How to Succeed in HR
Without Really Trying:
A Roadmap for HR Development
in the Coming Decade
Presentation to the Evansville-Area Human Resource
Association
Dane M. Partridge, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Management
University of Southern Indiana
March 27, 2003
Is HR Playing a Strategic Role in
Your Organization?
What’s the best change my organization
can make to prepare for the future?
What makes an Ee want to stay with my
organization?
How are we going to invest in HR so that
my organization has a better HR dept than
our competition?
Source: Halcrow (1988), reported in Noe et al. (2003)
Staffing the HR Function
What are the KSAs of HR staff?

What coursework?
Many MBA programs have no required HR course

What certification?
Bernardin (2003) indicates that only eleven percent of SHRM
members have HR certification via HRCI
DMP not sure this figure is accurate – Bates (2002) reports
~56,000 HR professionals have passed a certification exam;
54% of PHR candidates are SHRM members, 72% of SPHR
candidates (HRCI State of the Institute Report 2002).
Staffing the HR Function
Inherent exaggeration of abilities re: “people
skills”?

Survey of HS seniors
70% believed they were above average in leadership ability;
2% believed they were below average
100% believed they were above average in ability to get
along with others, 60% believed they were in top 10%, 25%
believed they were in top 1%
Source: Ruggiero (2001)

Should we even be teaching “people skills” at
undergraduate level?
Research indicates UG students have less interest in and
perceive less relevance of OB course than other required
business courses
Mintzberg (1989), Burke and Moore (2003)
Staffing the HR Function

More generalizable phenomenon, re: selfratings?
Survey of 92 engineers (Meyer, 1980)
Asked to self-rate relative to peer group, 0-100
(percentile)
Mean: 78th percentile
Only two of 92 rated themselves below 50th
percentile (45)
Some Discrepancies Between
Research Findings and HR Practices
Recruitment


Research indicates that quantitative analysis
of recruitment sources using yield ratios can
facilitate efficiencies in recruitment
In practice, less than 5% of surveyed
companies calculate yield ratios; less than
20% know how
Source: Bernardin (2002)
Some Discrepancies Between
Research Findings and HR Practices
Staffing

Research indicates that
Realistic job previews can reduce turnover
Weighted application blanks reduce turnover
Structured, behavioral, or situational interviews are more
valid
Graphology is invalid and should not be used

In practice
Less than 20% of companies use RJPs in high-turnover jobs
Less than 10% know what a WAB is; less than 1% use
Less than 30% of companies use structured interviews
Graphology’s use is increasing in U.S.
Some Discrepancies Between
Research Findings and HR Practices
Performance Appraisal

Research indicates that
Traits should not be used on rating forms
Raters should be trained
The appraisal process should be an important element of
managers’ jobs

In practice
More than 75% of companies still use traits
Less than 30% train raters
Less than 30% of managers are evaluated on performance
appraisals
Some Discrepancies Between
Research Findings and HR Practices
Compensation

Research indicates that
Merit-based systems should not be tied into base salary

Because size of bonus that can be offered is greater, cost to
org in long run is much less
Gainsharing is an effective pay-for-performance system

In practice
More than 75% of companies tie merit pay to base pay
Less than 5% of companies use gainsharing where they
could
Quiz!!!
Think back to your first day in HR…




What were you most confident about, in terms
of your preparation for your responsibilities?
What were you least confident about?
What, in terms of your preparation,
contributed to your confidence or lack
thereof?
How could your development have better
addressed your deficiencies?
TRW’s HRM Core Competencies
Leadership and Managing Change
Business Skills
HR Functional Leadership
HR Technical Skills
Source: Milkovich and Newman (1999)
“Core Competencies”: “The skills and abilities in
value creation activities that allow a company to
achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation,
or customer responsiveness.”
Source: Jones (2001)
TRW’s HRM Core Competencies
Leadership and Managing Change


Integrity
Efficiency
Performing in cost-effective manner

Objectivity
Clear perception of org and political reality


Proactivity
Risk taking
Taking action under conditions of uncertainty
TRW’s HRM Core Competencies
Leadership and Managing Change (cont.)


Decisiveness
Professionalism
Consciousness of one’s professional image

Negotiation Skills
Facilitating “win-win”

Communication Skills
Written, Oral, Non-verbal(!)


Brockbank (2003) found interpersonal competencies more
important than verbal and written communication skills
Team Management Skills
TRW’s HRM Core Competencies
Business Skills

Industry Knowledge
Value chain, suppliers, competitors, how org satisfies
customer needs


Knowledge of value chain has significant impact on business
performance (Brockbank, 2003)
Strategic Management
Understanding and planning for environmental changes

Organizational Awareness
Understanding business operations, how business competes,
cultural/value systems impacting org performance
TRW’s HRM Core Competencies
Business Skills (cont.)

