Human Resource Competencies

DAVE ULRICH, WAYNE BROCKBANK, DANI JOHNSON & JON

YOUNGER

http://www.hrnorge.no/filestore/HumanResourceCompetenciesRisingtomeetthebusin
esschallenge.pdf
2
Human Resource Competencies | The
RBL Group 2009
Since 1988, we have been working to
track the ever-evolving competencies of
HR professionals. When we began our
work in the mid- 1980s, the primary
effort to study broad-based HR
competencies was by Patricia McLagan,
sponsored by the American Society of
Training and Development (ASTD).
Her work initially examined
competencies of HR development
professionals, and then she generalized
that work to all HR professionals.1 At
the same time, many companies worked
to create their own internal HR
competency models. This work would
generally start by identifying high- and
low-performing HR professionals and
then interviewing these two groups
around critical incidents to determine
which values, knowledge, or abilities
distinguished the two groups in order to
develop competencies that would lead
to high performance.2
Out of these independent efforts grew
many frameworks for HR
competencies, but there were relatively
few efforts to define HR competencies
for HR professionals across firms,
industries, or geographies. We began
our research on competencies with the
desire to resolve three issues:1. Define
the competencies that add the greatest
value to key stakeholders.2. Figure out
how HR professionals develop these
competencies in the fastest and most
effective ways.3. Determine how HR
competencies and HR practices align to
business performance.
To address these issues for the HR
profession, we chose to do a large-scale
survey (Human Resources Competency
Study, or HRCS) of HR professionals
and their HR and non-HR associates.
This work has resulted in five waves of
data collection (1988, 1992, 1997, 2002,
and now 2007).3 At each wave we
used the same basic methodology for
data collection based on a 360
methodology. We sent surveys to HR
professionals (participants), who then
gave them to their colleagues
(associates). These surveys asked about
the competencies and performance of
the HR professional and the
performance of the business where the
HR professional worked. HR profession-
als are being asked to help businesses
compete, and to do so, HR professionals
must not only observe, but also
understand and adapt to these business
trends.
DEMOGRAPHIC RESULTS
The 2007 round, Round 5, of our
research has about 1,700 participants
and 8,300 associate raters in six regions
around the world.4
These respondents represent three
groups:
1. Participating HR professionals
completed the survey in evaluating
themselves.2. HR professionals who
are peers or associates evaluated the
participating HR professionals.3. Non-
HR associates who are generally line
executives and internal customers
evaluated the participating HR
professionals.
These groups provided the opportunity
to look at different perspectives
regarding HR as a profession, the HR
department, and the competencies
needed by HR professionals to be
effective in their organizations.
Since these data represent a large cross
section of the HR profession, we can
make some general observations about
the evolving profession.
Gender. There has been explosive
growth of women in the profession
since 1987. Since we last collected our
data five years ago, this profession
underwent a dramatic change from
being male-dominated to being female-
dominated. However, some of this may
be accounted for by sampling more
global and smaller companies. Gender
scholars who study organizations tell us
that this change has real consequences,
both positive and negative, for the
profession and the future of HR. On the
positive side, the historical bias against
women in the profession has shifted. A
more equal representation of men and
women in a profession often reflects less
tolerance for underperforming men in a
profession, and thus indicates an
increase in quality standards. On the
other hand, the feminization of an
occupation sometimes also leads to
male flight from the occupation,
which can again lower the standards and
quality of employees. In addition, male
flight from an occupation is also typical-
ly related to decreasing prestige and
wages. However, much of what is
known about gender in occupation us
based on data from the late 1990s. The
next round of our own data will be very
important to see whether these Human
Resource Competencies | The RBL
Group 2009 3
trends continue. The gender trends over
the next five years in this profession are
extremely consequential, not just on the
future of our profession but on research
and information about gender in
occupations in a more broad way. We
are optimistic. We believe that the
increasing percentage of women in this
occupation reflects an ongoing
commitment to high quality.
Education. Most of the HR
professionals in this sample have a
college education (78% in Round 5 of
HRCS). While this number has dropped
somewhat compared to previous rounds
of the study (87% in 2002; 90% in
1997), the study continues to draw on
HR professionals with higher
education.5 This may explain the high
performance ratings of HR
professionals in this round. Perhaps our
sample is drawn from the upper end of
the distribution of HR professionals,
both in terms of education and
performance. But it also reflects the
trend of HR becoming a profession.
Management Level of Participant.
We arrayed HR professionals into 4
levels (loosely consistent with four
stages of careers). In Round 5 HRCS
data, we had a larger portion (21%) of
the sample identifying themselves as the
top manager of HR. This may be
because the Round 5 data set has more
small-size firms with fewer HR
professionals, but those in place doing
more director-level work.
Size of Firm. We started the research
focused on larger firms (Rounds 1 and 2
had 39% and 40% of respondents in
firms with over 10,000 employees), but
in the Round 5 data, we wanted to
include greater representation of smaller
firms (20% of respondents in firms with
over 10,000 employees and 31% of
respondent in firms with fewer than 500
employees).
Primary Role of HR Participant. In
the Round 5 data, more HR
professionals (14%) have titles related
to HR strategy or planning. In the last
20 years, more resources have gone into
this role as HR has worked to be more
aligned with business results. The
number of HR professionals doing work
in benefits has declined as E-HR and
Service Centers have streamlined
benefits operations.
THE NEW MODEL OF HR
COMPETENCE
Computers are excellent at crunching
numbers. They are not so good at
interpreting or putting a name on the
numbers. These tasks were left to mere
mortals, and posed a significant
challenge. The data suggested that we
focus not just on the knowledge and
ability of the HR professional, but on
what the HR professional becomes
through the use of that knowledge and
ability. Hence, the six domains sound
almost like the roles played by a fully
competent HR professional. For
example, in the past we referred to the
domain regarding knowledge of the
business simply as Business Knowledge
because an HR professional needs to
have business knowledge. This time, we
chose to call this domain Business Ally
because an HR professional needs to
become a business ally by using his or
her knowledge of the business. We see
HR professionals as needing to know,
but more important, needing to act on
what they know.
Here, then, are quick definitions of the
six competency domains from Round 5
of the HR Competency Study:
1. Credible Activist. The HR
professional is both credible
(respected, admired, listened to) and
active (offers a point of view, takes a
position, challenges assumptions).
Some have called this HR with an
attitude. HR professionals who are
credible but not activists are admired
but do not have much impact.
Activists who are not credible have
ideas that no one implements.2.
Culture and Change Steward. The
HR professional appreciates,
articulates, and helps shape a compa-
nys culture. Culture is a pattern of
activities more than a single event.
Ideally, this culture starts with clarity
around external customer expectations
(firm identity or brand) and then
translates these expectations into
internal employee and organization
behaviors. As stewards of culture, HR
professionals respect the past culture
and also can help to shape a new
culture. They coach managers in how
their actions reflect and drive culture;
they weave the cultural standards into
HR practices and processes; and they
make culture real to employees.
Additionally, successful HR
professionals facilitate change in two
ways. First, they help make culture
happen. SecHuman Resource
Competencies | The RBL Group
2009 4 ond, they develop disciplines
to make changes happen throughout
the organization. This may include
implementation of strategy, projects,
or initiatives. They help turn what is
known into what is done.3. Talent
Manager/Organizational Designer.
The HR professional masters theory,
research, and practice in both talent
management and organization design.
Talent management focuses on
competency requirements and how
individuals enter and move up, across,
or out of the organization.
Organization design focuses on how a
company embeds capability (for
