3. FINDING THE BALANCE; TRANSACTIONAL & TRANSFORMATIVE HR AN RSG WHITE PAPER • WWW.RSG-PLC.COM PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE HR WORLD WWW.THEHRWORLD.CO.UK
Apr 01, 2016
3. FINDING THE BALANCE;TRANSACTIONAL & TRANSFORMATIVE HR
A N R S G W H I T E P A P E R • W W W . R S G - P L C . C O M
P R E S E N T E D I N A S S O C I A T I O N W I T H T H E H R W O R L D
W W W . T H E H R W O R L D . C O . U K
RSG’s HR Networking ForumThe HR World - Logotype with strapline on colour
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe HR World and RSG are very grateful to those individuals who gave their time to take part in The HR World
Debate and who contributed to the content of this white paper. We give special thanks to Gillian Fox for leading the
Debate and to Mel Missen for his review of the white paper.
ABOUT RSGBuilt on over 35 years of trading history, RSG has grown
organically, and through the acquisition of specialist
services, into an established selection, assessment and
solutions driven resource provider.
RSG’s focus is on strong partnerships; we have
developed solid relationships with our candidates and
clients since our inception in 1975 and this is reflected
in the repeat business and referrals that our specialist
companies receive.
Our family of companies, including Sanderson and
Resource Management, gives us an understanding
across a variety of market sectors, including permanent
and contract recruitment through to executive search,
bespoke recruitment campaigns, advertising campaigns
and total recruitment outsourcing. This knowledge
empowers us to provide our clients with an independent,
innovative and proven response, every time.
ABOUT THE HR WORLDLaunched in June 2014, The HR World is the premier
networking destination aimed exclusively at senior HR
professionals and talent & resourcing professionals.
It is a community for like-minded peers to sculpt the
conversation surrounding HR best practice, attend
quality networking events, contribute to respected
thought leadership content and to build their profiles
within the HR arena.
We want our members to shape the direction The HR
World takes by offering them the opportunity to discuss
the most pressing topics, contribute to publications such
as our white papers and to attend exclusive networking
events.
02
RSG’s HR Networking ForumThe HR World - Logotype
Resource Solutions Group (RSG), has secured a prestigious place on the Sunday Times Grant
Thornton Top Track 250, listing the UK’s top mid-market private companies as published by Sunday
Times Business Section.
CONTENTS02 About RSG & About The HR World
03 Contents
04 Foreword - Gillian Fox, Global Director of Talent and OE, RB (Reckitt Benckiser)
07 Defining Transactional and Strategic HR
Transactional, Reactive HR
Strategic, Proactive HR
09 A New Breed of Leadership
Becoming a Leader of Change
Insightful Conversations
A Future-Proof Philosophy
13 Finding the Balance; Reactive vs Proactive HR
16 In the Spotlight; The Ulrich Model
19 The Secret to Future Proof HR
21 Conclusion - Mike Beesley, CEO, RSG
22 Guest Profiles
24 Contact RSG & Contact The HR World
03
FOREWORDFrom Gillian FoxGlobal Director of Talent and OE, RB (Reckitt Benckiser)
When I was invited to lead The HR World Debate, Mike
Beesley, CEO at RSG, asked me to think about what
made me really passionate about my role. My answer to
this is always the same; put simply, I want to help people
and businesses grow and to be the best they can be.
While I feel that this passion is key to achieving success
in HR, over the course of my career I’ve come to believe
that perhaps another element plays an even more pivotal
role in finding triumph in the industry; that of holding a
strong business acumen and great leadership. The rare
gems of people I have come across in the HR industry
have all held in common a strong understanding of
how their organisation works, however all too often HR
people can stumble when asked the simple question
‘Do you know how your business makes money?’.
Thinking about my career so far, I have reflected on
what various business leaders asked for from their
HR departments. I remembered some common goals
they had all referred to – ‘strategic HR’, ‘true business
partnering’, ‘a seat at the table’ – and as I reflect on
whether there is always a common understanding
of what this means, and on the trade offs required
to move from a transactional HR function to a more
strategic one, it didn’t surprise me that a CEB study on
HR Operational Efficiency found that, while over 80%
of the organisations studied had completed or were
undergoing an HR Transformation project, only 16% of
completed projects were successful.
