Human Resources as a Strategic Business Partner - Essay Example

HR as a strategic business partner Number: HR as a strategic business partner Introduction Over the past few decades, the role of human resource (HR) has transformed drastically. It is not confined to only administrative works where, they had to deal with the transactions of the employees; rather they are taking part in decision making function of the organization. The HR has three different roles in an organization i.e. administrative, business partner and strategic roles. In the traditional human resource system, the HR had the duty to resolve the issues pertaining to employees and managers. It helps in improving a situation where there is conflict between the two. They were also concerned with the transactions of the employees; hence, there has been great transformation in role of the HR. In the contemporary world of management, the HR also pays the role of a strategic partner. They are regarded as one of the important member of the senior management team. Like the senior production and marketing managers, they are also allowed to take part in strategy formulation and give their valuable idea for the development of the organization. The main purpose of the report is to highlight the strategic role of the HR in the organization and whether the concept is successful in the current scenario (“HR as a strategic business partner for success”) . HR as a strategic business partner HR needs to have certain specialties so as to emerge as a strategic business partner in a company. The HR should have the capability to fit in the internal management, which aims at devising strategies for the long term development of the organization (Khan 2162-2167). Hence, competency of the HR is significant in this case; every HR cannot take part in strategic decision making until he/she is capable enough to play the role of a decision maker. He/she has to posses all the important attributes that are required by a strategic business partner of an organization (“HR as a strategic business partner for success”). In order to become a strategic business partner, the HR has to follow all the HR models that are relevant for developing their capabilities. In this regard, it can be said that the role of HR will be enhanced if he/she can help the clients for meeting their business demand. A strategic business partner has to achieve the organizational goal and aim at increasing its performance by motivating the employees and also by formulating new strategies (Khan 2162-2167). Characteristics of a successful strategic business partner There are certain characteristics of a successful strategic business partner, which are discussed below. The HR has to possess such qualities in order to become an influential leader in the organization. The qualities are discussed henceforth: 1) The HR should have the capability to predict the future and make strategies for the development of the organization. Hence, he/she should have the power to sense the right direction for the organization so as to escalate its growth in the long run (Hunter 1-40). 2) The HR should have the business acumen or the clear perception regarding any practical event. The perception develops with experience and practice and thus HR can become a strategic partner only when he/she has gained enough knowledge regarding the practical events that are taking place (Hunter 1-40). 3) The HR managers should have the patience to deal with the HR related issues and above all think practically so as to devise successful strategies for the long run development of the organization. In a particular organization, every product or services go through three main phases such as patience, vision and execution. Among the three, the first one is the most crucial one as the organization has to wait for the response of the customer. The HR should have that patience to wait for the response from the client and take the next step; either to change or modify the product strategy (Hunter 1-40). 4) The HR practices should be fair and does not involve any fraud as it may lead to conflict in the organization. The HR managers should not be biased towards a particular employee rather he/she should treat everyone equally. The short term strategies are implemented in such a manner that it will give positive result to the organization for its sustainable development. The HR managers have the freedom to choose any particular direction; however, it should be correlated with the business goals and objectives (Hunter 1-40). 5) The HR managers should have the self-control during any negotiation. They often experience situation where they have to negotiate with the clients; hence, the HR managers should maintain their discipline and safeguard the reputation of the organisation in such a situation (Hunter 1-40). During any negotiation, any emotional discussion should be avoided and the best strategy for the individuals is not reacting. The main focus of the HR should be on the objectives of the organization and achieve them. 6) Risk taking is considered to be the fundamental element of our life. Every individual has to take the risk in performing a particular work. The individual should have the courage to deal with it in the long run. It is relevant for the HR professionals; they have to take calculated risk so as to deal with uncertainties in the business. They have to cope up with any unpredictable situation where the employees have gone against the management. In such a situation, the HR leaders have to take strategic decisions, whose probability of success is dependent on the situation and there is a risk of losing control over the situation (Transforming HR: Becoming a Strategic Partner”; Why HR still is not strategic business partner) Hence, it can be stated that the HR professionals or leaders should possess all the six qualities in order to become