example, collaboration) into the
structure, processes, and policies that
shape how an organization works. HR
professionals ensure that the
companys means of talent
management and organizational ca-
pabilities are aligned with customer
requirements and strategy, integrated
with each other, and working
effectively and efficiently. HR is not
just about talent or organization, but
also about the two of them together.
Good talent without a supporting or-
ganization will not be sustained, and a
good organization will not deliver
results without talented individuals
with the right competencies in critical
roles.4. Strategy Architect. The HR
professional has a vision for how the
organization can win in the mar-
ketplace, now and in the future. He or
she plays an active part in the
establishment of the overall strategy
to deliver on this vision. This means
recognizing business trends and their
impact on the business, forecasting
potential obstacles to success, and
facilitating the process of gaining
strategic clarity. The HR professional
also contributes to the building of the
overall strategy by linking the internal
organization to external customer
expectations. This linkage helps make
customer-driven business strategies
real to the employees of the
company.5. Operational Executor.
The HR professional executes the
operational aspects of managing
people and organizations. Policies
need to be drafted, adapted, and
implemented. Employees also have
many administrative needs (e.g., to be
paid, relocated, hired, and trained).
HR professionals ensure that these
basic needs are efficiently dealt with
through technology, shared services,
and/or outsourcing. This operational
work of HR ensures credibility if
executed flawlessly and grounded in
the consistent application of
policies.6. Business Ally. Businesses
succeed by setting goals and
objectives that respond to external
opportunity and threats. HR
professionals contribute to the success
of a business by knowing the social
context or setting in which their
business operates. They also know
how the business makes money,
which we call the value chain of the
business: who customers are, why
they buy the companys products or
services. Finally, they have a good
understanding of the parts of the
business (finance, marketing, research
Fig 1. HR Competency Model
ORGANIZATION CAPABILITIES
BUSINESS
PEOPLE
SYSTEMS & PROCESSESS
RELATIONSHIPS
PROFESSIONALISMHR Human Resource Competencies | The RBL
Group 2009 5 and development, engineering), what they must accomplish, and
how they work together, so that they can help the business organize to make
money.
The six competency domains lend themselves naturally to a graphic representation,
seen in Figure 1, that captures a number of the models important implications. HR
professionals play a unique role at the intersection of people and business issues.
This is represented by the large arrows or vectors bordering the model. In the midst
of constant change and upheaval, HR professionals serve the organizations
people, communicating care, concern, and compassion for employees. Some have
called this keeping the human in human resources. But marketplace dynamics
also require that HR professionals be attuned to business needs reflected by cus-
tomer and investor expectations by making sure that strategies are designed and
delivered.
Following only one of these two arrows independent of the other will lead to
failure. HR professionals who emphasize the people side at the exclusion of the
business side may be liked and popular, but they will not succeed because their
work does not further business goals. HR professionals who focus on the business
side without sensitivity to the human element also will struggle, because while the
business may prosper in the short term, people will not sustain the success in the
longer term.
Bordered by the people and business arrows, the six competency domains are
arrayed according to our research findings. Credible Activist is at the crux. Cred-
ibility enables the HR professional to relate to people, but being an activist mean
that the HR professional has a point of view about the business and actively
participates in furthering strategic goals. Being a Credible Activist ensures that HR
professionals can both build relationships and deliver on business performance.
KEY FINDINGS
Data without insight is incomplete, like food without taste, driving without a
direction, or going to college without a major. Our research was designed to
discover the competencies required of HR professionals and the capabilities
needed by HR departments to deliver value.
We will base these implications on the data, but we are not bound by it. We will
take the liberty of also drawing on our personal experiences and our aspirations for
the HR profession. Our hope is to project what can and should be for the future of
the HR journey.
IMPLICATIONS FOR HR PROFESSIONALS
The primary focus of our research has been to figure out the competencies that will
help HR professionals have greater impact. Our research suggests nine specific
things HR professionals can do to make this happen.
1. Replace Self-Doubt with Self-Confidence. Generally we are who we think
we are. For too many years, HR professionals have lamented their image and role
as administrators, policy police, and bureaucrats. They wanted to be at the table
where key business decisions were made. HR professionals can definitely be at
the table if they demonstrate the right competencies. Those who lament not being
included in key decisions are, in effect, blaming others for their own lack of what
it takes to contribute. Feeling victimized is a waste of energy; better to direct
efforts toward mastering the competencies we have identified and get on with
growing their contribution.2. Develop an Inside and Outside View. HR
professionals need to have a broader definition of how they add value. Value is
defined by the receiver more than the giver, and too often the only perceived
receivers of HR are employees and line managers inside the organization. We
often ask groups of HR professionals, Who are your customers? All too
frequently, the answer is, Employees throughout the company. True, but not
complete. We found that the best HR departments focused equally on those
inside the company (employees and line managers) and those outside the
company (customers, investors, and communities). HR professionals can and
should bring investor and customer data to strategy discussions. They can link
their programs and activities with those outside the firm as well as those inside
the firm. They are not just the designers and developers of HR policies and
practices that affect employees, but business people whose practices affect all
stakeholders. As we look to the future, those stakeholders will increasingly
include investors, customers, communities, and partners (joint venture alliances)
where HR professionals connect what happens inside their organizations with
stakeholders outside.Human Resource Competencies | The RBL Group 2009
6 3. Share Accountability for People and Organization with Line Managers.
We found that for the most part HR professionals and non-HR respondents had
similar views of HR excellencewith a couple of major exceptions. First, non-
HR respondents included rewards in the equation for Talent
Manager/Organization Designer; HR professionals did not include rewards in
this equation. We side with the non-HR respondents. Performance measures,
rewards, and benefits should not be excluded from other talent and organization-
design practices. Hiring and training people on one set of criteria, then paying
them on another only creates confusion. The second area where non-HR
associates differed somewhat from HR participants is the use of customer
information. Non-HR associates tended to see HR professionals needing to be
more aligned with external customers.4. Focus on Individuals and
Organizations (not one or the other). The data in this round of the study
support what we have long known intuitively: Great individual talent without a
strong organization will not endure. It is tempting to make HR professionals
solely the guardians of talent. Terms like human capital, competencies,
intellectual capital, talentship, workforce planning, and people processes all focus
on talent. Much of the theory and logic of HR comes from psychology, where the
focus is on the individual. People are important, and talent, human capital, and
workforce planning are essential for the success of any company. But if the talent
within an organization doesnt embody and perpetuate the right organization
capabilities, HR professionals have not done their jobs. All-star teams could
seldom beat well-organized teamsand the game of business is mostly a team
sport.5. Serve People and Deliver on Business Results. The synthesis of our
research, suggests that if/when HR professionals become masters on the people
axis, but not on the business axis, they have a skewed and flawed view of their
world. They care about people more than business. HR professionals need to
understand business and make business results happen. To contribute to business,
HR professionals must become Business Allies. HR professionals who want to
contribute must speak the language of their respective businesses.6. Accomplish