04
Working to help people and businesses grow to be the best they can be.
05
When I joined Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) back in
2003, their HR function was the function to be in. It
was cutting edge, well structured and resourced – The
Ulrich Model at its best. In contrast, I now find myself
in a very transactional HR environment at RB (Reckitt
Benckiser). I considered the fact that although their
HR was fantastic, RBS then went on to face a huge
crisis in 2011, which they are still recovering from today;
yet RB, for all their transactional HR, continue to be a
very successful company. For that reason, I can quite
understand why business leaders at companies such as
RB might challenge how strategic an HR function they
would want. For me the answer is that transactional
models have taken us so far; a strategic model will
sustain and build our success – it’s the ‘future-proofing’
piece. The question is how will we do it?
When thinking about how HR will develop and what
it will look like in the future, I refer to a study by the
Hay Group, which concludes that HR is on the cusp
of change and will look radically different by 20301.
However, just 28% of respondents surveyed felt that
their HR practices were in a position to help them to
deliver their organisational strategy2. Interestingly,
business acumen and innovation were deemed the
universal competencies required for successful business
partnering, so is the real problem here that we are facing
a skills gap? How would we honestly rate our team’s
capabilities? Perhaps the debate surrounding reactive
vs proactive HR is just a pre-cursor to the wider debate
of how HR will play a leading role in the transformation
of organisations, whilst simultaneously managing its
own evolution?
As much as I would like to say that the result of The HR
World Debate has been to provide the definitive Holy
Grail of guides to implementing a successful HR strategy,
of course, this is not the case. However, what I can
assure you is that the event brought to light the various
experiences, insights and opinions of my peers who are
collectively paving the way to a positively perceived,
more effective HR. Learning from one another will play
a fundamental part in how we evolve and shape the
future of HR and, while you may be familiar with some of
the methodologies and concepts outlined in this white
paper, I hope you will also come across some new ideas
that will give you some food for thought on how you
structure your HR now and in the future.
The answer is that transactional models have taken us so far; a strategic model will sustain and build our success – it’s the ‘future-proofing’ piece. The question is how will we do it?
1. Hay Group. On the Cusp of Change: The Future of HR. Hay Group: London, 2014. Page 11.
2. Hay Group. ibid. Page 11.
Unfortunately, as HR professionals, we will all too often hear definitions of HR along the lines of: ‘they manage payroll’, ‘they make sure that our business operates ethical practices’, or ‘they deal with absenteeism and sickness’.
06
There is a simple way of determining if your HR
department is transactional or strategic; the answers
provided by your senior business leaders and general
workforce in response to the question ‘what is the role of
the HR department?’ will provide you with all the insight
you need. Unfortunately, as HR professionals, we will all
too often hear replies along the lines of: ‘they manage
payroll’, ‘they make sure that our business operates
ethical practices’, or ‘they deal with absenteeism and
sickness’. Rarely will we hear that HR’s purpose is to
provide leadership or a unique perspective in order to
drive the business forward and, consequently, we tend
to find ourselves in an environment where the perception
of the HR function is limited to dealing solely with the
implementation and administration of policies. So, what
do we need to do to move beyond this culture and to
reposition ourselves as key players in business strategy?
First of all, the concepts of transactional and strategic
HR must be further defined. While the above instances
can act as strong indicators of either a transactional or
strategic HR function, there are more qualifying factors to
transactional HR than dealing with general administration
and, similarly, engaging with senior business leaders is
only one facet of strategic HR.
07
DEFINING TRANSACTIONAL AND STRATEGIC HR
First of all, the concepts of transactional and strategic HR must be further defined.
08
TRANSACTIONAL, REACTIVE HRTransactional HR departments primarily revolve around
the completion of administrative activities. While they
may complete these activities in a somewhat ‘strategic’
manner, so long as the focus is on administration,
these HR departments will not see themselves at the
Executive table. Susan Quinn, author of From Reactive
to Proactive: High Impact Strategic HR, suggests that
the attitude of transactional HR departments will vary
from being ‘a friend and advocate for the employee’ to
policing them with ‘outright suspicion and distrust’3.
