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The following is an excerpt from the latest installment of CTPartners Trend Talk series on Human Resources.
Read the full article here.
With world-class organizations leading the way, HR is playing an ever more critical role in enabling corporations to achieve their strategic objectives by developing and implementing those human capital strategies that will best enable them to respond to the significant economic forces, competitive realities, and demographic trends that are shaping today’s and tomorrow’s possibilities.
In industries and regions around the globe, developed and developing economies alike, human resources executives increasingly are serving as thought leaders and essential business partners to chief executives, boards of directors, C-Suite executives, regional and country managers, and other members of worldwide leadership teams. As the value of this management trend becomes more apparent, companies are expanding their vision of, and commitment to, strategically oriented human resources.
For a profession that was once most closely associated with administrative functions such as benefits and compensation, this is nothing short of a transformation. As one of the most impactful management developments in today’s global marketplace, the trend first took root in North America and Europe, soon spreading to other developed economies such as Australia. It is, however, rapidly gaining momentum in emerging markets throughout Asia, Russia and Central Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Indeed, the HR landscape is rapidly evolving. In developing regions across the globe, exceptional growth opportunities are combining with razor-sharp competition and highly complex talent challenges in ways that demand–and deeply benefit from–the insights and involvement of strategically minded, broadly experienced, and culturally sensitive human resources executives.
Within emerging markets, this expanding role of HR is scarcely surprising, whether this change is taking place within global or regionally based corporations. That’s because talent truly does deliver the competitive edge in these economies, where speed is of the essence in capitalizing upon new and unfolding business opportunities, and the demand for qualified professionals far exceeds supply.
The following is an excerpt from Human Resource Executive Online by Dan Kaplan, Managing Partner and Head of the Global Human Resources Practice at CTPartners.
Read the full article here.
The human resource department — the corporate home of hiring, firing, compensation and employee benefits — is undergoing a major transformation. Technology has automated basic functions, forcing HR to reshape its identity.
Boards are demanding higher-level HR executives to become strategic partners in dealing with new regulations and the problems facing companies battered by the global recession. And the financial crisis has forced companies to evaluate their management teams and revamp entire workforces for a post-recession economy.
The challenges are great, and a new kind of HR executive is emerging to meet them, in the process turning our traditional concept of human resources on its head. Five major forces are driving the changes that will end HR as we know it by the year 2020:
1. Technology Changing the Game – For decades, technology has been helping companies automate basic HR functions. Through employee self-service systems via intranets, employees can access the information and support to manage their own health benefits, 401(k) programs and day-to-day HR transactions. Companies have also been reducing costs and staffing requirements by turning to outsourcing providers to handle benefits administration, payroll, employee education, workforce analytics and recruitment-process outsourcing for junior-level positions.
2. New Rules – The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 riled the business world by setting new standards for all U.S. public-company boards, management and public-accounting firms. Nine years later, the debate goes on about whether the law really improved governance or added excessive costs and hurt U.S. competitiveness overseas.
3. Multi-level Succession Planning - Succession planning is always stated as a board priority, but the National Association of Corporate Executives reports that 50 percent of boards do not have formal plans for CEO replacement. Cautionary tales abound when succession, hastily planned or decided on the sole basis of who is next in line, creates disruption, excessive turnover and shareholder unrest.
4. The Three Percent Rule – While many organizational experts call for succession planning in large companies to include executives 10 layers deep, others suggest that every company regardless of size should concentrate on the top three percent of employees as the critical assets that drive the business — assets that need to be constantly educated, evaluated, motivated and rewarded.
5. A New Kind of HR Leader – The rise of the CHRO — Chief HR Officers, participating in the highest levels of decision-making — confirms the seriousness of boards of directors in elevating the role and capabilities of HR leadership. While historically CHROs were added to boards as a way to add diversity, companies in recent years have begun to add top-notch CHROs to broaden their perspective on organizational issues and expertise in talent matters.