Both Transactional and Transformational Work. HR departments have more
impact on the business when they manage three areas of HR: organization, talent,
and administration. While organization and talent have a higher correlation to
business results in our research, the administrative work also matters. In the
Operational Executor domain, we found that HR professionals need to ensure
that technology and HR policies are executed flawlessly. HR professionals need
to be able to deliver on day-to-day plans while also configuring long-term
strategies. But getting work done well and doing work well are two different
things. Doing the work well is as critical as getting the work done. It is not as
critical to do the work as to ensure that it is done well.7. Shift from Politics to
Collaboration. At the heart of the Credible Activist domain is the ability to
perform work with integrity. Integrity means having and living against a personal
standard of ethics. It also means building trust and credibility into each
interaction. Too often, differences of opinion among people or departments lead
to political infighting either among those in HR or between different departments
within an organization. HR professionals need to model how to work together to
create organizations that win. While HR can offer any staff group insights on its
talent and capability, it can partner with certain staff groups in specific ways. For
example: With marketing, HR can help turn a firm brand into an organization
culture; with finance, HR can help define the intangibles that investors value in
specific and measurable ways; with IT, HR can make sure that enterprise-wide
systems are implemented and that data is used for decision making.8. Support
Others and Have a Point of View. In the movie The Candidate, a long shot won
the election and became senator. Then, with a frightened look on his face, he
asked, Now what do we do? Getting invited to participate in strategic decision
making is easier than contributing to it. HR professionals need to come to
meetings informed and able to engage in the give-and-take of decision-making.
They need to stop playing the stereotypical role of speaking only when spoken
to or offering observations only on narrowly defined HR topics. Ideally, if an
outsider were observing the manHuman Resource Competencies | The RBL
Group 2009 7 agement team, it would not be immediately apparent who the
HR professional is. At the same time, when HR issues arise, the HR professional
needs to not only provide informed input to the team, but define alternative
courses of action and make and defend reasoned recommendations.9. Invest in
Personal Growth. Finally, HR professionals who succeed will be constantly
learning and growing. HR professionals are often the cobblers children who lack
good shoes. While designing training and development experiences for others,
HR professionals often under-invest in themselves.
CONCLUSION
The business context required to succeed has raised the bar on HR professionals.
HR professionals who would have succeeded 30, 20, or even 10 years ago would
not be as likely to succeed today. HR professionals are expected to play new roles,
and to be able to play those roles, they need new competencies. As a result of the
Human Resource Competency Study, we have a greater understanding of the
competencies needed by HR professionals and agendas needed by HR departments
to affect business performance.
NOTES
1. McLagan, P., & Bedrick, D. (1983). Models for excellence: The results of the
ASTD training and development study. Training and Development, 37(6), 1020.
McLagan, P., & Suhadolnik, D. (1989). Models for HRD practice: The research
report. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development.
McLagan, P. (1996, January). Competency models. Training and Development,
50(1), 6064.
2. An exception to the within-company work was the work done by Patricia
McLagan for American Society for Training and Development in 1983. This
important study documented the variety of possible roles for human resource
professionals and examined the detailed competencies for those involved in
training and development. McLagan, P., & Bedrick, D. (1983). Models for
excellence: The results of the ASTD training and development study. Training and
Development, 37(6), 1020. HR professionals must earn their credibility by
building relationships of trust, but they then must take an active stance to make a
difference in results. McLagan, P., & Suhadolnik, D. (1989). Models for HRD
practice: The research report. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and
Development.
3. The work we have done has been published in many places over the last 20
years. A few of those publications include Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., & Yeung, A.
(1990). Beyond belief: A benchmark for human resources. Human Resource
Management, 28(3), 311335. Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Yeung, A., & Lake, D.
(1995). Human resource competencies: An empirical assessment. Human Resource
Management, 34(4), 473496. Yeung, A., Brockbank, W., & Ulrich, D. (1994).
Lower cost, higher value: Human resources function in transition. Human
Resource Planning Journal, 17(3), 116. Brockbank, W., & Ulrich, D. (2003).
Competencies for the new HR. Arlington, VA: Society of Human Resource
Management. Brockbank, B., & Ulrich, D. (in press). HR competencies that make
a difference. In J. Storey, P. Wright, & D. Ulrich (Eds.), Strategic HRM. New
York: Routledge.
4. We are grateful for the support of our global partners:
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a partner in 2002 and 2007,
who represented North America;
IAE, the Management and Business School of Universidad Austral in Argentina,
a partner in 2002 and 2007, headed by Professor Alejandro Sioli and Michel
Hermans. IAE represented Latin America;
The Irish Management Institute (IME), headed by Martin Farrelly, with the
assistance of Grace Kearns, representing Europe; Human Resource
Competencies: Responding to Increased Expectations
Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, headed by Dr. Xiaoming Zheng and Dr.
Felicia Deng;
The Australian Human Resource Institute (AHRI), who worked in Australia and
Asia Pacific, headed by Paul Dainty, with the assistance of Anne Marie Dolan;
and
The National HRD Network in India, which focused on data collection from
India, headed by Jagdeep Khandpur.
These regional partners took responsibility to identify companies in their
geographies and were instrumental in facilitating data collection and analysis. This
study would be impossible without their collaboration, and we are very grateful for
their active involvement.
5. We should note that in the 2007 study, we had seven categories for education
and we combined them to match previous rounds of the study.
Competence (human resources)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear
because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this
article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2010)
Competence (or competency) is the ability of an individual to do a job properly.
A competency is a set of defined behaviors that provide a structured guide enabling
the identification, evaluation and development of the behaviors in individual
employees. The term "competence" first appeared in an article authored by R.W.
White in 1959 as a concept for performance motivation. Later, in 1970, Craig C.
Lundberg defined the concept in "Planning the Executive Development Program".
The term gained traction when in 1973, David McClelland, Ph.D. wrote a seminal
paper entitled, "Testing for Competence Rather Than for Intelligence". It has since
been popularized by one-time fellow McBer & Company (Currently the "Hay
Group") colleague Richard Boyatzis and many others, such as T.F. Gilbert (1978)
who used the concept in relationship to performance improvement. Its use varies
widely, which leads to considerable misunderstanding.
Some scholars see "competence" as a combination of knowledge, skills and
behavior used to improve performance; or as the state or quality of being
adequately or well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role. For
instance, management competency might include systems thinking and emotional
intelligence, and skills in influence and negotiation.
Competency is also used as a more general description of the requirements of
human beings in organizations and communities.
Competency is sometimes thought of as being shown in action in a situation and
context that might be different the next time a person has to act. In emergencies,
competent people may react to a situation following behaviors they have
previously found to succeed. To be competent a person would need to be able to
interpret the situation in the context and to have a repertoire of possible actions to
take and have trained in the possible actions in the repertoire, if this is relevant.
Regardless of training, competency would grow through experience and the extent
of an individual to learn and adapt.
Competency has different meanings, and continues to remain one of the most
diffuse terms in the management development sector, and the organizational and
occupational literature.
[1]

