The True Cost of Hiring the Wrong HR Talent: Safeguard Your Organisation’s Growth

Hiring the wrong Human Resources (HR) talent can severely hinder your organisation’s progress, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Many businesses fail to achieve their goals or are forced to shut down due to ineffective HR management. This article explores the importance of hiring the right HR talent to align with your organisation’s unique context and business aspirations. We will also present an actionable framework to help you make informed HR hiring decisions.

Why Hiring the Right HR Talent Matters

HR plays a crucial role in shaping and delivering your company’s growth, employee satisfaction, and operational efficiency. Hiring the wrong HR professionals can result in high turnover, legal risks, and failure to implement effective talent strategies to name a few. This risk is especially high when leaders do not fully understand the HR function’s importance or delegate this responsibility to underqualified professionals.

The Role of Context in HR Hiring

The field of Human Resources (HR) is multifaceted, with numerous perspectives on its core responsibilities and accountabilities. Various entities, ranging from official HR bodies like the UK’s CIPD or USA’s SHRM to academic institutions and industry practitioners, offer diverse viewpoints on this matter.

HR’s role varies significantly depending on the company’s stage of development, industry type, country-specific HR regulations, and the maturity of the HR function. A one-size-fits-all approach to HR hiring is not only ineffective but dangerous. Factors like business size, market competition, and organizational goals should shape your HR agenda.

Introducing the HRJobs26 Accountability Model

At www.HRJobs.world, we’ve created a structured model for understanding HR accountabilities. We categorise HR responsibilities into four key areas to guide organisations in hiring talent that can drive business outcomes effectively:

1.       HR Business Partner (HRBP) - The concept of HR Business Partnering, though prevalent, often lacks clarity and consistency in its interpretation. HRBPs work closely with leadership to align HR strategies with business objectives. Defined responsibilities and accountabilities are crucial for aligning HR's contributions with organisational goals. Properly defining HRBP roles is essential to avoid confusion and ensure impactful results.

2.       HR Functional Partner (HRFP) – HRFPs manage specific HR functions like recruitment, employee relations, and talent management. They are the custodians of key HR processes that support organizational success. However, collaboration and partnership with senior leaders, functional heads, and employees are essential, despite, HR’s leadership and core accountability in these domains.

3.       HR Governance and Performance Excellence (HRGPE) Business Partner (HRBP – Evaluating HR’s performance through governance, compliance, and continuous improvement helps ensure that HR functions are in line with business priorities, concurrently complying with internal and external standards.

4.       HR Innovation and Development (HRID) – In today’s rapidly changing world, HR innovation is crucial. HRID ensures that the department stays relevant through the adoption of new technologies, like AI and process automation, to improve HR performance.

Leadership's Role in Effective HR Hiring

A CEO, MD, or senior executive’s perception of HR can influence how the department is staffed and managed. Leadership often underestimates HR’s potential to drive business results, viewing HR merely as a compliance function. To achieve organisational aspirations, leadership must actively engage with HR, making it a strategic partner rather than a support function.

A Managing Director’s Perspective

Recently a Managing Director shared with me that the role of HR is to balance company and employee needs while ensuring legal compliance. Of course this is not wrong by any means, however, the MD as somewhat shocked when I shared that our primary role is to ensure the organisation aspiration is achieved. Personal and professional backgrounds shape these views. Amid daily priorities, HR must stay connected to business leaders and understand employee sentiment to effectively support both the organisation and its people, concurrently they must live and breathe mission!

HR Accountabilities in Detail

Below is a more detailed overview of the twenty-six HR accountabilities that we believe constitute the full role of HR, being applied as appropriate.

HR Business Partner (HRBP)

We see five critical accountabilities that apply whether you are a start-up or an established organisation. It was David Ulrich ^[1] who established the HRBP mindset and is evolving since its inception ^[2] with many gaps in the knowledge of how to apply in a practical or formal sense.

1.       Business Alignment: It is essential that a HRBP partners with the entire organisation to build a high level of understanding and confidence about the business in detail, including aspirations, opportunities and the journey ahead, connecting departmental expectations. HR must be tightly aligned with the organization’s mission, vision, and strategic goals.

2.       Capability Development: One of the major contributions that a HRBP can make is to partner with the leadership team to identify the current, required and maturity level of core capabilities required to deliver the organisation's ambition.

3.       Employer Branding: Collaborate with senior leadership to articulate, deliver, and monitor how the organisation is perceived both externally and internally, impacting many HRFP areas. 

4.       Organisation Performance: It is imperative that the HRBP partner with the leadership team to deliver a robust structure for aligning, communicating, managing, evaluating and measuring the organisation's performance against the agreed plan.

5.       Organisational Development: Support senior leadership in moving the organisation from its current state to its desired future state, often requiring agility, transformation, and change management.

HR Functional Partner (HRFP)

We identified fifteen functional partner accountabilities, seven of which will be often see as the core role of HR or most value added and eight that are contextually applied.

1.       Performance Management (PM) – The role of HR, post alignment of the organisational Performance Management expectation, is to partner with leaders to manage the execution of the PM process. Cascaded down to department, team and individual level. The variations of the application are many.

