1、中文4150，2070单词原文： New Competencies for HR What does it take to make it big in HR? What skills and expertise do you need? Since 1988, Dave Ulrich, professor of business administration at the University of Michigan, and his associates have been on a quest to provide the answers. This year,
2、 theyve released an all-new 2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS). The findings and interpretations lay out professional guidance for HR for at least the next few years. “People want to know what set of skills high-achieving HR people need to perform even better,” says Ulrich, co-directo
3、r of the project along with Wayne Brockbank, also a professor of business at the University of Michigan. Conducted under the auspices of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and The RBL Group in Salt Lake City, with regional partners including the Society for Human Resourc
4、e Management (SHRM) in North America and other institutions in Latin America, Europe, China and Australia, HRCS is the longest-running, most extensive global HR competency study in existence. “In reaching our conclusions, weve looked across more than 400 companies and are able to report with statist
5、ical accuracy what HR executives say and do,” Ulrich says. “The research continues to demonstrate the dynamic nature of the human resource management profession,” says SHRM President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR. “The findings also highlight what an exciting time it is to be in the profess
6、ion. We continue to have the ability to really add value to an organization.” “HRCS is foundational work that is really important to HR as a profession,” says Cynthia McCague, senior vice president of the Coca-Cola Co., who participated in the study. “They have created and continue to enhance
7、a framework for thinking about how HR drives organizational performance.” Whats New Researchers identified six core competencies that high-performing HR professionals embody. These supersede the five competencies outlined in the 2002 HRCSthe last study publishedreflecting the continuing
8、 evolution of the HR profession. Each competency is broken out into performance elements. “This is the fifth round, so we can look at past models and compare where the profession is going,” says Evren Esen, survey program manager at SHRM, which provided the sample of HR professionals surveyed
9、in North America. “We can actually see the profession changing. Some core areas remain the same, but others, based on how the raters assess and perceive HR, are new.” (For more information, see “The Competencies and Their Elements,” at right.) To some degree, the new competencies reflect a cha
10、nge in nomenclature or a shuffling of the competency deck. However, there are some key differences. Five years ago, HRs role in managing culture was embedded within a broader competency. Now its importance merits a competency of its own. Knowledge of technology, a stand-alone competency in 200
11、2, now appears within Business Ally. In other instances, the new competencies carry expectations that promise to change the way HR views its role. For example, the Credible Activist calls for HR to eschew neutrality and to take a standto practice the craft “with an attitude.” To put the compet
12、encies in perspective, its helpful to view them as a three-tier pyramid with Credible Activist at the pinnacle. Credible Activist. This competency is the top indicator in predicting overall outstanding performance, suggesting that mastering it should be a priority. “Youve got to be good at all
13、 of them, but, no question, this competency is key,” Ulrich says. “But you cant be a Credible Activist without having all the other competencies. In a sense, its the whole package.” “Its a deal breaker,” agrees Dani Johnson, project manager of the Human Resource Competency Study at The RBL Gro
14、up in Salt Lake City. “If you dont come to the table with it, youre done. It permeates everything you do.” The Credible Activist is at the heart of what it takes to be an effective HR leader. “The best HR people do not hold back； they step forward and advocate for their position,” says Susan H
15、armansky, SPHR, senior director of domestic restaurant operations for HR at Papa Johns International in Louisville, Ky., and former chair of the Human Resource Certification Institute. “CEOs are not waiting for HR to come in with optionsthey want your recommendations； they want you to speak from you
16、r position as an expert, similar to what you see from legal or finance executives.” “You dont want to be credible without being an activist, because essentially youre worthless to the business,” Johnson says. “People like you, but you have no impact. On the other hand, you dont want to be an a
17、ctivist without being credible. You can be dangerous in a situation like that.” Below Credible Activist on the pyramid is a cluster of three competencies: Cultural Steward, Talent Manager/Organizational Designer and Strategy Architect. Cultural Steward. HR has always owned culture. But with Sa
18、rbanes-Oxley and other regulatory pressures, and CEOs relying more on HR to manage culture, this is the first time it has emerged as an independent competency. Of the six competencies, Cultural Steward is the second highest predictor of performance of both HR professionals and HR departments.
19、Talent Manager/Organizational Designer. Talent management focuses on how individuals enter, move up, across or out of the organization. Organizational design centers on the policies, practices and structure that shape how the organization works. Their linking reflects Ulrichs belief that HR may be p
20、lacing too much emphasis on talent acquisition at the expense of organizational design. Talent management will not succeed in the long run without an organizational structure that supports it. Strategy Architect. Strategy Architects are able to recognize business trends and their impact on the
21、 business, and to identify potential roadblocks and opportunities. Harmansky, who recently joined Papa Johns, demonstrates how the Strategy Architect competency helps HR contribute to the overall business strategy. “In my first months here, Im spending a lot of time traveling, going to see stores al
22、l over the country. Every time I go to a store, while my counterparts of the management team are talking about operational aspects, Im talking to the people who work there. Im trying to find out what the issues are surrounding people. How do I develop them? Im looking for my business differentiator
23、on the people side so I can contribute to the strategy.” When Charlease Deathridge, SPHR, HR manager of McKee Foods in Stuarts Draft, Va., identified a potential roadblock to implementing a new management philosophy, she used the Strategy Architect competency. “When we were rolling out lean ma
24、nufacturing principles at our location, we administered an employee satisfaction survey to assess how the workers viewed the new system. The satisfaction scores were lower than ideal. I showed management how a negative could become a positive, how we could use the data and follow-up surveys as a str
25、ategic tool to demonstrate progress.” Anchoring the pyramid at its base are two competencies that Ulrich describes as “table stakesnecessary but not sufficient.” Except in China, where HR is at an earlier stage in professional development and there is great emphasis on transactional activities
26、, these competencies are looked upon as basic skills that everyone must have. There is some disappointing news here. In the United States, respondents rated significantly lower on these competencies than the respondents surveyed in other countries. Business Ally. HR contributes to the success
27、of a business by knowing how it makes money, who the customers are, and why they buy the companys products and services. For HR professionals to be Business Allies (and Credible Activists and Strategy Architects as well), they should be what Ulrich describes as “business literate.” The mantra about understanding the businesshow it works, the financials and strategic issuesremains as important today as it did in every iteration of the survey the past 20 years. Yet progress in this area continues to lag.
