Question

In the HR field, there is often discussion of HR not having a seat at the C-Suite (executive leadership) table. Do you think the role of HR professionals should be strategic -- is it important or can HR professionals fulfill their role by operating in a more transactional manner (e.g., administrating, hiring, and dealing with employees)? Provide an explanation for your response. Support your response with an APA cited reference(s).

Answer 1

Yes, the role of HR professionals (especially the senior ones) should be made more strategic in nature and not just a transactional one.

An organization is able to gain sustainable competitive advantage when its human resource management role is integrated with the strategic management role. The skills and motivation of talented employees in an organization are often difficult to imitate by its competitors.

Human Resource Management (HRM) should be integrated into the corporate strategy of a business by creation of position such as Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) and greater representation of HR specialists on a company’s board. The human resource (HR) policies that are framed in the organization should be in alignment with the mission and vision of the organization. The HR department can be made more proactive by formulation of rolling strategic plans highlighting the necessity of human resource in all aspects of business. Further management style should be a participative one with greater participation from the HR specialists and increased interaction and collaboration of HR Department with other departments in the organization. Lastly, HR audits (which ensure that HR policies are in alignment with overall business strategy) may be made use of to make HR functions more strategic in nature.

As per the Harvard Business Review (HBR) Analytic Services Report of 2015, sponsored by EY (Ernst & Young), the time has come for HR to “grow up” and take on a bigger strategic role which will drive the business to greater heights. Moreover, high performance organizations are developing metrics to assess return on invested talent just like financial measure of return on capital invested.

Reference:

Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report (2015). The Call for a More Strategic HR: How Its Leaders are Stepping up to the Plate. Retrieved from http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-the-call-for-a-more-strategic-hr/$FILE/ey-the-call-for-a-more-strategic-hr.pdf