My challenge to the HR world is lets get moving! WE are the “change agents” in this role.

Yet what best practices are out there to raise engagement levels? Who is being accountable for the whole engagement process from hire through to job alignment, achieving exceptional performance, raising people to their highest levels of competence, ensuring the check and balance on vision and job alignment etc etc.

As always Michael you bring wisdom to the discussion, for that I thank you. HR Leaders take head of these words and SRAT figuring out what you are going to do!

Thank you for referencing my book. This discussion has been helpful.

Here’s what I’m personally thinking about these days on this topic. Corporate Executive Board research shows that on average only one out of ten employees are engaged and aligned with their organization’s goals. For that reason, I think it’s wise at the beginning of each year for HR to help the leadership team to go back to the basics. Most organizations miss the opportunity to renew at the beginning of each year a shared annual vision among their members. The shared annual vision comes about from answering the following questions: where are we going?; why is it important?; how are we going to get there?; and, what’s my (each member’s) role? When a leadership team takes the time to answer these questions and hold conversations throughout the organization to help ensure that there is clarity about the vision and values, it helps bring about strategic alignment and improves employee engagement. In addition, I’m finding that more organizations are wisely investing time throughout the year to discuss the “how we will” get there (i.e. our values) and, in doing so, making it clear “how we will not” get there (i.e. what behavior is not acceptable because it is inconsistent with our values). In these conversations, participants share examples of how we are living up to our values, how we are not and where we are at risk of failure to live up to our values.

Here’s another area that HR leaders might consider focusing on. Most organizations are good at defining what they expect of employees in terms of annual tasks. They are not so good at defining what leaders are expected to do for employees then measuring and holding them accountable. Every organization should conduct an annual employee engagement survey to provide accountability and the questions in the survey should express what leaders are expected to bring to employees. A leaders performance review, pay and promotion potential must reflect their performance in the realm of employee engagement. I was just speaking at an organization that counts among its employees some of the brightest minds in the world and yet they were not doing this.

These things sound basic, I know, but how many organizations do these basics well? I believe HR leaders can and should take the lead in these areas.

I agree that we need less paper pushing — but I think that HR pros need to reach out to those paper pushers and HELP THEM understand what they could do differently and how they could help their business owners grow. I don’t see the value of asking the beleaguered HR pro to choose up sides. Or their owners may choose up for them.

In recent work with a couple of retailers ( small business owners,) what was of value in addition to the basic HR stuff was the business sense.

I agree that the transformational — basic work needs to be done. I think it is term limited when it comes to remaining in house.

My question always is what does an HR person “do” that could be done in house or contracted. The more strategic and aligned the work the more it will be part of the business team.
There needs to be much more awareness — education by the HR profession of the implications of the role of HR. and so I agree with your point. I want to see more Business minded HR people, we do not need pen pushers!

I would much rather see an attempt to teach the Camp 1 transactionalist (did I make up that word?) why they should begin to think about Camp 2 strategy and why it is important for them personally and professionally, and for their business in the long run. While I am sure that there are some that will resist, I really think that most are just uninformed.

I keep going back to my personal experience. While I was a working HR solo practitioner, I WISH I knew about some of this stuff. I wasn’t resistant, just ignorant. So I am going back to my 2010 HR Mantra: REACH OUT. Help others find a better path.