Furthermore, while transactional HR teams will at best
play a small part in helping the business to overcome
short-term issues, they will ultimately fail to look at
business problems that occur outside of their primary
domain and, therefore, will cut themselves off from
being able to play a part in the future success and
sustainability of their company.
STRATEGIC, PROACTIVE HRAs defined by Quinn, a strategic HR department is
one that is ‘recognised by the organisation as being
an important contributor to the company’s future
and is engaged in activities that will help to move the
organisation forward’4. At a basic level they will have at
least progressed from simply being a ‘people function’
to actively playing a part in the overall performance of
the business. In addition, similar to other departments,
the most strategic HR functions will also be driven by
an experienced, motivational senior leader who reports
to the CEO. Their teams will have structure, so that
administrative duties are dealt with by a dedicated
team, enabling other members of the HR function to
be involved with strategic business discussions and to
act as true business partners to the business leaders.
As agreed by the guests at The HR World Debate,
perhaps the most important factor that differentiates
a transformational HR department is that the leaders
will have “solid business acumen and agility” and a
“thorough knowledge of how their organisation works
at all levels”.
3. Quinn, Susan. From Reactive to Proactive: High Impact Strategic HR. Web: Bookboon.com, 2013. Page 13.
4. Quinn, Susan. ibid. Page 11.
09
HR departments are increasingly being told by business
leaders that they need to be more strategic in order to
become true business partners. However, as highlighted
by Gillian Fox during The HR World Debate, both parties
tend to stumble when it comes to understanding how they
should go about implementing the concept successfully
in light of new demands on organisations (developments
in digital media, the changing demographic of the
working population and the convergence of different
technologies, to name but a few).
With the findings of a Hay Group study suggesting that
HR will look radically different by 2030, both business
leaders and HR professionals are now wondering what
it is exactly that HR teams need to change in order
to become more ‘strategic’5. The HR sector has
been described as being ‘uniquely positioned to help
organisations predict and navigate the challenges
ahead’, yet the CIPD found that HR thought leadership
predominantly resides in a ‘very small number of
influential hands, while most of the rest of HR is still
operational and tactical in nature’6. So, how does ‘the
rest of HR’ begin to evolve their purpose within their
organisation? With the insights of the participants at The
HR World Debate and as a result of further research, we
have highlighted three key areas of HR leadership that
need to be addressed in order for them to be redefined.
A NEW BREED OF HR LEADERSHIP
How does ‘the rest of HR’ begin to evolve their purpose within their organisation?
5. Hay Group. On the Cusp of Change: The Future of HR. Hay Group: London, 2014. Page 11.
6. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 5.
10
Throughout the Debate, strong leadership was cited as
being crucial to the success of a strategic HR function
with “bold,” “innovative” and “knowledgeable” being
highlighted as some of the most essential qualities of any
successful HR leader’s personality. In support of this,
the CIPD in their report on Next Generation HR, similarly
found that a ‘new breed’ of HR leader is steadily emerging.
Calling them an Omega personality, they described
such leaders as being ‘Alpha personalities’ which have
arrived at ‘ego maturity’7. These individuals were found
to possess a ‘subtlety and sophistication’ in the way that
they encouraged more senior leaders to embrace new
ideas. Able to engage in difficult conversations, they were
not afraid of conflict or of challenging the status quo,
and fellow colleagues were most likely to describe them
as ‘transparent’, ‘insightful’ and ‘thought-provoking’8.
Out of all the strengths and characteristics used as
identifiers of a strong and inspirational HR leader during
the Debate, solid business acumen and the ability to
speak the “commercial language” were deemed the
most important. This led to the question: do HR leaders
need to have experience in other areas of the business
to succeed? Not necessarily; as illuminated by David
Mason, Global Chief Operating Officer Resourcing at
RBS, in order for them to contribute to driving a business
forward, HR must always be built on good people who
truly understand how their business works and who
can engage with other leaders across the company.
Matt Elliott, People Director at Virgin Money, noted
that “individuals who work in HR are business people;
there should be no differentiation between them and the
people who work in any other area of the business”.
Ultimately, solid business acumen can be gained just
as well in an HR department as any other; if this is not
the case, then there is a fault within the HR department
which must be resolved urgently.
