structure
and working culture.Then match the current HR portfolio with
that of five years ago and identify todays differences, scale and
the magnitude if there are any.
Are you culpable of hiding behind the same old management
regime of an increasing range of fashionable psychometric
inventories and outsourced professional management or academic
provision? What does your leadership look like in the context of
change? Are you the shrinking violet in the garden of original
and more powerful development ideas?
In other words, get a rough measure of where are we now
on the international scale of HR management capability and
determine the scale and quality of your proactive response level.
All of our Membership and Associate CEOs are intensely
interested in the strategic performance management of HR
and its cultural influencing importance. They insist that it has
to commensurate with the increasing intellectual challenges of
todays local, national and international business environment
and anticipate future formal and informal provision portfolio
needs. This indicates the application of strong and comprehensive
holistic management processes, with HR management being at
the forefront of strategically envisioning employee skills and
competencies at all levels and in all organisational paradigms.
In cooperation with many organisations in different stages of
growth and development, how to do that has been our major
pre-occupation.
As a means of exploring solution options, three valuable
resources are offered freely to all HR.com members that expand
upon this subject and provide a framework for comprehensive
development. For top HR professionals, there are indications of
major challenges ahead and its up to them to lead the assimilation,
customization and population of these concepts in a manner that
best suits their organisational needs and strategic lifestyle.
Configuring the Corporate University - Managing a Portfolio
of Thinking Schools
Our empirical research findings reflect upon a journey into
the exploration and understanding of potential solutions and
outcomes using the Corporate University concept as a real time
business development envisioning magnifying glass.
The outcomes challenge whether the many and diverse schools
of thinking that are needed to shape the intellectual architecture
of HR strategic management are being manifest in new, more real
time, dynamic processes of intellectual development. Or whether
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 08.2014
they are in fact functionally constrained, simply the window
dressing of existing functions, or engaged in retro-ego trips.
A constructivist methodology introduces the idea of well
considered choice for the integration of diverse developmental
schools of thinking, to determine a comprehensive and optimised
configuration school of HR management thinking.
How to Configure the Corporate University for Success
Exploring ideas and processes using the corporate university
concept can bring to fruition a dynamic and higher level HR-
inspired business development platform. This presents new
ways of thinking concerning the configuration of holistic HR
properties and attributes to achieve intellectual leadership in
different business sectors.
This approach to making intellectual relationships more
productive and manageable is optimising HR strategic fit by
combining a dynamic strategic learning approach with the
resource capabilities offered by an enhanced portfolio of corporate
university schools of thinking.
The Corporate University Blueprint
This dynamic process HR management model and its integrative
people engagement provide the opportunity for all HR managers
to ensure that they are strategically and properly positioned in the
organisation hierarchy and that the supporting functions become
a contributing service and not an overwhelming influence.
This process can be used to unfold a bespoke corporate solution
that strategically fits and is unique in character. It helps to identify
the main development relationships involved in HR management
and examines where relationship and/or knowledge blockages
are taking place in the holistic business context.
These 3 free resources will provide you with the essential
foundation process knowledge and management constructs for
successfully explicating your strategic HR leadership solutions.
To receive the 2 named literature resources in pdf format and
also the Corporate University Blueprint Process management
model, entirely free of charge, contact richarddealtry@btconnect.
com using this article title for your subject reference. S&P
Professor Richard Dealtry is the Executive Chairman of The Global As-
sociation of Corporate Universities and Academies. Richards main area of
business since 1991 has been in organisation and people development. He was
Professor in Strategic Management at International Management Centres, and
has led and worked on action learning programmes of people and organisation
development with a wide range of corporate clients.
Call 44(0)121 429 8995
Visit www.g-acua.org
Email richarddealtry@btconnect.com
19