a strategic business partner. Evaluation of the statement According to Conference Board Challenge Survey, the human capital is observed to have rated about 10% higher than the operational excellence (“HR as a strategic business partner for success”). This is the major challenge for the organizations; however, majority of them have continued to treat HR as the peripheral function. The Global Assessment Trends Report, 2013 have emphasized on the fact that 41% of the firms that they surveyed are confident regarding their human capital strategies (“HR as a strategic business partner for success”). The survey revealed the fact that HR is a strategic business partner, which involves from setting up of mission, vision and methods for the origination. Through the strategic moves, HR supports and contributes towards forming solutions for retention and recruitment. Apart from that, the HR professionals have the responsibility of determining the reward, salary, code of conduct and client relations. Globalization requires strong HR capabilities, which are needed for accomplishment of organizational goals. The most challenging situation for every organization is the demographic shift (“HR as a strategic business partner for success”). Due to less job offers, the youngsters have shifted to developed nations in search of job and security. This have affected the availability of talent and qualified personnel in an underdeveloped or developing country. Hence, there is a need for HR to take strategic decisions to attract young talents to become their employees. The most significant reason behind HR being the strategic business partner lies in the fact that he/she can bring in profit to the organization. The HR managers have to look forward to enhance the skills of the employees and train the employees for meeting the business demand (“HR as a strategic business partner for success”). This will help them to become the strategic business partner as it provides strategies to the employees when they are experiencing challenging situation. These situations can be linked with decrease in demand for business and production of products or services (“Transforming HR: Becoming a Strategic Partner”). Being a strategic business partner, the HR can make justified decisions regarding funding the human resource activities. The funds available for training purpose, employee development programs, benefits and rewards and lastly competitive salaries have the strength to improve the position of the organization in the market and become competitive in the long run (“HR as a strategic business partner for success”). It is also associated with retaining the valuable expertise and talent. The organization is bound to lose production capabilities without any expertise knowledge and talent. Hence, the organization will be incapable of producing maximum level of productivity, which has the ability to affect the profitability, revenue and the relationship of the organization with the competitors (“Transforming HR: Becoming a Strategic Partner”). The HR managers are observed to bring in strategic plans for attaining organizational goals. It is impossible for the HR managers to implement the plans without help from the human resources or employees; hence, employee involvement is important for strategic business partner (“Transforming HR: Becoming a Strategic Partner”). Controversy regarding the statement Over the past few years, there had been a lot of discussion regarding HR as strategic partner (“Why HR still is not strategic business partner”). However, it has not happened over the time. The main obstacle is that the HR needs to align the business requirements with their goals. It is observed that in financial markets, the HR managers are forced to take relentless pressure so as to grow in the long run especially in the emerging markets. The customers desires receive a service or product at lower cost and this cost-effective and resource conservative nature of the individual has imposed pressure on the organization. Hence, they have to regulate the policies (“Why HR still is not strategic business partner”). Hiring the most efficient HR personnel does not always imply that there is reduced friction between the management and employees (“Why HR still is not strategic business partner”). Often the organization takes the pride of hiring the best one and attention is given on the quality of the products and services. However, hiring the best one does not mean that he/she will be permanent and this does not add value to the business. The companies will hire talented workforce; however, it is not evident whether they will be strategically more efficient. The organization has to pay higher return, which they did not secure when they only played the role of administration (“Why HR still is not strategic business partner”). Conclusion It is evident from the research that the role of HR has changed in the recent few years. The HR is regarded as the strategic business partner; however, they were not happy with the benefits that are offered to them. The traditional role of HR i.e. managing human resource related issues have added considerable knowledge regarding formulation of each strategy. Works Cited “HR as a strategic business partner for success.” Martiz Publishing. Martiz Publishing, 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. Hunter, Ian. HR Business Partner. Burlington, Gower Publishing Company. 2006 Print. Khan, Danish Maqsood. “HR as a Strategic Partner: A Critical Review.” International Journal of Human Resource Studies 4.1 (2014): 2162-3058. Print. “Transforming HR: Becoming a Strategic Partner.” AON. AON Plc, 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. “Why HR still is not strategic business partner.” Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publishing, 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. Read More