STANDARDS DELIVER
The long-heralded shift from practitioner to HR business partner is
happening more and more – and it´s the biggest change since the
restyling of the personnel function. How is restyling of the
personnel function. How is the CIPD helping members to make the
move?
The demands on the HR profession are being staked out clarly. What is
emerging is a shift from the parctitioner focused on process to the “thinking
performer”, a breed of professional who can, through acquiring a top-to-toe,
through knowledge of their business, have a tangible influence on corporate
strategy. This issue of PM explores how the traditional fuction of Hr is being
re-moulded to adapt to new business needs.
But how is the CIPD ensuring its qualification structure continues to meet
the changing needs of the profession? Over the past few years, the institute
has been reviewing its professional standards. All the standards, apart from
the management and leadership component, were updated two years ago.
The central aim of these changes was specifically to nurture this concept of
the “thinking performer”, an HR professional who applies a critically
thoughtful approach to their job so as to make a contribution to the survival
of their organisation, profitability, vision and strategic goals.
If HR professionals are to become real business partners, they need to be
knowledgeable and competent managers in their own right. This is apart
from their specialist knowledge and skill in the area of the management and
development of people.
Management competence is a vital area on which the institute has set
standards for the past 10 years. But to ensure that they reflect the latest
management thinking it is also an area that has fallen under scrutiny. Key
events such as the Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership
report, published in 2002, and changes that emerged from the review of
National Occupational Standars in Management have prompted the institute
to re-evaluate its management standards during the past year.
In response, the standards have been completely rewritten –they are at a
significantly higher standard than before. The leadership skills of the HR
professionals of the future will now be developed throughout their process
of qualification. So what is the philosophy underpinning the new standards?
A cornerstone of the new model is the belief that acquisition and practice of
the knowledge, understanding and competnecies associated with the
programme will enable individuals not just to deliver acceptable
performance, but inspire them to achieve outstanding performance. The
focus is on excellence –in people´s attitudes, achievements and
contribution.
But to deliver outstanding excellence, you´ll need two things in place: an
infrastructure that supports efficiency and recognisable organisational
“differentiators”.
The infrastructure supplies the necessary bedrock without which an
organisation cannot hope to attract and retain people at all. It comprises
the systems, processes, procedures and ethical/legal compliance ingredients
which underpin organisational efficiency. These are the critical failure
factors: alone, they do not ensure successful performance, but ignoring
them can almost guarantee problems such as damage to reputation,
inefficiencies or the creation of an undynamic culture.
The differentiators, as their name suggests, are those practices that make
the difference –which enable two similar organisations to produce radically
different results not only in terms of profit but also in terms of people
contribution. These are the critical success factors, the sources of
competitive advantage, and the ingredients which turn employers into
“brands” and “talent magnets”, which stimulate employees to engage in
discretionary behaviour.
People management processes and systems are, theoretically, available to
every employer. So once they are established, no employer can claim the
advantage in the labourmarket – or be considered truly world-class –
merely by applying these processes. To get ahead, to attract, retain and
motivate people, organisations must develop differentiators. This could be,
for example, by creating what professor John Purcell and his colleagues at
Bath University call a “Big Idea”; recruting on the basis of attitude; genuine
investment in people development; authentic empowerment; or through
people-focused leadership. So much research has been conducted about the
“secrets” of creating a “contributor culture” they are no longer a secret at
all: we now know the difference between those organisations that manage
their people systematically, and those organisations that lead their people
inspirationally.
We also know that once the infrastructure is in place, it yields returns only
in incremental improvements or through remedial action. By contrast the
benefits available from focusing on the differentiators are infinite.
The new leadership and management standards do not adopt a prescriptive
or formulaic approach to securing high-performance commitment form
people. But they do take for granted the fact that any solutions to this
problem must address both infrastructure efficiency (the need to do things
right) and differentiator effectiveness (the need to do the right things). The
model also takes the concept of the thinking perfformer a step further,
placing emphasis on the need for evidence-based argument derived from
meaningful research into what enables both organisations and individuals to
deliver the level of performance that delights customers, stakeholders,
shareholders, investors and society as a whole.
The leadership and management standars define what an HR professional
should be able to do, understand, explain and critically evaluate.
But how are they applied practicallly and what areas do they over? Here we
answer some of your key questions on the new programme.
1. How are the new leadership and amangement
structured and what areas do they cover?
standards
The standards cover four different modules, outlined in the panel below.
2. How will the standards be used?
The main use will undoubt programmes: the institute´s Professional
Development Scheme qualification. They will also be used for the
assessment of experienced professionals, who develop a portfolio of
evidence to demonstrate how they meet the standards. The standards are
also being mapped against NVQs and SVQs in management at Level 5, so
that candidates who have completed these qualifications will have met some
of the CIPD professional standards.
Additionally, the standards can form the basis for continuing professional
development. As professionals move into new roles during their career, they
can benchmark themselves against new and unfamiliar areas.
3. Are these standards nationally recognised?
Yes, The
CIPD´s professional development qualification, which the
leadership and management standards form a part of, is a postgraduate
qualification. It is also credit rated so can be transferable to other schemes.
These standards also, of course, have to be completed to attain chartered
memebership, a designation which is haghly recognised.
4. Will you still be able to study for the leadership and management
standards by temseleves?
Many colleges and universities allow candidadtes to work towards a
postgraduate certificate by completing the leadership and management
component alone. Those that follow this route qualify for licentiate
membership of the CIPD, rather than achieving a postgraduate diploma and
graduate membership of the CIPD if they complete the standars as a whole.
5. I have already got a qualification in management. How do I get it
accredited against the CIPD´s leadership and management
standards?
Many candidates complete other qualifications in business and
management. But from July 2005 you will, for the first time, be able to
assess these against the CIPD standards, by completing a written
assessment drawn from an online question bank. Candidates will answer a
series of questions designed to assess whether their qualfilifaction is an
equivalent one and covers the same ground as the CIPD´s standards.
6. When will the new standards come into effect?
Colleges and universities will now be adjusting their programmes to enable
the updated programmes to take effect in July 2005, with the first national
examinations based on these taking place in May 2006.
7. Was there any consultation
management standars?
on
the
new
leadership
and
Over the past year the draft standards were sent out to more than 700
people and appeared on our web site ofr feedback. Support for the new
approach was strong. We received many helpful comments which enabled
usto finalise the model.
Judy Whittaker and Ted Johns
People Management 30 June 2004
www.peoplemanagement.co.uk