BECOMING A LEADER OF CHANGE
HR must be built on people who can engage with other company leaders.
7. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 17.
8. CIPD. Next Generation HR. ibid. Page 19.
11
Being able to facilitate insightful conversations with
both business leaders and the general workforce is a
core skill of strategic HR departments, which must be
employed by senior members of the HR team at the
very least. As one guest stated during the HR Debate,
“the factor that differentiates HR from every other
function is that our business is people. If you aren’t
facilitating the right conversations between people in the
organisation, you won’t deliver on everything else. If you
have the right conversations with the right people at the
right time then you will be able to drive organisational
effectiveness”. This notion was also supported by Mel
Missen, Vice President of Human Resources at Acxiom,
who highlighted that “great managers will be talking to
their staff every day, not just when they feel they need
to tick a box; having managers who can do that makes
everyone’s job easier”.
What does an insightful conversation involve? The way
conversations are handled and articulated is the key,
as opposed to the actual content of the discussion.
Good HR leaders should be able to challenge
entrenched beliefs and methodologies with a ‘real
lightness of touch’9. Organisational knowledge and
emotional intelligence will allow leaders to take control
of conversations, to shape discussions and to mould
opinions. Furthermore, the CIPD found that successful
HR practitioners will often display humility when dealing
with assertive leaders and, as a result, their strategy
tends to ‘explore and stimulate’ rather than ‘challenge
or browbeat’10 to get things done.
INSIGHTFUL CONVERSATIONS
9. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 18.
10. CIPD. Next Generation HR – ibid.
11. Quinn, Susan. From Reactive to Proactive: High Impact Strategic HR. Web: Bookboon.com, 2013. Page 14.
12. CIPD. Next Generation HR. ibid. Page 17.
In her study on reactive and proactive HR, Susan Quinn
found that the most strategic HR practitioners held a
fundamentally different philosophy toward their work
than their more transaction-orientated peers. Complete
trust in employees and a belief that they want to excel in
their jobs ensures that HR’s motivation is to implement
mechanisms that will ‘allow the employees to develop,
grow and contribute in the best way possible’11.
Research conducted by the CIPD further supports this
idea; they found that HR leaders who were providing
breakthrough insight to their business also had a ‘strong
underlying sense of purpose and a connection to some
fundamental values such as truth, respect or safety
that act as an innate moral compass’12. Keeping these
values at the core of how they make decisions for the
HR department will ensure that HR leaders’ focus looks
beyond short term issues and reaches to building a
sustainable business model.
It’s important to note that in order to truly revolutionise
the HR sector, leadership should comprise all three of the
qualities mentioned so far (inspirational leadership, the
ability to hold insightful conversations and championing
a ‘future-proof’ philosophy). While at present this will
seem an idealistic concept to many businesses, it is
possible. As Gillian Fox highlighted during the Debate,
“the issue is not that it’s impossible to find, to become,
or to develop a revolutionary HR leader because it’s not;
the problem is that so far, business leaders have rarely
– if ever – been exposed to five-star HR leadership and
so, to all effects and purposes, they are not aware that
it even exists. Our job is to show them, bit by bit, what
great HR can really do”.
A FUTURE-PROOF PHILOSOPHY
12
£
In order to achieve balance HR professionals need to keep it simple. HR professionals can over-complicate everything instead of concentrating on what will really make a difference.
13. CIPD. The Changing HR Function: The Key Questions. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2006. Page 7.
14. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 10.
13
When discussing the implementation of strategic HR,
business leaders often question how the transactional
obligations should be dealt with. Of course, they cannot
simply be brushed under the carpet; administrative
duties such as organising the payroll are a vital part
of the business and will continue to be, however, it’s
important to be aware that a balance must be achieved
between the transactional and strategic sides of HR. It
has become all too easy for businesses to focus their HR
on administrative tasks, which has led to them fading
into the background. As suggested by a Debate guest,
HR departments have a tendency to over-complicate
administrative tasks, which is where they fall short.