Total Quality Management
Continuous Improvement

General Management Skills
Understanding of finance, marketing, law, IT

Partnership w/mngt team
Note: knowledge itself is insufficient to contribute
to high-performing organization – must put
knowledge into practice….Achieving results
more important to personal credibility than
getting along well w/mngt team.
Source: Brockbank (2003)
TRW’s HRM Core Competencies
HR Functional Leadership

Network Building
Working effectively w/others, both inside and outside org


Setting the Vision for HR
Selecting and Developing Staff
Identifying and implementing org and individual
developments plans

Value-added perspective of HR
Communicating to mngt how HR can contribute to org
TRW’s HRM Core Competencies
HR Technical Skills

HR Planning
Competencies in org design now fundamental, including org
and job restructuring (Brockbank, 2003)

Communications
Fostering understanding of key business and HR issues


Work Force Diversity
Selection and Placement
Including effective performance mngt system

Training & Development
TRW’s HRM Core Competencies
HR Technical Skills (cont.)


HR Information Systems
Compensation and Benefits
Performance-based, linked to performance mngt

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Health, Safety, and Security
Org Effectiveness
Managing cultural change within org to impact org
effectiveness


Note that culture management makes strategic contribution
(Brockbank, 2003) [focusing internal culture on meeting needs
of external customer, aligning HR w/ desired culture, facilitating
quick change]
Ee and Labor Relations
Additional Competencies
International



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Infusing org culture w/local talent worldwide
Integrating foreign Ees into U.S.-based
businesses
Balancing differentiated pay scales/benefits
levels to achieve internal equity
Restructuring recruiting practices to ensure
org is capturing best talent globally
Source: Patel (2002) [SHRM Workplace Forecast: A
Strategic Outlook]
Top Ten Workplace Trends as seen
by HR professionals
Use of technology to communicate with
Ees
Rising health care costs
Increased vulnerability of intellectual
property
Managing talent
Greater demand for high-skilled workers
than for low-skilled
Top Ten Workplace Trends as seen
by HR professionals
Labor shortage
Change from manufacturing to
information/service economy
Increase in employment-related
government regulations
Focus on domestic safety and security
Ability to use technology to more closely
monitor Ees
Source: Patel (2002)
Implications
Given these trends in organizational
environments, what are the implications
for HR function?

How do we get from where we are to where
we need to be?
What organizational and individual development
needs to be provided to facilitate change?
Are there additional competencies that need to be
developed so as to effectively manage these
trends?
Evolving HR Function
Some traditional roles, e.g., HR generalist, benefit
specialist, likely to become less common and less
important
Will be increasingly important to be able to illustrate cost
effectiveness, value-added contribution of HR practices

And will need to manage relationship w/providers of outsourced
activities (transactional functions)
Know finance!



Will business degree be a requirement in the future?
What would be the implications?
“Human capital strategist”?
Source: Bates (2002), Glister (2000)
Challenges (Potholes?)
David Ulrich (U of Michigan): “We have to
shift the focus of HR away from training
and process to the outcomes, away from a
people function to an organization
function. I’m not optimistic about all HR
people” making that transition.
Source: Bates (2002)
Staffing the HR Function (revisited)
KSAs for HR?
Preparation (Education and Experience)?

Certifications – value and nature
Specialist certifications (e.g., ACA’s Certified
Compensation Professional and Certified Benefits
Professional, IFEBP’s Certified Employee Benefits
Specialist)
Staffing the HR Function (revisited)
HR Competencies – Build or Buy?

Re: HRIS, most HR certifications attest to nontechnological body of knowledge. PHR, SPHR not
intended to address individual systems or software
(Glister, 2000)
Software-specific training (e.g., PeopleSoft)
New International Association for Human Resource
Information Management (IHRIM) certification (purported to
be both technical and functional)
Knowledge relevant to choosing right vendor
HRCI due to include more technology emphasis in revised
curriculum

MBA w/ HR concentration? (Note that USI has moved
in opposite direction…)
HRCI Core Knowledge Areas
Knowledge of needs assessment and analysis
Knowledge of third-party contract management,
including development of requests for proposals (RFPs)
Knowledge of communication strategies
Knowledge of adult learning processes
Knowledge of motivation concepts and applications
Knowledge of training methods
Knowledge of leadership concepts and applications
Knowledge of project management concepts and
applications
Knowledge of diversity concepts and applications
HRCI Core Knowledge Areas
Knowledge of human relations concepts and applications (for
example, interpersonal and organizational behavior)
Knowledge of HR ethics and professional standards
Knowledge of technology and human resource information systems
(HRIS) to support HR activities
Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for
analysis, interpretation, and decision-making purposes
Knowledge of change management
Knowledge of liability and risk management
Knowledge of job analysis and job description methods
Knowledge of employee records management (for example,
retention, disposal)
Knowledge of the interrelationships among HR activities and
programs across functional areas
Source: http://www.hrci.org/certification/spec-core.html
Conclusions and Challenges
As business organizations and the business environment
continue to evolve, the competencies required of HR
professionals are also evolving.
Knowledge is necessary but not sufficient prerequisite
for success; skills and abilities are critical (i.e., the ability
to put theory into practice).
Key org and individual development question pertains to
those skills and abilities – build or buy?
To great extent, both degree programs and certification
are indicators of knowledge, not necessarily
competencies.
Hmmm…