HRM, a must business partner in success

Nishan WIMALACHANDRA- Corporate trainer and lecturer

Concepts of human resource management are not new to all HR professionals as these are considered the life-blood of organizations. But unfortunately the importance given to these concepts in text books and by HR professionals don't seem to be cared much by the rest of the people in the organizations.

Human resource management is considered a lame, unwanted or just a side kick by many other departments, and therefore as a result HR units always receive step motherly treatments big time.

Why HR is considered only important to HR professionals and not to the rest? This is because most of the time other department heads consider that HR professionals do not belong to the forefront of the organization as against sales and marketing and finance which are considered very important by many.

Sales and Marketing is considered the income generators while Finance is considered the income managers, and poor human resource management unit is considered money wasters or constant bystanders.

If there is a comparison between a HR manager and a finance manager, CEO's always give much attention to Finance managers. And also in the outside world if one is a finance manager, he is considered an important person than a HR professional for reasons which are obvious.

So to start this conversation, could HR become the business partner of organizations? I strongly believe so.

But if human resource management is not on the edge, it's definitely taking too much of space. Most employees believe that human resource management is some lousy lame job which doesn't need any responsibility or creativity.

This is because most HR professionals are stuck to their usual work places for so many years without being able to move about, and they know that their job is not so hot in the market, once you lose it, no promise of getting one back.

Firstly to identify the issue; I have heard many people develop an intense hatred towards the HR unit due to their sheep's clothing which hides the real wolves underneath. The iron fist in a velvet glove is one of many names invented by man just to describe the behaviour of HR units.

Sadly HR could never even reach closer to that position of a business partner which we want it to be without serious adjustments.

I have seen many HR managers neither suitable nor ready for the job, probably their glory days are over, and their 'get up and go' has 'got up and gone' too frustrated, too lazy or too out of ordinary to the position of HR manager, now out of ordinary doesn't mean extra-ordinary. It just means, not even ordinary.

This is the first reason why CEO's or the boards do not even recognize the fact that HR is important.

Think about it, when was the last time a letter, email or a simple call was made to convey to that candidate that he or she was not selected? When was the last time HR professionals spoke in way to let the person being interviewed to be directly known that he or she was not selected for the job? And finally why is it that HR professionals did not tell the candidate what was wrong with them and why they didn't get the job, so that they could improve it and get along with it? I've personally heard many stories of young men and women who say that the interview went really well, and they were waiting for a positive response which they will never get.

When I ask the questions the interviewer asked, I know that the job will never be a reality as they are the standard questions asked by many uncreative, irresponsible HR professionals. I sigh in a distance to the pathetic state of affairs.

So to start with addressing the issue, why HR unit cannot be a business partner is due to the ill-treatments employees receive from the first time they arrive at their interviews, induction and so on and so forth. And employees naturally develop hatred towards HR professionals.

The second issue to be adjusted is how HR professionals themselves behave with regard to their duties and responsibilities. It should be reminded that human resource management is not just recruitment and induction and some fire drill, there is more to that than the text books and the organizational manuals.

So what is the solution?

I presume that all have heard the adage 'you could never teach new tricks to old dogs' it's very true when it comes to making HR a business partner. The inflexibility among the HR professionals has brought the designation down to rock bottom. And a change is a pre-requisite to achieve its previous glory.

Starts with courtesy

Therefore be direct at the interview, its better than some coveted politeness which communicates that you will call them once finalized. If an automated CV acknowledgement system cannot be established, it is recommended to thank those who would apply for the vacancy in the notification itself for their interest. So correcting this simple procedure will ensure a hatred free HR profession to begin with.

Has anyone heard of a company who invites the HR team to the sales meetings which they talk about the goals of the firm? Not really. Precisely because other professionals have lost faith in HR professionals due to their attitude which clearly says 'that's not our thing, we are about people'.

Most sales and finance professionals don't even remember their mission statements and visions, but they work towards them on regular basis as they are strategically connected to the organization.

But sadly all HR professionals know the vision and mission by heart to everyone's dismay. Being strategically connected to the organization means being fully involved in the achievement of organizational goals and objectives rather than trying to idealize the job of the HR unit in the achievement of such goals.

Remember, those who stay together will march together, those who march together shall rule together. So having no idea of the financial, production and marketing struggles and tribulations could actually disconnect the HR unit from the rest of the lot and sure will make them undesired company.

So the solution is simple; get one of the HR staff to attend sales and finance meetings to take down notes and inform the HR managers so that they could be a part of achieving goals and objectives by aligning themselves with the rest of the executive team.

Another flaw in the HR professionals which is obstructing their way to become the business partner is because they take training and development needs of the employees very lightly and therefore end up having fewer budgets every year.

The lesser importance shown by the HR heads regarding such needs will definitely cut down training and development budgets and thereby keep the employees less competitive than competitors. After all it's only in the dictionaries where success comes before training.

So fight the good fight of increasing budgets for training and development; and it will happen, only if the HR head is strategically connected to the vision of the organization along with the rest of the executive team.

And also understand and make others understand that outside trainers may actually bring in new concepts to train and develop the personnel.

Hire the weak and needy

It's quite obvious that the weak and needy people will always stay in the job rather than the strong and greedy who will always see greener pastures and move out with the sensitive information of the establishment.

Therefore if HR professionals could give preference to those who are well deserving and less privileged, it will sure prove that they will remain loyal to the organization if they are well trained and developed to be powerful and faithful brand ambassadors of the organization.

Young blood doesn't always bring talent

Sometimes, younger the candidate, the more confused and unsettled they could be and may be faking their future plans in a big way at interviews. And when hired, may turn out to be total losers who want to increase the overheads of the organization without actually any contribution.

So a person with commitments and responsibilities to their family will never resign or quit without informing the firm. The devil is not that evil; a higher salary may come with higher commitment due the family commitments of employees and thereby will force them to stick around. So in recruitment it's always better not to lose focus.

And finally lose the useless questions and statements at interviews. Most HR professionals ask some unrelated questions at the interviews, things like 'you are 35 years why didn't you get married'? or 'we give preference to those living closer to our factory' or 'we think your experience is not sufficient'.

Simple questions and statements as such may make the candidate think that they could do better HR work than the interviewer himself.

Think about it. If you have to say that the preference is given to those living close by, then why was the candidate called for the interview in the first place? So be conscious only to call the few who will actually meet all criteria for a job rather than all those who apply.

So what is the final answer? Can HR be the business partner of the organization? Yes absolutely as long as it considers the few important points mentioned above. After all Human resource management is very important as many texts on the subject would mention accurately.

Having a clear vision statement doesn't ensure a closer distance and HR professionals must realize it before getting into the forefront of the organizations as one of their important business partners. It's not impossible, once these changes are made, human resource divisions will reach a point where it will be impossible for the rest of the organization to live without.

Human resource management is not an empty vessel; it's the refinery which fuels the engine that leads to success.