Therefore, in order to achieve balance “we need to
keep it simple… As HR professionals we do ourselves
a disservice because we over-complicate everything
and then get caught up in that instead of concentrating
on what will really make a difference”. As suggested
by the CIPD in The Changing HR Function, in order to
reduce the ineffectiveness of HR’s processes, some
‘process-engineering’ must be implemented. This will
include ‘cutting out duplication of tasks, exiting from
those tasks where HR does not add value, streamlining
processing by reducing hand-offs and transferring work
to others better placed to do it’13. This will lead to the
development of a more ‘process-light, insight-heavy’
HR strategy14.
FINDING THE BALANCE;REACTIVE VS PROACTIVE HR
Complete trust in employees and a belief that they want to do their best in their jobs ensures that HR’s motivation is to implement mechanisms that will ‘allow the employees to develop, grow and contribute in the best way possible’.
The most successful HR departments will pick a structure and consistently tailor and adapt it to meet the changing needs of their organisation.
14
It is becoming increasingly important for HR Departments
to recognise that they need to implement some level of
structure in order to be truly strategic. Traditionally, HR
teams have predominantly fallen into two categories;
there are those who comprise a single team of
generalists, specialists and administration combined,
or there are those who adopt an approach such as
The Ulrich Model where they incorporate centres of
excellence and shared services.
Perhaps surprisingly, the model chosen should not be
the focus of strategic HR. First and foremost it must
be established that no one model is going to work for
every business. Models and strategies that have found
tremendous success in some companies will not work
for every business, therefore HR leaders should take
a flexible and pragmatic approach to organising their
team. In the endeavour to balance both the reactive
and proactive areas within the department, HR leaders
should look to provide clarity on the roles that everyone
in the team holds. To assist HR with this procedure,
David Ulrich, founder of The Ulrich Model, produced a
list of roles which can act as a framework when shaping
the HR department.
The roles include:
Employee Advocate – ensuring employer-employee
relationships are of reciprocal value
Functional Expert – designing and delivering HR
practices
Human Capital Developer – building future
workforce
Strategic Partner – helping line managers reach
their goals
HR Leader – credible to own function and others
As was the case with The Ulrich Model, which was
proposed eight years prior to this framework, it should
not be taken as a definitive guide to creating a successful
HR team. Rather, the ideas it explores should be used
to provide inspiration which can be built into a model
and methodology that works for a business depending
on its individual requirements. As the CIPD found in
their paper The Changing HR Function, HR leaders
‘expressed a certain frustration with what they saw as a
fixation with one particular model. They argued that HR’s
structure should reflect the business it is in and what the
business customers want’15. Moreover, as suggested
by Gillian Fox and numerous Debate participants, the
most successful HR departments will pick a structure
and consistently tailor and adapt it to meet the changing
needs of their organisation.
15. CIPD. The Changing HR Function: The Key Questions. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2006. Page 5.
15
Businesses’ views of what constitutes best practice in HR are constantly fluctuating, yet The Ulrich Model
(also known as the ‘three-legged’ model) has resiliently withstood the test of time. The model, named after the
American academic David Ulrich, refers to an organisational structure that is designed to articulate how modern
HR management can be segmented into three key areas: shared HR services, HR centres of excellence and HR
business partners. As described by the CIPD in their factsheet on HR Business Partnering, the three key elements
of the model are:
Shared Services – A single (often relatively large) unit that handles routine, ‘transactional’ services across the
business such as recruitment administration, payroll and absence monitoring with a view to providing low-cost,
effective HR administration.
Centres of Excellence – Usually small teams of HR professionals who have specialist knowledge of cutting-
edge HR solutions. Their role is to deliver competitive business advantage via HR innovations in areas such as
reward, learning, engagement and talent management.
HR Business Partners – Senior HR professionals who work closely with business leaders, usually embedded
in a particular business unit, to influence the overall business strategy.
Since its official introduction in 1997, The Ulrich Model has been surrounded by considerable and continual debate
regarding its pros and cons. While its clear benefits include allowing HR functions to become more efficient and to
become strategic players within a business, many HR leaders remain sceptical that it is the right way forward. At
The HR World Debate, Orlagh Hunt, Group HR Director at AIB, highlighted one problem with The Ulrich Model in
that it has a tendency to compartmentalise areas of HR. The trick for a great HR function is to be able to collaborate
effectively across all areas; this increases the chances of designing the best solutions and allows the function to
look truly joined up to customers. Similarly, a number of guests commented that the model can create silos within
the HR function and that there is some overlap between the three segments. For example, a centre of excellence’s
role is to deal with complex employee related issues, however, business partners often face very challenging
employee relations’ issues too.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT; THE ULRICH MODEL
16
Despite the challenges it presents, it is apparent that implementation of The Ulrich Model continues to increase.
