THE EVOLVING/ STRATEGIC
ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Strategic Human Resource Management
• Involves the development of a consistent, aligned
collection of practices, programs, and policies to
facilitate the achievement of the organization’s
strategic objectives.
• Requires abandoning the mindset and practices of
“personnel management” and focusing on
strategic issues than operational issues.
• Integration of all HR programs within a larger
framework, facilitating the organization’s mission
and its objectives.
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Strategic Human Resource Management
• Probably the single-most important caveat of
strategic human resource management is that
there is no one best way to manage people in any
given organization. Even within a given industry,
HR practices can vary extensively from one
organization to another.
• Establishing a strong HR strategy that is clearly
linked to the organization’s strategy is not
enough. HR strategy needs to be communicated,
practiced, and – perhaps most important – spelled
out and written down.
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Strategic HR at Yahoo!
• Planning the type and number of employees
Yahoo! needs
Average of 12
hours interviews
• Attracting desirable employees
for EACH new hire
• Recruiting potential employees
• Assessing qualifications of job applicants
• Developing employees to ensure that skills sets of
employees are updated and developed
• Retaining top performers
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One organization that has effectively redesigned it
HR function to assume all four roles is Mercantile
Bank. Headquartered in St. Louis, Mercantile Bank
is a multibank holding company, with $131B in
assets and more than 10,000 employees. The bank
strategically redesigned it s HR function during the
1990s, when it went through more than 39 mergers
and acquisitions. As part of this process,
Mercantile’s HR function moved beyond traditional
recordkeeping and compliance to become more
strategic in nature.
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This transformation happened through streamlining
work processes, eliminating unnecessary activities,
re-evaluating technology, and outsourcing
nonstrategic functions. Furthermore, some retained
HR functions remain centralized at headquarters;
others are deployed to operating divisions.
Consequently, Mercantile’s HR function is able to
assume the roles of strategic partner, change agent,
administrative expert, and employee champion
simultaneously.
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HR Roles in the Knowledge-Based
Economy
• The human capital steward role involves the
creation of an environment and culture in
which employees voluntarily want to
contribute their skills, ideas, and energy. This
is based on the premise that unlike raw
materials, plant, and equipment, human
capital is NOT owned by the company; it can
move freely from one company to another at
the employee’s whim.
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HR Roles in the Knowledge-Based
Economy
• The knowledge facilitator role involves the
procurement of the necessary employee
knowledge and skill sets that allow
information to be acquired, developed, and
disseminated, providing a competitive
advantage.
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HR Roles in the Knowledge-Based
Economy
• The relationship builder role involves the
development of structure, work practices and
organizational culture that allow individuals
to work together, across departments and
functions. To ensure competitiveness,
networks need to be developed that focus on
the strategic objective3s of the organization
and how synergies and teamwork that lead to
outstanding performance are valued and
rewarded.
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HR Roles in the Knowledge-Based
Economy
• The rapid deployment specialist role
involves the creation of an organization
structure and HR systems that are fluid and
adaptable to rapid change in response to
external opportunities and threats. The
global, knowledge-based economy changes
quickly and frequently, and success in such an
environment mandates flexibility and a
culture that embraces change.
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Traditional HR versus Strategic HR
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Barriers to Strategic HR
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