Developing an HR Competency Model - Essay Example

Introduction: The primary aim of this assignment is to design and develop a HR competency model with key result areas and metrics for the roles of anEmployee advocate, Strategic partner, Functional Expert, Human Capital developer, Leader and Change agent. My goal as an employee advocate for a Business Process outsourcing company, which houses close to 3500 employees is to become a Leader in the HR- generalist services of the company. As an organization that is largely people driven, we look towards striving for higher employee satisfaction, lower attrition and increased levels of performance. (Module 3, p 2). As stated in Module 3, a competency is “a collection of related knowledge, abilities, skills and/or attitudes (KASAs) that collectively produce a desired level of performance in a given area of responsibility” (p. 5-6). The paper will discuss competency and metrics for the six different roles mentioned above in relation to the organization I work for. It will explain the nature of the role and focus on the performance deliverables and areas of improvement, which in turn enables in reaching the organization’s goals. HR Competency model. Employee retention, satisfaction and growth have always received high priority in my organization primarily because of the huge manpower required to sustain business. The work force is divided in terms of the service provided for various clients and each division reports to a line manager. The functions of a HR employee are extremely challenging and offer enormous scope for growth and innovation, commanding expertise and discipline in every action. The six roles mentioned above are discussed with competencies, challenges and deliverables below. Employee Advocate: The Dell services division of the organization has 600 employees under its wing, provides online, and voice support to Dell’s customers. My role as an employee advocate in this program expects me to know the interests of the employees and communicate the same to the management. My role here is to provide a clear alignment between the employee and the organizations goals and objectives. Assist employees wherever necessary to help maintain their value to the program and effectively communicate changes in the organization brought about for the best interest of the employee and organization. The communication of the change in shifts and the new incentive calculator for the employees has been my recent challenge. I have effectively managed to even out the differences by an opinion poll, which gave the management considerable insight on the issue. The success of my approach and communication will be measured in the subsequent survey and help build new strategies. Human Capital Developer. This role demands a careful monitoring of the employees progress, strengths and weaknesses. As a Human Capital Developer, it is my responsibility to identify key employees who are capable of growing in the organization and communicate the same to the line accordingly. It is also important to work with the employees in helping them to identify their unique skill sets and enable them to pursue their interests within the organization if possible. Another predominant function would be to ensure the training needs of the employees are fulfilled in order to achieve high performance levels. The key competency of my role is to identify potential team leaders who display exemplary leadership skills, along with high performance levels and inform the management accordingly. The right choice enables greater retention of employees and this is measured in the levels of attrition. Functional Expert. According to Ulrich, “We have put functional experts into a consulting services organization so that they can tailor solutions to the unique needs of the business. We want these practice leaders to have deep knowledge on their functional area of expertise.”(Ulrich 2001) A functional expert is one who understands the HR requirements of the client for the program. In my organization, it is very important to understand the quality of work force required to provide services for the client’s customers. As a functional expert, I must communicate the necessary specific educational and interpersonal qualities required for employment in the program. However, a continuous assessment of all employees is mandatory to ensure that the client’s requirements are satisfied. Functional experts add value to the business by projecting an image that enables a relationship of trust between the organization and the client. The effectiveness of a functional expert is measured by the performance level of the employee and the program. Strategic Partner. As a strategic partner, I can provide valuable inputs to the management on the prevailing trends in employee retention, in competitive companies and finds ways to enhance the HR system followed in the organization. It is my portfolio to identify areas of improvement in the HR system of the organization and help devise and implement a new system or change or alter the existing system. The role of a strategic partner is to ensure a competitive edge for the business in the market. This is achieved, by collecting data on best practices and business models currently followed in the market analyze, and communicate the same to the management with evidence and logic. This people driven industry is constantly in search of best young talent and hence the competition among companies to hire new talent