A recent survey conducted by the Foundation for Human Resources Development among 239 HR professionals, who graduated in one of the Human Resource academic courses offered in Malta by the Centre for Labour Market Studies of the University of Leicester in the past years, revealed that 77 per cent of respondents consider their CLMS qualification as relevant or very relevant to their work. These professionals (82.8 per cent) went as far as to admit that their qualification helped them in their daily work.
These statistics suggest a direct correlation between the quality and type of the academic input of these programmes and the reality that the graduates have to face in their daily interactions at the place of work. This is very important because in today’s world no one has the time, and many not even the money, to spend on studies that do not make a difference to their careers and their place of work. This information comes hot on the heels at a time when the HR profession moved to the forefront of corporate strategy as the recession gripped countries worldwide and companies had to react and re-position themselves to survive and prepare for the upturn. In most cases, the cavallo di battaglia was the HR department that explained the situation to the employees, implemented re-structuring exercises, sometimes downsizing, re-training and being innovative, kept employees engaged and motivated when prospects were not looking all that great.
It is no surprise that the survey showed that while only 18.5 per cent of respondents occupied managerial or senior positions before they embarked on their studies, the figure had nearly trebled (54.7 per cent) by the time the survey was taken. Moreover, almost half (44.7 per cent) had moved to new jobs, with more than three quarters of them (79.6 per cent) claiming that they had moved to more senior positions. HR professionals are fast moving into the strategic positions as the skills and competencies they bring have increasingly become critical for companies to compete and grow.
Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States, said in a recent speech: “Increasingly, the most important challenges business faces today are in the realm of HR.” He goes on to suggest that these are interesting and challenging times in the history of HR. Indeed they are because in the last down turn, four in five (81 per cent) of the executives whose companies conducted scenarios planning were satisfied with their company’s crises management, as opposed to just 40 per cent of executives at companies that engaged in ad hoc planning. Foresight and pro-active planning have become the litmus test for HR managers.
HR departments started moving from merely dealing with personnel costs to productivity metrics and measuring the value added. The analysis of the job categories took priority. This enabled managers to make smarter and long-term choices about their work force. HR assumed greater credibility where redundant tasks were eliminated, moved bundle activities into shared-service centres, cut down on bureaucracy and created common HR processes. They stepped up the tracking of progress, intervened where necessary, and kept channels of communication open so that employees retained confidence in the future. In this respect the HR manager decreased ambiguity while aligned and engaged employees, making him or her, the greatest ally of the CEO.
Al Gore described it very well in his speech when he said that HR had to lead and promote long-term thinking over short-term, and the person the CEO turns to for guidance in this area.
The CLMS/FHRD survey confirms this increased importance of the HR function. In fact 46.2 per cent of respondents were promoted after qualification while there was a significant shift in the level of salaries that they earned. Those earning between €20,000 and €30,000 before their studies accounted for a quarter. This figure increased to 40.5 per cent after qualifying. Those previously earning between €30,000 and €40,000 increased from seven per cent to 14.4 per cent while those earning higher salaries increased from 0.8 per cent to 4.5 per cent. It is worth pointing out that the figure for those who previously earned less than €20,000 dropped from 67 per cent to 36 per cent, indicating that people progressed in their careers and moved to higher salary brackets. The reported shifts in salaries are significant ones and it is reasonable to conclude that the HR’s strategic role is being acknowledged and its contribution is having a direct effect on the bottom line. The HR function has come a long way from the traditional head counting and measuring inputs to enhancing talent and innovation that gives the competitive edge to the company and ensures its sustainability. Such competencies do not grow on trees but are nurtured by the systematic development of the people and the enabling creative environment that they work in. The FHRD Conference held in October focused on how this is done.
In this respect, the statement of 99 per cent of the respondents that they would recommend professional HR training to their friends is very much in sync with the reality of the pressing needs of success oriented organisations.
Mr Gerada is the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Human Resources Development