Contents
1 Dreyfus and Dreyfus on competency development
2 McClelland and Occupational Competency
3 Competency identification
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
Dreyfus and Dreyfus on competency development
Dreyfus and Dreyfus
[2]
introduced nomenclature for the levels of competence in
competency development. The causative reasoning of such a language of levels of
competency may be seen in their paper on Calculative Rationality titled, "From
Socrates to Expert Systems: The Limits and Dangers of Calculative Rationality".
The five levels proposed by Dreyfus and Dreyfus were:
1. Novice: Rule-based behaviour, strongly limited and inflexible
2. Experienced Beginner: Incorporates aspects of the situation
3. Practitioner: Acting consciously from long-term goals and plans
4. Knowledgeable practitioner: Sees the situation as a whole and acts from
personal conviction
5. Expert: Has an intuitive understanding of the situation and zooms in on the
central aspects
The process of competency development is a lifelong series of doing and
reflecting. As competencies apply to careers as well as jobs, lifelong competency
development is linked with personal development as a management concept. And
it requires a special environment, where the rules are necessary in order to
introduce novices, but people at a more advanced level of competency will
systematically break the rules if the situations requires it. This environment is
synonymously described using terms such as learning organization, knowledge
creation, self-organizing and empowerment.
Within a specific organization or professional community, professional
competency, is frequently valued. They are usually the same competencies that
must be demonstrated in a job interview. But today there is another way of looking
at it: that there are general areas of occupational competency required to retain a
post, or earn a promotion. For all organizations and communities there is a set of
primary tasks that competent people have to contribute to all the time. For a
university student, for example, the primary tasks could be:
Handling theory
Handling methods
Handling the information of the assignment
The four general areas of competency are:
1. Meaning Competency: The person assessed must be able to identify with the
purpose of the organization or community and act from the preferred future
in accordance with the values of the organization or community.
2. Relation Competency: The ability to create and nurture connections to the
stakeholders of the primary tasks must be shown.
3. Learning Competency: The person assessed must be able to create and look
for situations that make it possible to experiment with the set of solutions
that make it possible to complete the primary tasks and reflect on the
experience.
4. Change Competency: The person assessed must be able to act in new ways
when it will promote the purpose of the organization or community and
make the preferred future come to life.
McClelland and Occupational Competency
The Occupational Competency movement was initiated by David McClelland in
the 1960s with a view to moving away from traditional attempts to describe
competency in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and to focus instead on the
specific self-image, values, traits, and motive dispositions (i.e. relatively enduring
characteristics of people) that are found to consistently distinguish outstanding
from typical performance in a given job or role. It should be noted that different
competencies predict outstanding performance in different roles, and that there is a
limited number of competencies that predict outstanding performance in any given
job or role. Thus, a trait that is a "competency" for one job might not predict
outstanding performance in a different role.
Nevertheless, as can be seen from Raven and Stephenson,
[3]
there have been
important
[peacock term]
developments in research relating to the nature, development,
and assessment of high-level competencies in homes, schools, and workplaces.
Competency identification
Competencies required for a post are identified through job analysis or task
analysis, using techniques such as the critical incident technique, work diaries, and
work sampling.
[4]
A future focus is recommended for strategic reasons.
[5]

