Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by
ERNESTO USCHER, JOS MANUEL ALCARAZ, JOS RAMN PIN
requires: that of building capabilities that execute strategies. Once we talk about adding
value to the business, we have to consider the customers and investors who ultimately
decide if a business will succeed or not.
Q.- What could be a small wins approach for HR to start creating value for investors?
A. First, identify your target customers. Find out who the 20 percent of the customers
are who represent 80 percent of the value. Invite them to participate in your HR work.
Heres how:
1. Invite them to be on committees (almost any task force could have a customer
join it).
2. Invite them to participate in 360 reviews (we now call these 720 since they go
outside the company).
3. Invite them to train as participants, presenters or designers.
4. Invite them to review staffing processes which might include setting criteria for
candidates or even interviewing candidates.
Q.- To what extent are we still focused more on activities than on outcomes, on
doables instead of deliverables, and how should we start inverting this?
A. - It is often easier to measure and track what we do (e.g., I worked 7.5 hours today)
than to measure what we accomplished (e.g., I sold 3 units). And in HR, where the
outcomes are more difficult to quantify, it is easier to focus on activities. We need to stop
and ask Why am I doing this (training, policy, communication, etc.)? to see what the
outcome of our work can and should be. We start the shift to outcomes by mentally
thinking about them and by practically measuring and tracking them.
Q.- Huselid, Becker & Ulrich showed that a 5 percent increase in employee
commitment leads to a 1.8 percent increase in customer commitment and a 0.5
percent increase in financial results. What do we need to continue showing this type
of relationship between HR and financial results?
A.- This work was quoted in the Huselid, Becker and Ulrich book but comes from Sears.
And yes, it is an excellent example of how what goes on inside a company affects what
happens outside. It shows a value chain from people to financial results that helps justify
investments in people. The work is continuing in many good companies.
Q.- What should the relationship be between creating a clear corporate culture
through things like branding and corporate social responsibility and HR practices?
A.- We like to think of a companys culture as its identity in the mind of key customers,
or its firm brand. This shifts the focus on culture a bit away from what we value to
what the customer values and helps show the economic gains of culture. HR practices
are the activities that shape and create this culture or mindset. We want employees to be
directed to think and act as if they are a customer which builds an internal mindset
consistent with the customer expectations.
Q. - How should an HR department act in a crisis situation when the main priority is
to reduce costs?
A.- Work to reduce the costs. If cost pressures are rampant and critical, dont run from
them, help find ways to reduce the costs. This might include headcount, but be more
creative in looking at different ways to organize and do work, at compensation systems
and redundancies, and at ways of growing revenue to cover existing costs.
Q.- In the 90s you defined four HR roles: strategic partner, change agent, employee
advocate and functional expert. Now, in 2006, are these roles the same?
A. - We have modified the role of employee advocate by making it two roles. On the one
hand, HR worries about employees day-to-day issues, which we call employee advocacy.
On the other hand, HR worries about preparing todays employees for tomorrows
business demands, which we call human capital development. HR must care for employees
today and prepare employees for tomorrow. The administrative expert has morphed to
functional expert because he or she is not just doing administrative things faster, but is
applying deep, functional expertise to best practices. Strategic partner and change agent
have merged into one role in order to make business happen. And we have added an HR
leader at all levels of the organization to deliver appropriate results in the right way.