November 2005
HR’s New Role Becoming a Strategic Business Partner ODN National Conference Minneapolis
William Pasmore New York
Overview
Brief Description Of Mercer Delta Consulting (MDC)
HR Transformation and the Evolution of the HR Business Partner Concept
What It Takes to Be An Effective HR Business Partner
Using Diagnosis to Transform Relationships and Opportunities
Staying Focused on Issues that Matter to the Business
Delivering Changes That Make a Real Difference
Some Examples of Doing It Well
Next Steps
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Mercer Delta Clients
Executive leadership at the public-company/enterprise level
Includes CEOs, COOs, Executive Teams, and Boards
Relationships extend out into the organization
$1 billion+ enterprises and smaller high-growth companies
Recognizing the need for change
Aware of own limitations
Looking for assistance
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Illustrative Client Companies
s
Creating Knowledge
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HR Transformation and the Evolution of the HR Business Partner Concept
The Promise of HR Transformation
Substantial cost savings through the automation and outsourcing of routine transactional work and the creation of shared services
More complete, accurate, and useful information management through the creation of comprehensive, all-encompassing databases and HRIS systems
Enhanced accessibility and self-service through 24/7 online and call center support for routine operations
Uniform policy application across locations due to centralization of decision-making in shared systems
Enhanced capabilities through centers of excellence for non-routine work
Freed from the routine work, a new role for HR generalists as strategic business partners
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From Personnel to Business Partner
Approximate Dates 1920s-1930s
1940s-1970s
1970s-1990s
Key Business Issues
Organic Growth
New Technologies
Diversification
Productivity
Competition
Negotiations
International Competition
Downsizing
Leadership
Change Programs
Performance Management/Rewards
2000
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HR Role
Survival Shift to Service
Hiring, Training, and Caring for Employees
Globalization
Talent Development
Innovation
Strategic Capabilities
Reinvention
Title for Role
Personnel
Employee Relations/Labor Relations
Human Resources
HR Business Partner/CCO
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Evolution of Organization Development
Approximate Dates
Key Business Issues
OD Role
Coordination
Surveys
Productivity
STS/Work Design
Motivation
Team-Building
1970s
International Competition
1980s-1990s
Cost-Cutting
1940s-1960s
2000
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Title for Role
OD
Quality
Quality
Work-Out
Survival
Reengineering
Change Management
Efficiency
Enterprise IT Systems
Reengineering
Balanced Scorecard
OE
Globalization
Create New Capabilities
Innovation
Reinvention
Organization Architecture
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Ulrich’s Human Resource Champions (1997)
Four Roles for HR – Administrative Expert – Employee Champion – Change Agent – Strategic Partner
“When HR professionals work as strategic partners, they work with line managers to institute and manage a process that creates an organization to meet business requirements.”
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Examples of Critical Capabilities From Ulrich’s Human Resource Champions
Align performance measures to strategic priorities Attract and retain high-caliber people
Be the technology leader in the field
Create a shared mindset
Create capacity for change
Demonstrate cultural flexibility
Ensure trust between leaders and workers
Form alliances with a variety of organizations
Have a culturally diverse workforce
Think and act globally
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Have dominant distribution channels
Have committed employees
Identify and develop the next generation of leaders
Improve speed, cash flow, profitability, and productivity every year
Innovate and learn more quickly than competitors
Maintain good investor relations
Manage financial management systems
Take risks
Work in a boundary-less way
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What It Takes to Be an Effective HR Business Partner
Becoming a Strategic Business Partner
Knowledge requirements
Using diagnosis to transform relationships and opportunities
Staying focused on issues that matter to the business
Delivering capabilities that make a real difference
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Business Partner Knowledge Requirements Examples Strategic
Talent planning Talent development Performance management Executive succession Executive compensation HRIS Shared services Outsourcing/offshoring International law Acquisition assessment Managing diversity
Strategic alignment Organization architecture Globalization Enterprise integration Acquisition planning Organizational learning Executive development Cultural integration Change leadership Capability creation Board relations
HR
Business
Compensation/benefits Recruiting Hiring/firing Data reporting Performance assessment Succession planning Relocation Orientation and training Labor law Merger integration Policy/fair treatment
Quality Productivity/lean manufacturing Cost-reduction Process reengineering Supply chain management Work redesign Customer management Product development Change management Metrics/balanced scorecard Team effectiveness
Operational Mercer Delta Consulting
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Using Diagnosis to Transform Relationships and Opportunities
Diagnosis
Provides a powerful way of working with business leaders
Involves a process and a set of principles
Repeats whenever new opportunities emerge
Helps transform relationships
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The Diagnostic Process
Scouting and Agenda Setting
Contracting
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Data Collection
Organizational Diagnosis
Data Feedback
Streams of Work
Implemented Streams Examples
Relationship Building
Organization Architecture Culture Change Executive Team Performance Leadership Development
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Data Collection and Analysis
Dialogues - centerpiece of datacollection strategy
Input from business leaders on organizational issues and concerns
Confidential, one-on-one discussions
Structured process for interviewing, recording, analyzing, and reporting interviews with business leaders
Results must feature powerful findings captured in the organization’s own words
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Collaborative Organizational Diagnosis
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Business Leader
HR Business Partner
Action
What do we do?