Strategic Thinking
And 3 myths that kill it!
By Nick Tasler
In its simplest form, strategic thinking is about deciding
which opportunities to focus your time, people, and money, and
which opportunities to starve. One of historys greatest strategic
thinkers, Napoleon Bonaparte summed it up this way: In order
to concentrate superior strength in one place, economy of force
must be exercised in other places. If dead, despotic French em-
perors are not really your style, Michael Porter said it like this:
The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.
Sometimes this strategic shift of resources means deciding to
sell off part of one company in order to buy another one. More
often for more leaders whether in corporation functions like
HR or on the front lines in sales or service, it simply means
deciding to move some initiatives to the back burner in order
to concentrate the bulk of your resources on one key objective.
Sounds simple enough! Yet, three pervasive myths continue to make
strategic thinking an elusive skill set in todays organizations.
Myth 1: Productivity is the goal.
Productivity is about getting things done. Strategic thinking is about
getting the right things done well. The uncomfortable corollary of
that truth is that strategy requires leaving some things undone, which
stirs up a potent cocktail of unpleasant emotions. When you leave
projects undone or only half-completed, it feels like a loose end. You
must sacrifice that feeling of confidence and control that comes from
20
FEATURE
pursuing a concrete goal that could be achieved. You will have to fight
through the universal psychological phenomenon of loss aversion
that results from saying goodbye to a cherished project in which you
have already poured heaps of time and money. You will have to deal
with the social angst of telling some people on your team that their
big idea or even entire functional area has been demoted in favor of
something else more valuable.
In the face of all that unpleasantness, it is tempting to continue
striving for productivity. After all, whats wrong with being productive?
The problem is that productivity is strategically agnostic. Producing
volume is not the same as pursuing excellence. Without a strategy, produc-
tivity is meaningless. As Peter Drucker famously said it there is nothing
quite as useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.
Myth 2: The leaders job is to identify whats important.
Heres a quick exercise: Make a list of every project and initia-
tive your team is working on right now. When you finish the
list, draw a line through all of the things that are not important.
If youre like 99% of teams, not one project on your list will get
crossed out. Thats because every project your team is working on is
important to someone somewhere somehow. They all add value
in some vague way. Thats why debating about whats important is
futile. Strategic thinkers must decide where to focus, not merely
whats important. Strategic leaders must consciously table some
important projects or ignore some important opportunities.
While productive teams log overtime hours in order to knock out
one important project after another on a first come, first serve basis,
strategic teams decide which projects will contribute most to the
current strategy of the organization, and put the rest of the impor-
tant projects on hold.
Myth 3: Strategic thinking is only about thinking.
Strategic leadership is not a math problem or a thought experiment.
Ultimately, strategic thoughts must yield action. Thorough cost/
benefit analyses replete with mesmerizing forecasts, tantalizing linear
trends, and 63-tab spreadsheets beautiful enough to make a newly
minted MBA weep with joy are utterly useless without an actionable
decision. In spite of the uncertainty, complexity, and the ever-present
possibility of failure, at some point, a strategic leader must step up
and make the call about what the team will and will NOT focus on.
Tipping his bicorn cap to this truth, Napoleon once said that
nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be
able to decide. Perhaps thats also why the ability to decide is the key
differentiator for those deemed worthy to hold the highest leadership
positions in our organizations?S&P
Nick Tasler is the Founder & CEO of Decision Pulse. He is an industrial
psychologist by training, and a thought leader by reputation. He writes books
as well as columns forHarvard Business Review, Psychology Today, Bloomberg
BusinessWeekand a smattering of articles for all sorts of other publications.
Call 44(0)121 429 8995
Visit decisionpulse.com, www.nicktasler.com
Email Nick.Tasler@DecisionPulse.com
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014
Building Business Performance
The truth about trust, engagement and performance
By Rosanna Nadeau
As managers in todays organizations, during an economic
recovery that is challenging even to the worlds top 1% of
businesses, our primary concerns are about building business
performance and growing. The fact is, the top 1%, includ-
ing Fortune 500companies, are notnecessarily the models of
successful leadership that we might emulate, since many of
themhave been recipients of governmentinterventionsdesigned
to supportthem financially: aid totaling $63 billion dollars in
government subsidies funded by taxpayersduring the past two
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 08.2014
decades according to a February 26, 2014 article, Fortune
500 Companies Receive $63 Billion In Subsidies by David
Siroto on pando.com. This surprising-to-me statistic aside, it
is incumbent on us as business leaders tocreate paths to suc-
cessful achievement of high performance and growth, despite
thechallenges we face.
Our solutions must be found within our organizations,
sincebusiness performance and growth are in the hands of our
workforce. According to the S&P 500, todays businesses are
21
 Building Business Performance
primarily valued based on their intangibles, including assets
