Human Resource professionals need to assert themselves

ìPeople management professionals need to get off the tight rope once and for all and show their organisations how they can really add valueî, says Paul Turner, Group HR business director, Lloyds TSB and author of HR Forecasting and Planning, published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. According to Turner, the function is going through nothing short of a revolution, from transactional to becoming more strategic.

ìHuman Resource professionals have a key role in engaging in the strategy debate and then bringing it to life. We need to speak with a more confident voice within the organisation shaking off any negative perceptions, ensuring a high level of interface with business managers. Only then will we secure a seat at the top table with a voice equal to that of other functionsî, he says.

Turner believes the demand for strategic input from human resources professionals has arrived; ìCEOs are asking more and more questions about the people aspects of their organisations, and some are still unaware of the evidence that shows how good people management improves company performanceî.

He continues, ìThe human resource function can harness the organisationsí intellectual capital, converting it into organisational learning and then successful strategy. The catalyst needed is change in the personal profile of the HR professionalî.

HR Forecasting and Planning presents a process for ensuring that HR participates in the strategy making process, including the tools and techniques needed. It addresses all of the hurdles to action including:

Where do I begin in getting HR on the strategy agenda?
How do I persuade my organisation to take models on board and include them in my own strategy setting process?
How do I deal with the end-to-end process of HR forecasting and planning?
How do I implement these processes?

Though Turner sees the present as a window of opportunity, through which personnel and training professionals should climb, he warns; ìThe only obstacle to engaging in the strategy debate is HR itself. We must overcome this by making sure we understand the business issues and strategies before we add our own contributionî.

Turner concludes; ìHR professionals nowadays need to be armed with a vast range of competencies. As well as the need to be more strategic, we need the imagination of Stephen Spielberg, the incisiveness of Jeremy Paxman, the interviewing skills of Oprah Winfrey and the skin of a rhinoceros. While for tiptoeing between the political sensitivities of managers, the grace of Darcey Bussell is hardly any less essentialî.

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