Individual employees' competencies are assessed through a variety of techniques.
[6]

See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competence_%28human_resources%29
Skills, Competencies Needed For A Manager HR - Resource Management
http://www.citehr.com/5140-skills-competencies-needed-manager-hr.html
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www.Facebook.com
hemaa Started The Discussion: Hi,

On a role change from an HR Executive position to a Manager position:

What are the main Competencies, Skills & knowledge needed? To make this
transition to a higher responsibility how does one equip oneself?

Can someone throw light on this?

Thanx
Hemaa


[ leolingham2000 ] Member Since: Apr 2005 (Senior Member)
SOME USEFUL INFORMATION ON HR COMPETENCES AND
HR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT



AS YOU BUILD / DEVELOP YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE,
YOU NEED TO KNOW

-YOUR APTITUDE
-YOUR PASSION FOR SELECTED SUBJECTS
-YOUR KEEN INTEREST AREAS
-YOUR ASPIRATION [ up the ladder in the organization or expert consultant in
selected areas].

HR MANAGER'S ACTIVITIES, ROLES, COMPETENCES.

1. HR MANAGER'S ACTIVTIES.

The activities carreied out by HR MANAGER will vary widely
according to the needs of the organization, the context within
which they work and their own capabilites.

SERVICE

As a broad guideline, the HR provide services to the organization
-human resource planning
-recruitment / selection
-employee development
-reward systems
-employee relations
-health/safety management
-staff amenities
-salary administration
-personnel administration
etc etc.