such as intellectual capital, talent, and leaderships ability to
execute the strategy. Engaging our people, developing them,
leveraging their skills, knowledge and experience, and retaining
them are the recognizedkeys to our success. In recent years,
weve learned that Employee Engagement is primary in driving
performance. Fortunately, we have lots of knowledge and many
experts on engagementto guide us but, as with other strategic
objectives, our challengeslay in the executionmuch more than
in developing the plans.
Analyzing engagement, we can see that Trust is the essential
foundation.How do we develop trust? Many would say that
we build trust by being honest and by doing what we say well
do. But, when you think about it, theres more to trust than
that, isnt there? I trust people who care about my well-being;
who value me and my work and whoI can count on to help me
to succeed.Do you use similar criteria (and more) in deciding
who youll trust? On reflection, inthe past decade, leaders and
managers have been faced with challenges weve never before
encountered. Leaders havemadedifficultbusiness decisions with
hard trade-offs that impacted the employment of millions of
people. People have been downsized,work schedules were reduced
with pay reduced accordingly, salaries were frozen, and managers
focus shifted from people-leadership to tasks, goals, efficien-
cies, metrics and measures.Training and development budgets
were cut, rewards and recognition diminished, and jobs were
eliminated by management choices tooff-shore them.Looking
back, its not surprisingthat the over-riding message received by
employees fromthese collectiveactions in recent yearsis actually
counter toany messageofcaring about our people.Trust has
been lost. But now, more than ever, leaders and managers need
their workforces to improve business performance.
Interestingly, decades ago, multi-year studies by Elton Mayo
and Nathaniel Hawthornethat involvedchanging lighting ina
Western Electric plantresulted ina conclusive resultthat became
well known as The Hawthorne Effect. The Hawthorne Effect
is describedas increased performanceresulting whenmanage-
ment shows that they care about their people. This early re-
searchdiscovery fits with todays knowledge about the impact
of Employee Engagement levels on organizational performance.
Indeed, managers showing they care about their people and
peoplesperformance areinter-connected.
Todays leaders are reading articles and books about engage-
ment, strategy and execution regularly. By integrating these
ideas and assessing our organizations, we gain insights and
solutionscan be crafted and tailored to fitour business needs.
I am convinced that Employee Engagement needs to become
a priority within the business strategy. Then, organizational
leadership, systems, policies and practices must be aligned with
the strategy. And, like other business strategies,its execution
that needs executive level attention and support.
Showing employeesthatleaders and managers care aboutthem
is critical to building trust, which is the foundation for en-
gagement. Engagement isthe driver of business performance
improvement and growth.
Following are 5 targeted tactics managers can include in
initial action plans to build organization performance and
22
growth,through a strategy ofEmployee Engagement, start-
ing withTrust.
Providing broadened, company-paid, proactive wellness
programs that do not require employee disclosure of related
personal information. For example, on-site fitness centers
or reimbursement for memberships conveniently located for
employees; cafeterias serving affordable, healthy foods; child
day-care options reducing relatedstress and expense.
Designing safety initiatives that support employee well-
being.For example, a manufacturing organization might, well
in advance of summer,set up a team including employees and
managers to locatewater and other beverages enabling quick and
easy accessto all employees, to ensure people are able to remain
hydrated during the hot working conditionswe know will come
in the months ahead; providing safety coaches who walk the
floortoprovide helpful coaching orremindersto employeesin
safe lifting, proper use of PPE and other safe practices.
Making time to followannual performance planning with
regular, frequent, andsupportive (individual and team) feedback
and discussions.
Sharing informationthat enables employees to find meaning
and purpose in their work. For example, managers might find
various, interesting ways to educate employees about the busi-
ness strategy, so that each employee understands clearly how
he contributes to delivering on the companys differentiation
through the workhe does and how he does it on a daily basis;
sharing information about competitors, customers and the use
of the companys products and services.
Solicitation of employee input on changes that impact
their work, prior to change decisions; including employees in
monitoring change initiatives to obtain and utilize their feedback
throughout implementation.
To drive strategic performance such as this, managers are
usually good at setting goals and developing action plans to
execute the strategy. And, some organizations use systematic
approaches to monitor and measureexecution.Participation by
senior leaders and/or support from the right consultants can be
invaluable in turbulent times such as these, when managers are
pulled in many directions due to pressing operational demands
for their time.
Is your organization taking action to improve organization
performance? Is engagement a priority component of your
companys business strategy? What is working? Please share
your ideas, opinions, knowledge and experience. S&P
Rosanna Nadeau is Principal/Consultantwith Prism Perspectives Group LLC.
Call 603-878-1546
Visit www.PrismPerspectivesGroup.com
Email Rosanna@PrismPerspectivesGroup.com
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014
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 Mergers and Acquisitions
And the role of HR analytics and workforce planning

