Volume 2 Issue 5

H.R. A Strategic Partnership

Becoming a strategic business partner has become the target of the Human Resource profession. Once considered a service provider, today's Human Resource professional has of necessity become a source of competitive advantage and an essential contributor to the senior management team.

Informed Human Resource professionals act as vital partners directing unique knowledge and skills to the achievement of strategic goals, as a change agent to assist the organization to adapt, and as a proactive facilitator to ensure the needs of both management and employees are addressed. Operating in a new economy with an evolutionary set of rules, it is a given that working and learning have become interdependent. Increasing competitive pressures, technological changes, and shifting consumer preferences have forced enterprises to rethink and often redirect their strategies, their structures, and many aspects of their behaviour in order to enhance flexibility and adaptability. The result, in terms of both efficiency and performance standards, is a rapidly shifting business environment that is more challenging than ever before.

HR strategy is a framework for incorporating core values and principles into HR management practices and policies; as well, it defines the tools and support needed to enable future business directions. Human Resource development must be a priority for any business that plans to compete successfully in more competitive and technologically intensive environments. Innovation is the key to economic success. Innovation must include not only technological change, but also changes in organizational and workplace practices. Without organizational innovation, it is unlikely that new technology can deliver its promised benefits. Human capital investment is crucial to improvements in productivity, growth, technology, and individual participation in the knowledge?based economy.

Good business performance depends on the capacity to adapt by continually renewing, reconfiguring, and redeploying assets. The capacity to finance and deliver services must be augmented by greater emphasis on intangible assets. This requires an increasingly strategic contribution from proactive HR professionals to deliver a return on investment in human capital. Human Resource strategies must provide consistent communications, a management style that builds trust and openness, leadership that inspires energy and enthusiasm, and a workforce with the competencies, mindset and commitment to achieve business objectives. The implementation of any Human Resource strategy is a shared responsibility between employees, management, and the HR function. The key is to synchronize efforts in order to create a receptive, productive and positive work environment.

Patricia Seaborn is a facilitator with The Management Development Group.