GUIDANCE

To varying degrees, HR MANAGERS provide guidance to the
management, like

-recommendations on HR STRATEGIES
-culture change
-approaches to the improvements of process capability
-performance management
-reward management
-HR policies/ procedures
etc

ADVICE

HR managers provide advice to line managers, and management
in general

-recruitment advertising
-selection short lists
-training needs
-health/ safety
-handling people / problems associated
-industrial relations
etc etc


2. ROLES

As we digest the activities, it leads us to the ROLE OF
HR MANAGER.

HR MANAGER plays different roles.

BUSINESS PARTNER ROLE.

-share responsibility with their line management for the success
of the business and the running of the business.

STRATEGIST ROLE

-contribute to the long term / strategic organizational issues like

*people selection
*people requirement
*people development
*organization development
*quality of worklife
etc

INTERVENTIONIST ROLE

-proactively contributes to the change management, people
management, team development, new technology introduction
etc etc


INTERNAL CONSULTANCY ROLE

-acts as a management consultant on HR ISSUES working
alongside the line managers.


MONITORING ROLE

-monitors the implementation of HR policies / procedures.


3. COMPETENCIES.

The analysis of the activities and the roles leads us to
the question

WHAT ARE THE COMPETENCIES REQUIRED FOR A
SUCCESSFUL HR MANAGER?

The suggested competencies are

-initative

-personal effectiveness

-human relations handling skills

-leadership skills

-professional knowledge of HR

-adding value through people development

-continuing learning

-strategic thinking capability

-influencing
-negotiating skills

-interpersonal skills

-business / culture awareness

-service delivery

-communication [ oral/ written ]

-presentation

etc

ROLE / COMPETENCE MATRIX


STRATEGIC PARTNER
Organizational Awareness
Problem Solving
Customer Service
Stress Tolerance
Oral Communication
-----------------------------------
LEADER
Decision Making
Planning & Evaluation
Conflict Management
Self-Management
Self-Esteem
Oral Communication
--------------------------------
EMPLOYEE CHAMPION
Flexibility
Teaching Others
Learning
Interpersonal Skills
Oral Communication
-------------------------------------
TECHNICAL EXPERT
Technical Competence
Legal, Government, &
Jurisprudence
Personnel & Human Resources
Information Management
Mathematical Reasoning*
--------------------------------------
Customer Service
Writing
Reading
Memory
Attention to Detail
Oral Communication
-----------------------------------
CHANGE CONSULTANT
Teamwork
Reasoning
Influencing/Negotiating
Integrity/Honesty
Creative Thinking





HR KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

As HR management becomes more and more complex, greater demands are placed
on individuals who make the HR field their career specialty. It is useful to know
about the competencies required for effective HR management.

A wide variety of jobs can be performed in HR departments. As a firm
grows large enough to need someone to focus primarily on HR activities, the
role of the HR generalist emerges that is, a person who has responsibility
for performing a variety of HR activities. Further growth leads to adding
HR specialists who have in depth knowledge and expertise in a limited area.
Intensive knowledge of an activity such as. benefits, testing, training, or affirma
tive action compliance typifies the work of HR specialists.

Changes in the HR field are leading to changes in the competencies and
capabilities of individuals concentrating on HR management. The development of
broader competencies by HR professionals will ensure that HR management plays
a strategic role in organizations. The following sets of capabilities are important for
HR professionals:

* Knowledge of business and organization
* Influence and change management
* Specific HR knowledge and expertise

Knowledge of Business and Organization

HR professionals must have knowledge of the organization and its strategies if
they are to contribute strategically. This knowledge also means that they must have
understanding of the financial, technological, and other facets of the industry and
the organization. As illustration, in some organizations the top HR executive jobs
are being filled by individuals who have been successful operations managers, but
have never worked in HR. The thinking behind such a move is that good strategic
business managers can rely on the HR specialists reporting to them, while bringing
a performance oriented, strategic view of HR management to the top of the
organization. In other organizations, top HR managers have come up through HR
specialties, and have demonstrated that they understand broader business and
strategic realities, not just HR management functional issues.
Knowledge Base
-Strategic planning/ HRM role.
-Political changes impact
-Economic changes impact
-Social changes impact
-Technology changes impact
-Workforce availability/ Quality
-Growth in contingent workforce
-Demographic issues
-Work / family balancing
-Organizational Restructuring
-Occupational shifts
-Global competition
-Business Process reengineering
-Financial responsibility for HR results.
-Intellectual capital
ETC.

Influence and Change Management
Another key capability that HR professionals need is to be able to influence others
and to guide changes in organizations. Given the many HR related changes
affecting today's organizations, HR professionals must be able to influence others.

Knowledge Base
-sales ability
-persuasion skills
-presentation skills
-negotiation skills
-interpersonal relations skills
-change, change, change.



HR Specific Knowledge

The idea that "liking to work with people" is the major qualification necessary for
success in HR is one of the greatest myths about the field. It ignores the technical
knowledge and education needed. Depending on the job, HR professionals may
need considerable knowledge about employment law, tax laws, finance, statistics,
or information systems. In all cases, they need extensive knowledge about equal
employment opportunity regulations and wage/hour regulations.