By Tracey Smith

I n a previous career, I spent 11 years as an automotive
engineer. During those 11 years, I witnessed many mergers and
acquisitions (M&A). Even more recently, this industry saw 303
mergers and acquisitions in 2011 and another 264 in 2012.
In the airline industry, weve seen 9 companies merge into 5
since 2005. Not counted in that total is the merger underway
between American Airlines and the U.S. Airways. With internet
companies, weve seen too many to mention.
So, whats the difference between a merger and an acquisi-
tion? In an acquisition, one company takes over another and
establishes itself as the new owner. The target company ceases
to exist legally.
With a merger, two companies, often of roughly the same size,
agree to move forward as a single new company. Both compa-
nies stocks are surrendered and new company stock is issued in
replacement. As an example, Daimler-Benz and Chrysler ceased
to exist when the two merged; a new company, DaimlerChrysler,
was formed.
Lets use merging the workforce as an example. In the first step,
we collect data regarding critical roles, the current state of the
workforce, revenue forecasts and analyses of duplicate functions.
In Step 2, we can assess which teams are more efficient, which
roles contain critical skill sets, and establish mathematical con-
nections between headcount quantities and workload drivers.
With this information, we can attempt to predict the future
workforce quantities and cost.
In Step 3, we tell our story and provide recommendations
regarding future headcount values and possible outsourcing
and policy changes.
As the final stage, we align the workforce to its recommended
future state by executing headcount, policy and communica-
tionplans.
HR Analytics
Gather data Analyze data & Present results Align the workforce
interpret results

Critical roles Which teams are Headcount Execute workforce

In reality, actual mergers of equals dont happen often. One Current state
Workload drivers
more efficient?
Which team
recommendations
Downsizing
plans
Execute

company will buy another (acquisition) and, as part of the deal, Revenue forecasts
Determine
members have
critical knowledge
recommendations
Outsourcing
communication
plans
duplicate functions Mathematical recommendations Execute policy
the acquired company can claim that the action is a merger of connection
between headcount
Required policy
changes
changes

equals. Why would they want to do this? Being bought out and drivers
Determine forecast
of workforce and
carries negative connotations. Branding the action a merger cost

can make the takeover more palatable.

HR has both a hard and soft role in M&A. The softer side
relates to topics like engagement and satisfaction. The harder
side deals more with turnover numbers, headcount and costs. For
the remainder of this article, I will focus on the data-driven side.
Before a companys HR can begin M&A-related activities, the
first challenge is to pick an HR team to perform these actions.
If Company A is merging with Company B, whose HR team
do you select or do you form a team from both companies?
Usually the first thing to merge in these situations is the support
functions (Finance, Accounting, and HR).You, as HR, might
be working on merging two support function teams together
while another team is working on eliminating one HR team.
Aye, theres the rub.
So, what are the steps to merging? Here are four steps which are
simple to describe but difficult to execute.
The same general procedure can be used to merge other aspects
of two companies like compensation plans, cultures and data
systems. For each of these, there are phases of the project which
need to be supported through HR analytics and / or workforce
planning processes. It is recommended that these professionals
be sought as soon as a merger has begun (or sooner). In reality,
HR often finds out about a merger far too late to invoke valu-
able supporting analytics. S&P
Tracey Smith is an independent consultant and her company, Numerical
Insights LLC, helps clients in the areas of HR Analytics, Workforce Planning,
and HR Process Improvement. She is the author of HR Analytics: The What,
Why and How and Strategic Workforce Planning: Guidance & Back-up
Plans and the editor of NI Magazine.
Call 901-500-6916
Visit www.numericalinsights.com
Email publications@numericalinsights.com
LinkedIn Tracey Smith

1. Gather data.
2. Analyze data and interpret the results.
3. Represent the results (tell the story).
4. Align the workforce.