According to a survey on HR’s outlook conducted by the CIPD in 2012, 28% of participants revealed that they
work in a three-legged structure, compared to 22% of those surveyed in 201016. In addition, nearly 40% of survey
participants at large organisations described their HR structure as being a three-legged model which includes
business partners, specialists and shared services. Among small and medium-sized organisations (less than 250
employees), a “single HR team with generalists, specialists and administration altogether” was the most common
structure17. The survey also found that public sector organisations were significantly more likely to adopt The Ulrich
Model than private sector companies18.
While many HR leaders debate how The Ulrich Model should be interpreted and utilised, there are numerous
companies who have implemented the model as a foundation upon which they can build and tailor their own HR
structure. As Kate Banks, Group HR Director at Brightside Group and The HR World guest suggested, “ultimately
business leaders simply want an HR model that works for their business. They are not interested in this model or
that model, as long as it is flexible and suits the business”. This sentiment was also reflected by the findings of the
CIPD survey, which concluded that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work; while The Ulrich Model is useful (as
an HR professional), you must adapt it to your circumstances19.
Ulrich himself has supported the notion that business models should not be taken as definitive templates and that
they cannot be applied to all businesses in the same way. In an interview with Personnel Today he responded to
critics of The Ulrich Model stating that “poor implementation and lack of understanding had let the model down”
before going on to suggest that “many practitioners have rushed into implementing the model without properly
considering whether it met the needs of the business first”.
17
16. Swift, Gail. Human Resource Service Delivery. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2012. Page 9.
17. Swift, Gail. ibid. Page 9.
18. Swift, Gail. ibid. Page 3.
19. Taylor, Stephen/Woodhams, Carol. Managing People And Organisations. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2012. Page 10.
18
The most successful organisations had HR leaders who were working closely with both stakeholders and line managers to coach and challenge those individuals.
19
Debate: “as a Senior HR leader, if you aren’t confident
enough or strong enough to say your piece and get your
point across then, ultimately, you shouldn’t be in that
role”.
Further research conducted by Income Data Services
(IDS) also found that working closely with line managers
to gain their support is important. They found that many
of the organisations surveyed had ‘devoted considerable
time and resources to making the business case for the
transformation and getting all the stakeholder groups
on board. In some cases that meant involving line
managers in the design of the transformed HR function,
while in others extensive consultations with HR staff,
users of their services and senior managers were used
to achieve stakeholder buy-in’21.
This notion also found support in the results from the
CIPD’s study Next Generation HR. However, in addition
to finding that the most successful organisations
had HR leaders who were working closely with both
stakeholders and line managers, they also found that
HR played a key role in coaching and challenging those
individuals, particularly where they were not ‘behaving
in a way that creates the right environment inside the
organisation’22. They concluded that in order for HR
departments to play a successful and strategic role in the
business, it is important that ‘mutual respect, challenge
and partnership between HR and the business exist at
all levels’23 of an organisation.
Throughout the Debate it became clear that even if an
HR department meets all of the criteria we have listed in
this whitepaper so far, it will remain difficult for them to
achieve success if they don’t have the support or buy-in
of the businesses’ stakeholders. Achieving this can often
be one of the most difficult challenges an HR leader will
have to overcome when they begin to instigate change
in the HR department, however, it is an essential part of
ensuring future sustainable success for the business.
As the CIPD noted in their report on Next Generation
HR, ‘where a CEO has a broader expectation of what
HR’s contribution could be – and this is matched by an
HR leader who can step up and offer more than the sum
of the activities that have always been done – it creates
a real enabler to repositioning the function’20.
Throughout our research we found that numerous HRD’s
had refrained from embarking on introducing significant
changes until they were under new management.