Knowledge
What does it mean?
Information
What does it say?
Data
What do we see? 19
Core Principles
Process Steps
Core Principles
Getting Started BL Ownership
Data Collection Organizational Diagnosis
Collaboration
Iterative Learning
Interpretive Diagnosis
Data Feedback Streams of Work
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Change Leadership Skills
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Six Dimensions of Relationships That Enable Change
Building Trust Advocacy
Personal Investment
Collaboration
Courage
Interpersonal Agility Mercer Delta Consulting
Source: Carucci and Pasmore. Relationships that Enable Enterprise Change, Jossey Bass, 2002
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Staying Focused on Issues That Matter to the Business
Staying Focused on Business Issues
What are the issues that matter? – What’s keeping business
leaders up at night? – What’s the “moose on the
table” regarding the future? – What drives the bottom line?
Changing how you spend your time and attention
Not getting pulled or pushed back into the old HR box
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Delivering Changes That Make a Real Difference
Congruence Model
Informal Organization
Input Environment
Resources
Output System
Strategy
Formal Organization
Work
Unit
Individual
History
People
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Two Key Challenges
1. Creating a new strategy
that seizes market opportunities and makes full use of the organization’s competitive advantages
1. Designing an organization
that supports the full and effective execution of the new strategy
Informal Organization
Input Environment
Resources
Output System
Strategy
Formal Organization
Work
History
Unit
Individual
People
Informal Organization
Input Environment
Resources
Output System
Strategy
Formal Organization
Work
History
Unit
Individual
People
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Some Examples of Doing it Well
Strategic Business Partners Par Excellence
Noel Tichy/Steve Kerr
Richard Antoine
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Business Partner Career Paths Examples HR Executive
Strategic
Talent planning Talent development Performance management Executive succession Executive compensation HRIS Shared services Outsourcing/offshoring International law Acquisition assessment Managing diversity
Strategic alignment Organization architecture Globalization Enterprise integration Acquisition planning Organizational learning Executive development Cultural integration Change leadership Capability creation Board relations
HR
HR Generalist
Strategic Business Partner
Business
HR Specialist
OE Executive
Compensation/benefits Recruiting Hiring/firing Data reporting Performance assessment Succession planning Relocation Orientation and training Labor law Merger integration Policy/fair treatment
Quality Productivity/lean manufacturing Cost reduction Process reengineering Supply chain management Work redesign Customer management Product development Change management Metrics/balanced scorecard Team effectiveness
Business Partner
OE Professional
Operational Mercer Delta Consulting
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Next Steps
Next Steps: What You Can Do
Make it personal
Begin with conversations and diagnosis
Build stronger relationships
Stay focused
Measure impact of changes on business results
Commit to learning
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We Could All Stand to Learn More About…
Developing extremely effective leaders
Creating more flexible but still highperforming organizations
Working globally, virtually, horizontally, and spontaneously
Inventing and implementing new business models in old companies
Changing cultures: making customers, values, and integrity real
Organic growth
Leveraging diversity for business results
Strategic design
China and India
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