24 HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 08.2014

 FEATURE

Reflections on HR Certification vs. Competences

And its role in the development of a field

By Dave Ulrich and Wayne Brockbank

collaboration should be the norm instead of the imposition of

Many, if not most, professions have some type of certification one set of expectations from one country to the rest of the world.
protocol. Attorneys pass a bar exam; psychologists are licensed
4. HR certifications can be relatively standardized exams
after passing a standardized exam; certified public accountants
determining mastery of the body of knowledge in the field.
pass a knowledge exam, etc. In all these cases, these licensing
HR competencies, meanwhile, should be evolving models,
exams determine the extent to which an individual grasps the
since the competencies for HR professionals change as business
basic knowledge in the profession.
requirements change. For example, in the last five years, there
Certification focuses on knowing the basics and earning the
has been an abundance of work on HR analytics, scorecards,
legitimacy to practice. Certification does not mean competence.
the cloud and data. Underlying these HR skill areas are compe-
Many attorneys, psychologists, accountants and others have
tencies related to sourcing, interpreting, translating and using
become certified, but it does not mean that they are competent
information for improved decision making. In our 25 years, we
enough to be effective practitioners. Certification focuses on
have identified about 140 specific competencies every four to
the past, not the future; on mastering ideas, not application of
five years that HR professionals should master to be effective.
ideas; on joining a profession, not succeeding in the profession.
These 140 competencies, representing the be, know and do
HR certification ensures that HR professionals know the
of HR, come from regional partners who survey thought leaders
body of knowledge (theory and research) that underlies HR. It
in their region and come to a consensus about what determines
does not imply that they are competent in HR. They could be
effective HR professionals. Every five years, we change about
both incompetent and uncertified; they could be certified, but
40 to 50 of these items, based on the input of the consortium
not competent; not certified but competent; or both certified
of HR professional groups. HR competencies evolve and their
and competent.
study should focus forward based on global requirements.
There are efforts to determine the competencies for effective
5. We assert that HR competencies do not exist for their
HR professionals. Through the University of Michigan, the RBL
own sake. Rather, HR competencies exist to enhance business
Group, and partners throughout the world, we have spent 25
performance. A major problem with most competency models
years studying (theory, research and practice) competencies for
is that they ask the question, What are the competencies of
effective HR professionals. Essential to this long-term study are
HR professionals? This is the wrong question. The question
some underlying assumptions:
should be, What are the competencies of HR professionals
1. HR competencies are determined less by self-report and
that have the greatest impact on business performance? Our
more by how those competencies are perceived by others. Com-
statistical analysis of our data over the past 25 years has ad-
petencies impact both the overall reputation or perception of the
dressed both of these questions in detail. However, our unique
HR professional and the performance of the business. Leadership
and important contribution is our examination of the business
studies moved away from self-report as the way to determine
performance question.
leadership effectiveness over 40 years ago with the advent of 360
So, the answer to the appropriate question, What do I have
measures. Likewise, HR competencies should be assessed not
to be, know and do to be an effective HR professional? is much
only by the HR professional but by those who observe the HR
more than asking HR professionals what they think. It requires
professional. In addition, these competencies should be seen as
partnership of HR- professional associations around the world,
predictors of important personal and organizational outcomes.
focusing on outcomes of HR skills, aligning competencies to
We have found some very important differences between how
current and future business conditions, tailoring competencies to
HR professionals define their competencies and rate themselves
specific situations and identifying the competencies that matter
versus how those who observe their work do. We have also found
most for business performance. We believe this competency
very important differences in how HR competencies affect both
logic is much further along than the basic and historical view
the perception of HR personal effectiveness and the impact on
of certification. S&P
business results.
Dave Ulrich is the Rensis Likert Professor at the Ross School of Business at the
2. There are global HR competencies, but they also may vary University of Michigan and partner at the RBL Group.He writes, studies and
by geography, level in the organization, role in the organization, advises organizations on HR, talent, leadership, culture and change. Wayne
Brockbank is a clinical professor of business at the Ross School of Business at
gender, time in role, etc. To fully determine competencies and the University of Michigan. He studies and consults in the areas of organiza-
their impact, one needs data from multiple sources. tional strategy, corporate culture and business-focused HR strategies.
Visit daveulrich.com
3. There are exceptional HR professional groups around the Email dou@umich.edu
world, each working to determine how to help HR profession- Dr. Wayne Brockbank is the first partner emeritus of The RBL Group. Pro-
als be effective. Convinced that partnering with these groups fessor Brockbank has made significant contributions as a Clinical Professor of
Business at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and
furthers the profession, we have collaborated with more than as a consultant and executive educator at The RBL Group. Waynes research,
15 HR professional associations since 1987 to define both the consulting and teaching made important contributions to strategic human re-
source management strategy and implementation, and international business.
overall global HR competencies and unique local requirements Visit waynebrockbank.com
for effective HR. In an increasingly complex and global world, Email wbrockbank@rbl.net

HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 08.2014

25
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