Fortunately, they had found themselves in a situation
where new CEO’s embraced and fully understood
the concept of strategic HR and subsequently they
were able to support and drive HR’s initiatives from
the top down. However, this will not be the case for
all HR leaders; it is more likely that at some point they
will have to gradually persuade and demonstrate to
stakeholders how strategic HR will help them. This
is where it becomes clear just how important a part
strong leadership will play in the success of HR in the
future. As Mel Missen succinctly pointed out during the
THE SECRET TO FUTURE-PROOF HR
20. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 20.
21. IDS. The Three-Legged Model of HR. London: Thomson Reuters, 2013. Web.
22. CIPD. ibid.
23. CIPD. ibid.
20
We will all too often adopt a well-used methodology, belief or practice despite instinctively knowing that it is wrong, typically because we are afraid of the mistakes that will be made by trying something new.
21
to be flexible with your approach and not to be afraid
of trying something new. After all, HR is about people
and we should encourage the type of innovation that
is brought about by basic human behaviour. Ultimately,
we should not be afraid to make mistakes. While they
are almost always regrettable, mistakes can provide
you with wonderful opportunities to learn and improve.
If the fear of making a mistake inhibits the desire to
create something more successful, people will end up
doing nothing; as Einstein succinctly put it, ‘a person
who never made a mistake never tried anything new’.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this
white paper. We would like to hear your thoughts and
experiences on the issues discussed, so please join in
the debate:
Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #RSGdebate
Comment on the Debate by heading to
www.thehrworld.co.uk
If you would like to find out more about the services
RSG and its associated companies provide, please
contact Mike Beesley at [email protected]. If
you are interested in taking part in future RSG round
table debates, either as a lead speaker or a participant,
please email [email protected]
In life we will all too often adopt a well-used methodology,
belief or practice despite instinctively knowing that it is
wrong, typically because we are afraid of the mistakes
that will invariably be made by trying something new.
Unfortunately, I fear that this attitude often perpetuates
the use of poor strategy or compounds failing
practices. For example, on a number of occasions I
have found myself advising HR Departments on their
talent management strategy and suggesting a bespoke
solution that will help them to reach their business
goals. However, they have often been ignored in favour
of more ‘traditional’ strategies, or because they did
not meet current organisational practices; it’s a shame
because I would have loved to have known what
unexpected, positive results could have been achieved
if the formulaic approach had been abandoned.
Following The HR World Debate, it would seem that the
most important factor that differentiates transformational
HR from its transactional counterpart is leadership.
Solid business acumen and agility will, without doubt,
allow individuals to gain the trust and support of
their senior management teams and the buy-in of
stakeholders, which is crucial if they are to accomplish
a truly strategic business partnership. It seems to me
that in order to be a great strategist you should certainly
learn from past experiences and consider established
theories, however, it is equally important (if not more so)
CONCLUSIONBY MIKE BEESLEY, CEO, RSG
22
GUEST PROFILES
Gillian Fox, Global Director of Talent and OE, RB (Reckitt Benckiser)Gillian works as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and their
teams and is known as a real deliverer, with good instinct and
intuition. As a highly commercial HR Director, Gillian holds
15 years experience in different sectors and organisations,
including Manufacturing, Financial Services and Professional
Services, covering client groups ranging in size from 1000-
16,000 staff. HR, M&A, strategic organisation design
and change management are counted amongst Gillian’s
specialities.
Orlagh Hunt, Group HR Director, AIB (Allied Irish Bank)Orlagh is a highly accomplished and progressive Group HR
Director who has worked in a number of industry sectors
including Retail, FMCG and Financial Services. In her current
role she is transforming the organisation to help it reach its
goals through a focus on great people leadership, employee
engagement and strategy alignment. Previously, as the
youngest female HR Director working for a FTSE 100 company,
she revolutionized the culture of RSA – one of the world’s
leading insurers. Under her leadership, the firm achieved
world-class levels of engagement and reached number 6 in
the Times Top 100 best companies to work for – all in just
three years. Orlagh’s particular strengths are in employee
engagement, capability building and talent management.