2.       Talent Management (TM) – The term was coined by ^[3] McKinsey & Company following a 1997 study. The application, definition and scope of Talent Management varies by country and company. The process breadth of TM varies, in summary you want to bring on board, motivate and retain the ‘right’ talent. Effective HR professionals ensure you bring the right people on board and maintain high levels of employee engagement.

3.       Employee Relations - How an organisation’s leaders create a workplace where employees feel that there is a positive employee/employer relationship is the desired outcome where positive, constructive interactions will drive loyal, retained and engaged employees who believe in the organisation’s core values.

4.       Recruitment Management - The core of external recruitment for an organisation, or 4 S’s - Specify, clear job description; Source/Search, process of finding candidates; Screen, all the detailed approaches we use to screen candidates; to select, the process of agreeing and offering a candidate.

5.       Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) – Alignment on how your organisation will lead in areas including diversity in gender, ethnicity, disability; how you will drive a more inclusive workplace where different cultural backgrounds drive expected or normal behaviours in heterogeneous global workforces. Creating a positive workplace culture, fostering inclusion, and ensuring equity are central HR roles.

6.       Reward Management - Reward Management encompasses Compensation and Benefits and Recognition, varying in complexity based on factors like country tax structures. It includes job evaluation, market comparison, pay bands, and incentive structures, aiming for equitable, attractive, and consistent rewards.

7.       Learning and Development – Potential to add significant value to an organisation and yet the most undervalued, misused, misunderstood sub-function of HR. Every organisation requires a level of Capability Development, however focused investment is critical, with alignment of the aspiration.

8.       HR Administration and Employee Service – Manage all necessary administration and employee services, reflecting the organisation’s emphasis on employee value.

9.       Labour Law, Legal, Collective Bargaining, Union Management - Navigate the complexities of labour law and union management, varying by country and context.

10. HR Project Management - Lead HR projects, defining objectives, resourcing, governance, and delivery.

11. HR Systems & IoT – HRIS’s are common in many organisations albeit varying in sophistication and level of integration with technical hardware, e.g. biometric systems. The application varies from managing data, providing insights, data privacy to pushing data to payroll systems.

12. Occupational, Health, Safety and Environment (OHS&E) - Ensure employee well-being and minimise workplace risk through safety policies and standards.

13. Organisation Internal Communication - Partner with the business to communicate key messages, aligning and motivating the team.

14. Expat Management – Manage strategies for hiring or relocating employees internationally.

15. Facilities Management – Occasionally lead facilities management, including office location, ergonomics, and maintenance.

HR Governance and Performance Excellence (HRGPE)

We identified three roles of HR focused on managing the HR Function itself.

1.       HR Financial Management - Align HR strategies, policies, and budgets with the organisation’s financials, monitoring performance and financial impact.

2.       HR Performance Metrics - Based on performance data, develop and lead activities, ensuring continued improvement of relevant aspects of HR performance. (Strategy, People, Processes, Risk (e.g. data and legal cases) & Systems).

3.       HR Project Governance - Ensure effective governance of HR projects, especially when crossing geographical, organisational, or functional boundaries.

HR Innovation and Development (HRID)

We identified three roles of HR focused on managing innovation and development of contributions of the HR Function.

1.       HR Innovation and Creativity - Creative is the ‘tweaking’ or improvement of something already existing, versus innovation which is to drive a new, potentially unheard-of strategy, policy or process, all with the goal of delivery the aspiration and/or employer differentiation.

2.       HR Maturity Continuous Improvement - Assess and develop HR maturity in specific areas, setting clear expectations and delivering development.

3.       Digitisation and Automation - Integrate updated tools and processes, leveraging digital technologies like RPA and AI.

Conclusion: The Strategic Importance of Hiring the Right HR Talent

As companies navigate a competitive business landscape, the need for strategic, high-performing HR talent becomes increasingly crucial ^[4][5][6].. Ensuring that HR responsibilities are aligned with your company’s goals will not only safeguard your organisation’s future but will also fuel its growth.

Practical Takeaway:

For a comprehensive HR strategy, organisations must integrate HR at the leadership level and ensure HR talent aligns with their strategic aspirations. Visit www.HRJobs.world for more insights and best practices on finding the right HR talent or contact Richard.cowley@hrjobs.world for a free consultation.

By understanding the importance of hiring HR professionals with the right experience and contextual understanding, your business can thrive in today's complex environment.

Notes

[1] The evolution of the HR Business Partner by Dave Ulrich -https://strategicleaders.com/evolution-hr-business-partner/

[2] MyHRfuture (2019) – What does it mean to be a HR Business Partner today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VK0axfge4A

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKinsey_%26_Company

[4] Human Resources Management Review (Dec 2023)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053482223000372

[5] ResearchGate (Apr 21) - Human Resources, Its Role in an Organization, and Case Studies In Support

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351072252_Human_Resources_Its_Role_in_an_Organization_and_Case_Studies_In_Support

[6] CIPI Case Studies - See how organisations acted to optimise and support their people strategies

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351072252_Human_Resources_Its_Role_in_an_Organization_and_Case_Studies_In_Support