This outline reveals the breadth and depth of knowledge necessary for HR
professionals. Additionally, those who want to succeed in the field must update
their knowledge continually. Reading HR / MANAGEMENT publications /
websites is one way to stay informed.

Strategic Management .Knowledge Of.

1.lawmaking and administrative regulatory processes .

2. internal and external environmental scanning techniques.

3.strategic planning process and implementation .

4.organizational social responsibility (for example, welfare to work, philanthropy,
alliances with community based organizations).

5.management processes and functions , including marketing/sales/distribution etc.

6. techniques to sustain creativity and innovation.
================================================== =
Workforce planning and Employment .Knowledge of:

7.Central /state/local. employment related laws and regulations .

8.immigration law (for example, visas for overseas employees]

9. quantitative analyses required to assess past and future staffing (for example,
cost benefit analysis, costs per hire, selection ratios, adverse impact).

10. recruitment methods and sources

11.staffing alternatives (for example, telecommuting, outsourcing)

12 planning techniques (for example, succession planning, HR forecasting)

13.reliability and validity of selection tests/tools/methods.

14 use and interpretation of selection tests (for example, psychological/personality,
cognitive, and motor/physical assessments).

15. interviewing techniques .

16 relocation practices.

17 impact of compensation and benefits plans on recruitment and retention .

18 international HR and implications of international workforce for workforce
planning and employment.

19 downsizing and outplacement .

20 internal workforce planning and employment policies, practices, and
procedures.

Human Resource Development: Knowledge of.

21.applicable international, central, state, and local laws and regulations regarding
copyrights and patents .

22 human resource development theories and applications (including career
development and leadership development)

23 organizational development theories and applications.

24 training methods, program, and techniques (design, objectives, methods, etc.).

25 employee involvement strategies .

26 task/process analysis .

27 performance appraisal and performance management methods.

28 applicable international issues (for example, culture, local management
approaches/ practices, societal norms) .

30 techniques to assess HRD program effectiveness (for Example, satisfaction,
learning and job performance of program participants, and organizational
outcomes such as turnover and productivity).



Compensation and Benefits .Knowledge of.

31.Central, state, and local compensation and benefits laws.

32 accounting practices related to compensation and benefits (for example excess
group term life, compensatory time)

33 job evaluation methods

34 job pricing and Pay structures

35 incentive and variable Pay methods

36 executive compensation

37.non cash compensation methods (for example, stock option plans).

38 benefits needs analysis i.e, life insurance, pension,

39 benefit plans (for example, health insurance, education, health club)

40 international compensation laws and practices (for example, expatriate
compensation, socialized medicine, mandated retirement)


Employee and Labour relations . Knowledge of

41.applicable federal, state, and local laws affecting employment in union and non
union environments, such as anti discrimination laws, sexual harassment, labor
relations, and privacy

42 techniques for facilitating positive employee relations (for example, small group
facilitation, dispute resolution, and labor/management cooperative strategies and
programs)

43 employee involvement strategies(for example, alternate work schedules, work
teams)

44 individual employment rights issues and practices (for example, employment at
will, negligent hiring, defamation, employees' rights to bargain collectively)

45.workplace behavior issues/practices (for example, absenteeism, discipline)

46.methods for assessment of employee attitudes, opinions, and satisfaction (for
example, opinion surveys, attitude surveys, focus panels)

47 unfair labor practices .

48 the collective bargaining process, strategies, and concepts (up to and after
contract)

49 public sector labor relations issues and practices.

50. expatriation and repatriation issues and practices .


51.employee and labor relations for local nationals[ i.e. labour
relations in other countries).

b

Occupational health,safety,and security. Knowledge of.

52 .Central, state, and local workplace health and safety laws and
regulations (for example, OSHA, Drug Free Workplace ]

53 workplace injury and occupational illness compensation laws and programs (for
example, worker's compensation)

54 investigation procedures of workplace safety, health, and security enforcement
agencies (for example, OSHA)

55 workplace safety risks

56 workplace security risks (for example, theft, corporate espionage, information
systems/technology, and vandalism)

57 potential violent behavior and workplace violence conditions .

58 general health and safety practices (for example, fire evacuation,
HAZMAT[hazardous materials], ergonomic evaluations)

59 incident and emergency response plans .

60 internal investigation and surveillance techniques .

61 Employee Assistance Programs .

62 employee wellness programs .

63 issues related to chemical use and dependency (for example, identification of
symptoms, drug testing, discipline) .
CORE Knowledge Required by HR Professionals

64 needs assessment and analysis .

65 third party contract management, including development of requests for
proposals

66 communication strategies .

67 documentation requirements .

68 adult learning processes .

69 motivation concepts and applications .

70 training methods .

71 leadership concepts and applications.

72 project management concepts and applications

73 diversity concepts and applications.

74 human relations concepts and applications (for example, interpersonal and
organizational behavior) .

75 HR ethics and professional standards .

76 technology and human resource information systems (HRIS) to support
HR activities .

77 qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for analysis, interpretation, and
decision making purposes .

78 change management .

79 liability and risk management .

80 job analysis and job description methods.

81 employee records management (for example, retention, disposal)
82 the interrelationships among HR activities and programs across
functional areas.