David Mason, Global Chief Operating Officer Resourcing, Royal Bank of Scotland Listed as one of the Top 20 Most Innovative Resourcing
Leaders in Resourcing Magazine, David has gained a wealth
of experience in various roles as Director and Head of
Resourcing at reputable companies including AXA, CH2M Hill
and Royal Bank of Scotland. In his current role at RBS, David’s
responsibilities include delivering large volume recruitment,
senior executive recruitment across multiple countries, talent
management and workforce planning. David has achieved
particular success in developing strategic approaches,
leading resourcing teams and implementing change focused
on commercial objectives.
Michelle de Jesus, Head of HR Operations, QBEMichelle is an experienced HR professional within the Financial
Services sector, including HBOS and QBE. In her current
role, Michelle is leading the HR Operations team across
European Operations at QBE to meet customer and business
requirements and deliver the HR strategy across a range
of HR operational areas, including Reward, Recruitment,
HR Shared Services and Payroll. Michelle has previously
managed HR Business Partner teams across UK and Europe
and is currently also responsible for leading and delivering HR
change, through a global transformation programme that is
underway at QBE.
23
Matt Elliott, People Director, Virgin MoneyMatt joined Virgin Money in June 2011. As People Director
he is responsible for the development of capability and talent
to enable Virgin Money to meet its growth ambitions. Matt
is responsible for all matters relating to people management.
Previous to this role, Matt spent 10 years at RBS in various
roles before moving to BP latterly as North Africa Vice
President of HR.
Lesley Cox, Executive Coach & Independent Consultant Lesley’s career spans some 30 years in both industry
and consultancy. She has worked in a range of HR, Talent
Management and Capability Building roles in Marks and
Spencer, GlaxoSmithKline, ICI and Diageo. Her industry
career was very international, including having spent 3 years
as the Regional HR Director for Diageo Asia Pacific based
in Singapore. Since 2004, she has operated as a freelance
consultant specialising in the facilitation of a wide range of
senior team events, including executive team effectiveness
and leadership development. She also works in the area
of organisational effectiveness, focusing in particular on
the cultural aspects of major change agendas. She runs a
successful executive coaching practice.
Jyoti Parmar, Interim HR Director, Towergate InsuranceJyoti is a senior HR and Business Change professional with
considerable organisational, process and cultural change
management expertise resulting in a history of successful
performance at both strategic and operational levels. Prior to
her current role as Interim HRD at Towergate, Jyoti has held
senior HR roles at Lastminute.com, Airwave, BAA – Heathrow
Express and Kellogg Company.
Kate Banks, Group HR Director, Brightside Group PlcKate is a highly experienced senior HR professional with a
proven track record in developing and implementing people
strategies in different environments and situations that drive
business performance. She has tangible experience in cultural
transformations, mergers & acquisitions (including TUPE) and
Organisational Design, and has previously held senior HR
roles at AXA, Invensys Rail and ING Direct UK.
Mel Missen, Vice President - Human Resources, AcxiomWith a wealth of experience in creating HR functions and
integrating businesses on a global scale (Asia, North America,
Middle East, Europe and Australia, to name but a few), Mel’s
career progression has taken him from Head of HR at Nat West
- Retail in 1996, to International HR Director at CIT, through
to his current role as Vice President of International Human
Resources at Acxiom. He counts Change Management,
International Resourcing, Talent Management and successful
Employee Engagement amongst his specialities.
David Chang, Head of Organisation Development, Royal London GroupSince graduating with a Masters Degree in Psychology at the
University of South Australia, David has brought his knowledge
and expertise to a number of organisations including Human
Factors International and Direct Line Group before joining
Royal London Group in August of last year. David specialises
in Occupational Psychology, Executive Coaching and
Organisational Development.
24
CONTACT RSG
W www.rsg-plc.com
LondonT 0207 469 0970
37 Lombard Street
Plough Court
London
EC3V 9BQ
EdinburghT 0131 301 5350
93-95 Hanover Street
Edinburgh
EH2 1DJ
CardiffT 02920 329152
15th Floor
Brunel House
2 Fitzalan Road
Cardiff
CF24 0EB
Bristol T 0117 907 7571
Clifton Down House
54a Whiteladies Road
Clifton, Bristol
BS8 2NH
ManchesterT 0161 618 1030
Pall Mall Court
61-67 King Street
Manchester
M2 4PD
CONTACT THE HR WORLD
W www.thehrworld.co.uk
T 07772 136 284
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