is stifling. As a strategic partner, my role adds value to the recruitment function of the company by providing inputs on the strategies and USP’s followed by competition for hiring employees. Change Agent: As a change agent of the organization, my role connects to the role of an Employee advocate in managing change and ensuring smooth coordination between the management and employees. As Ulrich defines change as “the ability of an organization to improve the design and implementation of initiatives and to reduce cycle time in all organizational activities” (Ulrich, 1997, p. 30). The organization underwent a major change after its first Gallup survey and communicating the changes on performance measurement metrics and change in the job roles of some line managers proved to be challenging. Moreover, this entrusted me with the responsibility of addressing grievances, which led to the formation of the first HR grievance address cell called ‘Voice out’. This subsequently led the organization to conduct opinion polls and Open house forums, and I was an integral part of the same. The HR did a commendable job to ensure that changes in the organization were understood and accepted by all. Leader : This is the role I am aspiring to be in the organization . The role of a Leader – HR generalist involves the culmination of all the above functions besides the general functions of recruitment and payroll processing. It is one that demands a high level of understanding and implementation of strategies and constant monitoring of the activities of HR associates through periodic reviews and floor walks. A leader is one who is a team player and most of all leads by example and is willing to receive and give feedback appropriately. According to Ulrich “Leader act as role models for what they preach” (Ulrich 2001). I have to complete my Masters in Administration specializing in HR and retain my HR professional certification. I must effectively coordinate with middle and Senior Managers in the organization and educate them about HR policies, guidelines, and the importance of the process implementation. I should prove through my work, approach, and interpersonal skills and results, my credentials as a Leader – HR generalist services. Findings or Recommendations for Human Capital Developer – Competency. The organization owing to the large number of employees is terribly short and weak in talent management or in Human capital development .A recent study conducted by the HR Team for the middle and lower end managers clearly points out a lack of succession planning and enormous people issues on the floor. Besides the huge turnover of employees on a monthly basis leaves line mangers to managing business as bare sustenance levels leaving no room for talent and skill display or indifferent to people issues. My challenge as a Human Capital developer is to ensure a succession plan is in place for every team in every level. This will be done by maintaining a current organizational chart and refreshing the same on promotions and resignations and new entries. This chart enables managers to create a contingency and succession plan. (Basic Measurement and Metrics Toolkit, Part 4, p. 12-14). Summary: The HR competency model educates me on my Key result areas within the organization in each role putting forward my strengths and areas of improvement. As a successful Employee advocate my next role is a functional expert. However, I have focus on my skills as a Human capital developer to ensure that I gain the all round expertise and skills required to become a leader – HR generalist. The key challenge lies in talent management and attrition control, which is achieved by effectively coordinating with the management in all its recruitment initiatives through the role of a strategic partner. As a functional expert to serve as a bridge between the organization and the client in identifying and fulfilling their needs through effective HR management. My immediate areas of focus would be on enhancing, shaping my human capital development skills, adapting, and learning in my new role as a functional expert to interact with the client on all HR needs and quality of staff. I am sure I will prove to be an asset to the organization through my learning and implementation of positive changes help the organization realize its goals. References: Becker, B.E., Huselid, M.A., & Ulrich, D. (2001). The HR scorecard: Linking People, strategy and performance. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Huselid, M.A., Becker, B.E., Beatty, R. W. (2005). The Workforce Scorecard. Boston: Harvard Business School Press HRM advice. April 2008. HR Employee advocate role. 13 November 2008. http://hrmadvice.com/hrmadvice/hr-role/hr-employee-advocate-role.html Dave Ulrich, “ Roles for HR professionals” HR Value Proposition 2001: pg 211 12 November 2008 http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Jcq9IkRhRbwC&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=Who+is+a+functional+expert+hr&source=web&ots=PHS5BAWuMQ&sig=Dx9-OGlgJEQNhUU9YHlY2baCNzA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPR10,M1 Dave Ulrich, 12 October 2001 “Dave Ulrich outlines underlying principles and practice, their development and how they are likely to shape up to the future.” Financial Times” 12 November 2008. http://www.vta.vic.edu.au/docs/strategic/Ulrich%20HR%20principles.pdf Ulrich, D. (1997). Human Resource Champions. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Read More