REGARDS

LEO LINGHAM


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[ hemaa ] Member Since: Jun 2004 (Contributing Member)
Thank You, Lingham. This was one of the best posts & help mail I have seen in
Cite HR. This really set the platform for my learning. Appreciate your time and
views.


[ shridhar Sanil ] Member Since: Sep 2005 (Contributing Member)
Dear Lingham, You have done a great work. The efforts put by you will really the
help people wanting to raise to HR Managers position. Well done.


[ sdd ] Member Since: Dec 2005 (Contributing Member)
Dear Lingham sir,

The information stated by you is quite helpful. It is a thorough outline of HR
practices--Basic responsibilities,knowledge to be get to work on such a responsible
post.

Thanka once again.

Sadhana


[ umalme ] Member Since: Dec 2004 (Contributing Member)
Linghams posts contribution are always details oriented and meaning ful and self
realizing for hr proffessionals. kudos to you, umalme


[ Rajat Joshi ] Member Since: Oct 2007 (Senior Member)
Leo,

We do really appreciate your posts and it is indeed our pleasure to have you on
board in this forum.

All your postings on various topics have taken our learnings & understanding of
HR to higher platform!!

Thank you so much for taking time & efforts for educating us.

Regards,

Rajat


[ umalme ] Member Since: Dec 2004 (Contributing Member)
Yes, there has been fragmmented ideas on the subject and i always believe in
appreciating people even randon thoughts on the subject. As nature nurtures itself
us to adapt to it even how much we oppose or dispose or disassociate but struggle
to survive.
Continuing Here can we have some good selected text references on modern
human resource management practices off course not hard liners.

kind regards,

umalme


[ sundarraj ] Member Since: Dec 2007
Re:Your wonderful posting

Mr.Lingham(h.r)

I would like to thank u personally for posting such an wounderful information an
helping all your juniors to gain knowledge on h.r.

Really ur an great H.R ur company is gifted Lingham(h.r)

Thiba


[ Archana Pant ] Member Since: Jun 2009
Dear Mr. Lingam, This is one of the most detailed and comprehensive posts I have
read on the subject. I am sure many of us will find it very useful. Thanks and
Regards Archana Pant

attribution http://www.citehr.com/5140-skills-competencies-needed-manager-hr-
resource-management.html#ixzz2N0IFBMS7

Examples of Core Competencies of a Human Resource Manager
by Regina Anaejionu, Demand Media
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-core-competencies-human-resource-
manager-10027.html

Related Articles
Primary Responsibilities of a Human Resource Manager
How Do Companies Define Core Competencies?
Examples of Changing Core Competencies
Examples of Human Resource Diversity
What Core Competencies Give an Organization Competitive Advantage?
What Are the Functions of Human Resource Managers?

The core competencies of a human resource manager are the attributes essential to
success in this position. Human resource managers who hold certain core
competencies have a competitive edge over those that dont and give the business
they work for a competitive advantage in their industry.
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Negotiation Skills
Effective human resource managers have communication and relationship skills
that allow them to negotiate win-win situations for the company and the employees
they hire. Whether large or small, each business has certain constraints on its
budget for salary, benefits and placement for employees. Workers too, have certain
needs and minimums that must be met. Human resource managers listen to the
needs and even unspoken desires of employees and help the company exceed those
requirements without stretching itself too thin; they know creative ways to
accommodate each partys needs. Improving working conditions for employees
isnt always expensive, it can often be as simple as rearranging furniture, ordering
supplies that workers prefer, reorganizing a workspace or providing updated
technology.
Job Knowledge
Human resources is an information-heavy field; companies must comply with
labor laws, safety concerns, health issues and local, state and federal policies that
change regularly. A must-have core competency for successful human resource
managers is the ability to stay updated on legislation related to employment and to
be cognizant of violations, harassment or hardships that employees undergo. The
dissatisfaction many workers feel on the job is due to conditions that are hard to
detect but can cause disgruntled employees to be less productive and to eventually
leave their jobs. Core competencies relating to detailed job and industry knowledge
help human resource managers find and eliminate problems that cause unfavorable
working conditions for employees.
Qualified Recruitment
In human resources, qualifying is the process of narrowing down potential
applicants to the prospects that can best fill all open and future job opportunities.
This may include finding candidates from college campuses, other companies or
people who hold certain interests and skill sets. Recruitment core competencies
mean that human resource managers limit the money a company spends on
marketing to, or attracting, unsuitable workers, while still finding skilled
applicants.
Effective Training
The human resources department is often responsible for creating the training
programs that help employees fulfill their daily job functions, advance to other
positions within the company or respond well to company changes and industry
shifts. Human resource managers must have the ability to foresee the training
needs of their company and develop materials that a wide range of employees will
respond well to. With a range of learning styles and interests in the workforce,
human resource managers must tailor workshops, communication and training to
meet employee needs.
Influential Power
Leadership, or the ability to influence people, is a core competency of human
resource managers. They must be able to motivate employees and show them how
to excel at their jobs, embrace change and make ethical decisions. During difficult
transitions in a company, such as new management or major layoffs, a human
resource managers ability to train and influence employees to stay on course is
essential to a companys productivity and to individual employees job satisfaction
.
http://www.alaska.edu/hrtraining/sw-resources/skillsoft/maps/hr_manager.pdf