Performance Management - National HRD Network

Measuring HR
- 'Support Function' to 'Partner' in
Business Strategy
B Sivarama Krishna
You cannot manage what you don't
measure
- Peter Drucker
'Hakuna Matata' means 'a life without
worries' wherein Timon, the meerkat and
Pumbaa, the warthog introduced new life
to Simba, the lion in famous Disney's movie
'The Lion King'. At the end of the day when
many of the functions are busy in
deciphering numbers from the large amount
of data and giving meaningful figures, HR
would comfortably sit with simple statistics
and live in 'hakuna matata'.
HR deals with intangible i.e., 'Subjectivity
Myth' in the apt phrase of Jac Fitz-enz, and
since measuring is difficult, they get away
the rigor of review during reviews, monthly
meetings or year-end appraisals. However
fewer attempts are made to measure the
achievements, which can bring value to HR
and its contribution towards bringing value
through scarce and important human
resource to gain sustained competitive
advantage for the organization in the
dynamic environment. Stanford Professor
Jeffrey Pfeffer said "In a world in which
financial results are measured, a failure to
measure human resource policy and
practice implementation dooms this to
second-class status, over-sight neglect, and
potential failure. The feedback from the
measurements is essential to refine and
further develop implementation ideas as well
as to learn how well the practices are
actually achieving their intended results".
Success depends upon the ability to do the
job, manage your resources and the skill to
communicate the performance. Unless we
communicate our contribution and make
others appreciate our efforts, it will be
difficult to become a strategic partner in the
business. Language of business is figures
and HR need to get real with demonstrating
their contribution in terms of metrics. Metrics
would help HR from shedding away image
of 'soft' HR into more 'scientific figures'; able
to add value and justify the status of
strategic partner rather than just a cost
center or support function. James Belasco
in his world famous book ' Teaching the
elephant to Dance' said ' If you don't
measure it, people will know you're not
serious about delivering it'.
Why HR Metrics?
1. Provides direction and control of the
processes: 'Measurements are key. If
you cannot measure it, you cannot
control it. If you cannot control it, you
cannot manage it. If you cannot
manager it, you cannot improve it. -
James Harrington said in his famous
book Business Process Improvement.
Apt quote of James Harrington is selfevident
of the need for metrics to
provide control and direction to HR in
general and HR Processes in particular.
Measuring helps in looking scope for
improvement, update on the status of
implementation and support required
to achieve the objectives. Robert
Galvin, former CEO of Motorola said 'If
you don't measure it, you're just
practicing'.
2. Understanding business
requirement: HR processes are
largely computerized and automation
has become indispensable for
efficiency and effectiveness.
Automation has enabled measuring
various elements of HR. Success of
one's business is related to the profit,
which is mentioned in figures and HR
has to measure its deliverables in line
with the business strategy. Newer
methods to be derived through metrics
to prove aligning of HR processes with
the business strategy. If business
strategy claims its commitment to EEO
(Equal Employment Opportunity) then
statistics in terms of Diversity are vital.
3. Building partnerships: Parity can best
be arrived with other function when you
speak the language of business.
Improvement, decrease, stability, etc
can best be explained through figures
rather than giving imaginary picture. HR
processes involves handling people
and this can best be done through line
functions. With this realization HR has
become more of a facilitator and
through the line functions HR is driving
the processes. This has mutual help and
builds a healthy partnership. Assessing
the performance and potential to
support the customers, analyzing the
ability of the human capital to the
expectations of the customers and the
business strategy, various service levels
which are typical to the organization,
etc., need to be measured periodically
to help other functions.
4. An opportunity to sell: HR new role of
facilitator entails support and willingness
of other functions is fundamental in
successful implementation of HR
Processes. Metrics provides an
opportunity to sell itself to other
functions in garnering their support and
how their help would add value in
development of the human potential. HR
need to brand itself and sell innovatively
which is possible through HR Billboard
/ Metrics.
5. PDCA would be effectively used: With
the measuring of HR processes PDCA
(Plan - Do - Check - Act) would be more
effective with clear statistics providing
control and direction.
6. Clarity of goals is possible since the
objectives are clear: When the goals
to be achieved are being derived from
the business strategy in terms of the
numbers, direction for the year is being
drawn and every one has to align their
individual goals to departmental and
inturn organizational goals.
Mere gathering of the data and taking
prints in reams would not help to provide
meaningful fugues. Striking balance
between the data and analysis is
important. In the pursuit of gathering
data one submerges in collecting rather
than analyzing. It is the wisdom and the
practice that ensures striking of the data
collected and deriving analysis.
Following are some of the aspects
outlined to focus on developing and
presenting the data:
1. Examine the business objectives:
Each function values its role and tries
to measure only those which are
interesting, but one has to understand
B. Sivarama Krishna, General Manager - HR, Frontline Group of Companies, Ahmedabad. Email address sivaram.bontala@gmail.com
| HRD News Letter | March 2007, Vol.22, Issue:12 16|