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Human resource practitioners have become an important component of a smoothly run businessThe face of business pre-1994 was, in most instances, predictably that of a middle-aged white male. Democracy prompted an evolution that continues to change the way we do business and shape the country’s ability to compete on the global market: basically, changing the way we look at the world.
Highlighting the key functions within a business, large portions of the last decade have been represented by the enthusiastic marketing face, the smiling public relations (PR) face, the altruistic corporate social responsibility (CSR) face and, most recently, the youthful search engine optimisation (SEO) face. None serves to represent the key to sustainable success quite like the ever changing face of human resources (HR).
The importance of HR practitioners in an organisation has emerged as a necessary component to meet the demands of business, as well as keeping up with trends in the market. Once charged only with procedural matters and workplace justice, HR has evolved into a strategic business development tool.
While there is no expiry date on maintaining human rights in the workplace, HR is at the forefront of changing the workforce, replacing outdated business strategies, and shaping the South African economy as a whole.
The organisational strategy for most businesses is to sustain and capitalise on high employee performance for efficacy and global competitiveness. The challenges for HR to maximise performance are twofold.
On the one hand, HR has had to extend its portfolio to not only employing qualified, experienced staff, but also to attract, retain and motivate employee talent.
On the other hand, companies have begun to recognise that they, too, need to compete with their direct and indirect competition to not only establish their brand or service in the minds of their target market, but also in the minds of prospective job seekers to be able to attract the right people.
It is true that the future of a business is largely attributed to the strength of the staff. Talent management has become all important due to the recent global economic meltdown. Many organisations were forced to review their employment procedures and, in many cases, downsize their staff complement.
The trend toward streamlining, the migration to the Internet as a primary marketplace, and replacing traditional procedures with suitable technology have made it all the more important for HR to retain key skills and manage talent for businesses to survive in today’s economy.
Choosing the wrong candidate can be costly and time consuming. By identifying talent in job seekers, HR is instrumental in exercising one of the most productive and cost-effective ways of employing staff in the long term. While skills can easily be modified – and training is essential to orientate them into their roles – talent cannot be manufactured.
What has emerged from this recent overhaul is a qualified, experienced ‘working class’ who has recognised the change and has adjusted its expectations of a prospective employer to go beyond simply remuneration. In essence, the “Job Wanted” sign now comes with a revised “Terms and Conditions” section.
For most professionals, the drive to find work has been replaced with a drive to further their career. Satisfying their overall career goals, organisations that want to attract key staff have had to expand their offering to meet the needs and wants of job seekers.
Employees are now looking for growth prospects within an organisation, a suitable company culture, adequate training and feedback, opportunities for expansion and leadership, rewards, incentives, transparent management systems, and flexible working hours.
HR practitioners are at the forefront of brokering the right deal between a business and a talented candidate, all at the best price. It is the insurance that all parties involved are contributing to the overall success of an organisation.
The importance of HR practitioners is further emphasised with respect to the specific challenges that face South African businesses. HR practitioners are, in effect, bridging the gap between a problematic skills shortage and the existing workforce. The 16 years since democracy have made it impossible to ignore the gaps that exist in the workplace due to discrimination.
The HR strategy in business is crucial for ensuring a target-driven black economic empowerment policy to ensure that businesses fully represent the national diversity of talent and skills that exist within the country.
Managing and motivating people to meet organisational goals have, by extension, raised the bar for HR professionals. Going over and above problem solving and change management, HR has been charged with creating a new business culture, one that involves developing an ‘entrepreneurial class’ of employees who are provided with the training and opportunities to create their own sustainable employment in the long term.
In many instances, loyalty has been replaced with a business arrangement whereby employees are given the skills to take initiative, increase their own buy-in to a company’s products and services and augment job satisfaction to maximise performance while they are employed by the company, as well as simultaneously ensuring that the employee’s overall career objectives are being met.
It is then logical that HR strategies must include the identification of leadership abilities, the development of skills and talent in an innovative way, developing a performance management system that rewards staff in line with the company objectives, and forging a company culture and value proposition which results in external customer loyalty and internal job satisfaction.
This transformation in the role of HR practitioners requires strong leadership to bring about sustainable change in business.
For practitioners to be effective, they must have a fundamental knowledge of the business, as well as financial, strategic and technological capability to build and grow the organisation’s competitive advantage that cannot easily be replicated.
Tasked with facing the challenges that present themselves in the marketplace, HR has cemented itself as a fundamental business strategy – the importance of which is always in line with an organisation’s ability to succeed in a dynamic environment.
Whichever way you look at it, the business environment is undergoing a much needed makeover at the hands of forward-thinking HR practitioners and the company they keep, ensuring that the changing face of business is always looking up.
Taryn Springhall
