Taking HR to the next level - Deloitte

8. Upgrade the company’s HR capabilitiesIdentify the skills and competencies needed to deliver on the HR strategy.Conduct a skills analysis and develop training and recruiting plans tofill any critical gaps.Link staff development and performance evaluation to the overall strategy.Because the HR function plays a central role in delivering peoplesolutions to the company, the capabilities of the HR function andits staff are critical to achieving goals and objectives. These days,efficiency improvements, centralization, and outsourcing are allowingHR to focus more time and attention on strategic business challenges.Yet as HR functions strive to become more strategic and businessdriven,many, in our experience, are discovering that they lack theadvanced skills and capabilities required to fulfill this new role.To close the gap, HR leaders must identify the knowledge andskills that HR staff will need in the future, and then compare thoserequirements against the HR function’s current capabilities (seeexample assessment results in figure 9). This insight can help HR trainexisting staff — and recruit new staff — to satisfy the company’sfuture needs.Alternatively, some companies might choose to separate strategicpeople issues from HR operations by creating a separate function foreach, just as they typically separate Marketing from Sales or Financefrom Accounting. In this scenario, the HR function might retainresponsibility for people-related administration and transactions,similar to how Accounting functions generally focus on tacticalactivities, such as managing the books, external reporting, andregulatory compliance. Meanwhile, another group — either a newpeople-related function or perhaps a select group of managers withinthe company — might be responsible for addressing strategic peoplechallenges, similar to how Finance functions generally focus onstrategic issues, such as debt structure and ROI. 3Figure 9: Sample HR Capabilities AssessmentBusiness &Financial AcumenProjectManagementHR ProductExpertiseChangeManagementInfluence andCollaborationMeasurement andAnalysisHR TechnicalKnowledgeOrientation toResultsSource: Deloitte Consulting HR assessment tool1 2 3 4 5 6Note: Dotted line represents current HR state.Solid line represents business needs.3“Aligned at the Top”, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and the Economist Intelligence Unit, 200713