Structure of the HR Function Flashcards
(14 cards)
A “push” strategy
A “push” strategy focuses on getting products/services in front of customers. For example, companies may have showrooms or create a strong point-of-sales presence at the retail level.
A “pull” strategy
A “pull” strategy attracts customers to the product. An example of this is the carbonated drinks industry, which invests heavily in advertising and promotion to create brands and boost sales.
Leaders
have a strategic role. They are typically part of the organization’s senior leadership team, and, ideally, they report directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief operating officer (COO). This structure creates the opportunity for HR to perform its strategic role. HR leaders bring information about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the organization’s strategy to other leaders and participate in the development of overall strategy. In addition, they develop and direct the strategy, priorities, and focus for their HR team. The leader of the HR function may have different titles, including chief HR officer (CHRO), HR director, or vice president of HR.
Managers
are responsible for units within the HR function, such as employee relations, talent acquisition, and organizational development. HR managers plan, direct, and coordinate the activities for their unit and provide input to the leader for HR strategy.
Specialists
(also known as functional experts) have expertise in specific areas such as compensation and benefits design, talent management, metrics, IT, occupational health and safety, organizational development, and workforce relations. Their role is to apply best practices in their discipline to advance the HR strategy.
Generalists
(also known as HR practitioners) are familiar with all of HR’s varied services. Generalists may have expertise in one or more specialty areas of HR but are generally proficient enough in each area to provide sound advice and direction to employees and managers. HR generalists work closely with their specialist coworkers to ensure that the information and programs they are providing to their employees are accurate and complete. Generalists may also be embedded within countries or business units.
HR business partners
are more experienced generalists who are assigned to represent HR services directly to other business functions. HR business partners use a deeper understanding of the business—both the organization and the function—to find ways that HR can help functions achieve their goals. This requires many competencies, including Business Acumen, Consultation, Relationship Management, and Communication. These individuals can be key to demonstrating HR’s value throughout the organization.
functional HR
organization, headquarters HR is staffed with specialists who craft policies. HR generalists, who may be located within divisions or other locales, implement these policies, adapt them as needed, and interact with employees. This type of organization is often found in the least diversified, but not necessarily small, organizations.
dedicated HR
structure allows organizations with different strategies in multiple units to apply HR expertise to each unit’s specific strategic needs. This is in some ways a “corporatized” HR, with an HR function at headquarters and separate HR functions located (or “embedded”) in separate business units. Corporate HR articulates basic HR values, develops tools to be used by the organizational-level HR functions, and creates programs aimed at enhancing global literacy and leadership skills. The business unit HR staff develops local policies and practices.
Outsourcing,
in which a third-party vendor provides selected activities
Cosourcing
in which a third party provides dedicated services to HR, often locating contractors within HR’s organization
HR audit
an organization’s HR policies, practices, procedures, and strategies undergo a systematic and comprehensive evaluation to establish whether specific HR practices are adequate to achieve the function’s goals. For example, policies must be aligned with current organizational goals. Audit results help to identify gaps, which can then be prioritized for corrective action.
The Audit Process
- Determine the scope and type of audit.
- Develop the audit questionnaire.
- Collect the data.
- Benchmark the findings.
- Provide feedback about results.
- Develop action plans.
- Foster a climate of continuous improvement.
Human capital value added
Human capital value added shows the productivity of retained employees, due perhaps to HR processes such as training for employees and supervisors and compensation strategies. This metric will increase since revenue will be divided by a smaller number of employees.
