HR is under threat of disappearing as a separate function
David Woods, 28 September 2009
5
5 comment's on this article.HR is at a turning point where it must evolve or face being dissolved within the business, according to a new report from Deloitte.
The advisory firm concluded that HR needs to prove it can make a strategic contribution to the business, or it will diminish as virtually all HR administration can be outsourced in the future.
The report also found the challenge for HR over the next few years would be ‘rapidly changing economics', reduced growth and the increase of redundancy programmes.
Aaron Alburey, a director in Deloitte's human capital consulting practice and one of the report authors, said: "HR is at a crossroads. It needs to become capable of contributing to board-level discussions and make transactional HR a secondary function. If it fails to do so its functions will be handed over to individual businesses within the organisation to manage for themselves and corporate strategy will continue to be determined without any significant input from HR.
"If these fundamental challenges are not addressed who can blame the business from wrestling control of the people agenda."
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George Bell - 28 September 2009
Surely this is exactly what SHRM is supposed to do ie become integrated into the line . I hope Deloitte's are not wasting their own or their clients time finding out the obvious ! Better still I hope no one is paying them to find this out !
George
barry watson - 28 September 2009
i agree with the first contributor,in the line is exactly where it should be which is where it can make an effective contribution. placing it centrally is a very bad move and leads to hostility towards the function and to question what exactly do these people do.
Jon Ingham - 28 September 2009
I also think this is pretty obvious, but disagree with the two comments so far. Managers and employees aren't usually hostile to HR when it's making a strategic contribution and having a significant impact. And in most organisations, this sort of impact isn't going to happen, unless it's led by HR.
Jon Ingham
Strategic HCM
Nicola Bevan - 28 September 2009
Of course HR needs to make a strategic contribution. It's unfortunate that the move in many organisations towards the 3 box model, and transactional HR, has left a void in the middle of what could have at one time been considered as the the middle management level, but somewhat extreme to suggest that it;s under threat of disappearing as a function in it's own right. It's only, after all, what the CIPD have been aiming for, to get HR on the board. Good for those of us who are fortunate enough to be operating at a senior enough level already, despite limiting those at a more junior level, looking to develop a career within the function - something which the CIPD may need to consider in the future. Some could argue that it's over-populated already, so a necessary evil perhaps, but certainly not under threat of extinction.
Graham Millington - 28 September 2009
Human resource management - "the people agenda" - is most firmly a business-line responsibility. Indeed, it is the primary competence for anyone whose job involves facilitating the contribution of others. Human Resource Management (the department) has a "strategic" role to ensure that the agenda is written with the clearest wording on the finest paper, and with the brightest ink. To overwork the analogy, HRM must also correct ambiguities, promote consistent spelling and put a copy into everyone's hands. But, ownership over the agenda itself must belong to the business: otherwise, we risk having leaders who don't lead, and managers who don't manage.
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