HROTodayGlobal

Transformations Professional Is Personal Charting career paths through the transformed HR model. By Simon Brown People at work are motivated most by personal development, including career progression. Next comes leadership (the quality of their boss), followed by fair pay and recognition. So it really does make sense to take care and spend time when launching your HR transformation model to map out career path and progression for your HR community. Many organisations make the mistake of rushing forward with the technical aspects of their go-live plan, and forget to give the right level of attention to these areas. They focus on the mechanics but forget the organics, which enable the model to live and breathe going forward. A number of myths persist about how HR shared services cuts off the opportunity for growth—that it reduces skills to a basic entry level in a repetitive, contact-centre world. Images of the bustling noisy environment of a call centre, such as portrayed in the international bestselling movie SlumDog Millionaire stick in the nightmare imagination of any HR generalists being prepared like lambs to the slaughter for the transition into the new HR model. Perceptions of de-skilling abound as they envisage a flat structure of repetitive transactional work with no opportunity for progression to more stretching assignments. They see the stairway to "HR director heaven" seemingly chopped down at the first step. The Twin Fears HR generalists are torn. On one hand, they have the fear of having to let go of some of their smorgasbord of activities—as these get channelled into subject and process matter silos, centres of excellence (COEs) or shared service centres (SSCs). On the other hand, they fear being asked to get strategic as an equal partner at the business leadership team level, and contract and consult for top table business, versus being an executive concierge pair of hands. Scary stuff. How can we ever become a strategic HR business partner (SHRBP) if we are thrown into the HR shared services pit? Where do we get the skills to work as an SHRBP when we don't get the strategy bit, and have never been given the equipment to hold our own as equal partners to VPs, managing directors, and CEOs? Often, these fears and concerns remain unanswered by an HR transformation deployment team whose primary attention is caught up in project management office work. They're just trying to roll out the new processes and install the upgraded enterprise resource planning solution. Sometimes the environment is such that the questions don't even get asked for fear of reprisals, or challenging the integrity of the "King's new suit of clothes." But the reality is this: If you want to retain and motivate your existing talent pool and attract new talent into your transforming [44] HRO TODAY GLOBAL | SUMMER 2011 HR model, do not ignore answering the questions about personal development and career progression, and do answer these questions honestly and concretely. Paint the picture, and create a tangible reality of a new HR model which is not just a blueprint or fixed snapshot, but an organic entity full of energy, realistic aspiration, and real life examples of individual success. An Action List So what can we do to create clarity about personal development and career progression? Here are some tips and techniques based on my own experiences of what can and has been done: This is new for them, unchartered waters. They are bound to be apprehensive about letting go of what they already know and do well, even if positively excited about new horizons and new challenges. Often the traditional HR hierarchy ladder of a single unit/single country HR team consisted of HR administrator to HR officer to HR consultant/advisor to HR manager to HR director to HR VP. A clear and obvious line of sight of progression, up from the first rung on the ladder to the top. The tiered model in the transformed HR organisation changes some of that with the advocacy of subject-matter specialties, versus the generalist portfolio, and the different focuses of transactional excellence, strategic thinking, and senior-level business operations. So think about how you can join the dots to link the triangle model into "one team HR," where personal development and career progression continue to be real possibilities, even when the skill sets are more differentiated between the three legs of the triangle model. Here, 70 percent of learning can be gained through structured, on-the-job experiences, change management and continuous improvement initiatives, actual responsibilities for process, and project management A-to-Z, with regular review sessions with one's manager. Another 20 percent will come from appointing a mentor to a mentee or peer-to-peer coaching against specific objects and agendas, assigning the learner the responsibility to work through self-directed, on-line or written text learning modules. Finally, 10 percent of learning will come from specific training programmes, including classroom interactions where role play and case studies can help enable hot-house skills enhancement and knowledge acceleration. 1. Put yourself in their shoes—where are they now? aspirations, what' s dif 2. Peel back to the old model—what was on of ferent now? fer , what were the 3. Promote on-job development—the 70-20-10 rule.

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