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How integrated are your HR activities?

How tired are you of justifying HRs worth to line managers? Or defending HRs rightful place in the executive boardroom? One of the biggest challenges facing HR departments today is its ability to show its contribution to the bottom line. One way of advancing the measurability and quantification of people management is to ensure that HRs key activities are integrated. Additional benefits of an integrated HR function include: Greater cost efficiencies An aligned service to users A user-friendly alignment of people management activities with the organisations strategic objectives.

Obvious? Not so. In our experience, most HR activities are not well integrated, despite the apparent advantages. Whether departmental politics or the inheritance of fragmented pockets of accountability is to blame is difficult to determine. The reality is that HR is perceived to offer disparate, short-term solutions, providing fuel for ever-sceptic line managers and employees. This is seen, for example, in situations in which employees are appraised according to different criteria than those indicated in the job description, or in which employees are selected based on a different set of competencies than those required to close performance gaps. Key to integration is the job profile (or job description). The job profile is a microcosmic source document which, for purposes of integration, should consist of: Key accountabilities and performance standards (job outputs) Job-appropriate unit standards Job-appropriate behavioural competencies.
Competence SA Unit 201, Jakaranda House, c/o Bloemhof & Bill Bezuidenhout Str, Bellville PO Box 4240, Tygervalley 7536 Tel: +27 (0)21 910 2685 www.competencesa.co.za H H Reid Consulting cc T/A Competence SA, CK 2002/023663/23 Member: H H Reid

At least four HR activities can be easily integrated, as depicted below:

Recruitment & Selection

Performance Management

Job profile Succession & Talent Management Training & Development

Still very obvious, isnt it? Yet most organisations are not successfully integrating these different, value-adding activities.

How well does your HR department score?


What about you? Why dont you check your departments performance by answering the following questions pertaining to these four areas?

Recruitment and selection


1. Do your job advertisements reflect the exact same criteria as outlined in the job profile? Yes/No 2. Are your interviews based on the competencies originally linked to the job as found in the job profile? Yes/No 3. Are your means of selection supporting only the competencies required by the nature and the level of job as found in the job profile? Yes/No

Competence SA Unit 201, Jakaranda House, c/o Bloemhof & Bill Bezuidenhout Str, Bellville PO Box 4240, Tygervalley 7536 Tel: +27 (0)21 910 2685 www.competencesa.co.za H H Reid Consulting cc T/A Competence SA, CK 2002/023663/23 Member: H H Reid

4. Does your induction programme ensure support of the outputs, unit standards and behavioural competencies described in the job profile? Yes/No

Performance management
5. Are the organisations rewards and incentives linked to outputs found in the job profile so that this serves as practical means for achieving organisational performance objectives? Yes/No 6. Are the criteria assessed during appraisals a true reflection of the organisations strategic success indicators? Yes/No 7. In the case of under-performance, can a diagnosis of possible causes be made based on the competencies associated with the job? Yes/No 8. Are performance trends (individuals and departments) analysed and related to organisational performance after each appraisal period? Yes/No

Training and development


9. Are you offering training and development that are customised to meet the assessment criteria of your organisations respective menus of unit standards and competencies? Yes/No 10. Are training needs in the main identified as a result of the performance appraisal process? Yes/No 11. Do you have a system whereby line managers can select the most appropriate learning options corresponding with either unit standards or behavioural competencies for the compilation of an individual Personal Development Plan? Yes/No

Competence SA Unit 201, Jakaranda House, c/o Bloemhof & Bill Bezuidenhout Str, Bellville PO Box 4240, Tygervalley 7536 Tel: +27 (0)21 910 2685 www.competencesa.co.za H H Reid Consulting cc T/A Competence SA, CK 2002/023663/23 Member: H H Reid

12. Do you capitalise on the collective Personal Development Plans to compile (and claim against) your Work Skills Plan? Yes/No

Career and talent management


13. Do you have a system whereby employees have access to job profiles organised in career paths to encourage self-directed career planning and learning? Yes/No 14. Are mentors chosen based on their talent in appropriate unit standards and behavioural competencies so that those individuals who are lacking in certain areas can be assigned to the most suitable mentor? Yes/No 15. When assessing "potential", do you assess people against the unit standards and behavioural competency requirements of the next-level job or at least the same core competencies found in the organisations menu? Yes/No 16. Is performance appraisal as well as training and development information progressively collected to enable automatic succession planning data? Yes/No

What does your score mean?


How do you score? Add the number of yes responses and use our scoring key below to find out.

Competence SA Unit 201, Jakaranda House, c/o Bloemhof & Bill Bezuidenhout Str, Bellville PO Box 4240, Tygervalley 7536 Tel: +27 (0)21 910 2685 www.competencesa.co.za H H Reid Consulting cc T/A Competence SA, CK 2002/023663/23 Member: H H Reid

What are the next steps?


What are the broad steps to follow if you desire a greater degree of integration?

Step 1: Unpack the business processes and performance standards for the organisation as a whole. Step 2: Check for duplications and omissions by matrixing these identified processes with the total number of jobs. Step 3: Compile a menu of unit standards representative of the organisation. Step 4: Select one behavioural competency framework/compile a menu of behavioural competencies, which incorporates organisational values. Step 5: Review job profiles against outcomes of Step 2, and link only the most appropriate unit standards and behavioural competencies to each job. Step 6: For optimal integration, use the pointers in the checklist to align activities pertaining to recruitment and selection, performance and reward management, training and development, as well as career and talent management.

In conclusion, it makes good sense to ensure integration of as many HR activities as possible. The continuity and integration of all HR activities will maximise the use of human potential and ultimately add to the bottom line. Don't let antiquated processes that have become habit be the obstacle to your organisational success.

2010 COPYRIGHT COMPETENCE SA

Competence SA Unit 201, Jakaranda House, c/o Bloemhof & Bill Bezuidenhout Str, Bellville PO Box 4240, Tygervalley 7536 Tel: +27 (0)21 910 2685 www.competencesa.co.za H H Reid Consulting cc T/A Competence SA, CK 2002/023663/23 Member: H H Reid

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