New rules - new job titles?

When David Bell left the Financial Times newspaper to become the HR director of its parent company Pearson, he insisted that his job title become Director for People. The finance director immediately retorted that in that case he should be called Director for Money, but there is something in a name . How about these:

• chief talent officer

• chief people developer/head coach

• chief life-work balance officer

• chief rewards executive

• chief of culture relations

• keeper of the corporate conscience.

Here's how some of these will work:

Chief talent officer

We will soon again be facing a talent famine and this role will be crucial to any business's attempts to sustain success. The chief talent officer is going to be charged with the responsibility for finding and holding the best talent you can get for the money. Not only that, with a premium on good people, one of the keys to this job will be to have enough ˜helpers' to locate and sign-up good people before the competition. That means getting into bed with the very best in executive search and recruitment (because you won't be able to do it all internally). That means having permanent searches underway - globally - for top performers. It will also mean knowing the strategic direction the company is going in, in order to be able to provide the needed human capital at the right time. So, in addition to managing people IN, it will entail the professional managing of people OUT when they have completed assignments. It will also include working with a second level of ˜contracted' staff, who may well work for other businesses. It is going to be a lot more complex than in the past.

Chief people developer/head coach

A lot of what HR-style people will do will focus on making the people you have already hired better than ever. They, of course, will expect lifelong learning as part of the overall reward process. Additionally, senior HR people will be expected to make sure that the top team is constantly up to speed and know where to access the very best in learning and personal development experiences.

Chief life-work balance officer

As we have seen throughout this book, life-work balance is not going to blow away, it is here to stay. How you harness it inside the business may vary, but those that recognise and celebrate flexibility and diversity will most probably have an edge on the competitors . Having formal programmes that meet, exceed and develop with people's expectations has got to be the way to go. You will have a more motivated, educated and productive workforce as a result.

Chief rewards executive

Reward programmes are going to be very different as people seek - and receive - a broader range of rewards based on their present circumstances. Again, the smart companies who allow employees to choose the package that fits their lifestyle will be winners.

More than that, we will begin tying managerial rewards down to whether or not we as managers can motivate our teams . And in case you don't see it that way, smart companies are already doing it. ^[1]

Two hundred and fifty HR managers were asked the question, ˜In the future, do you think that at least part of the salaries and bonuses for executives and managers will be based on their ability to maintain a satisfied workforce or create a talented team?'

Yes, it is already happening 27%

It will happen soon 33%

It is something that will eventually happen 30%

I don't think so 6% Not stated 4%

Chief of culture relations

We got a long way without mentioning culture. But a good or a bad culture in the company is going to be a crucial measurement device. If the culture is negative then you are going to have to spend a great deal of time trying to turn it around. Places with positive culture will become true talent magnets, where reputation alone will ensure a steady supply of the right people.

Keeper of the corporate conscience

It seems to me that it is HR, or whatever HR will metamorphose into, that will assume the mantle of keeping the conscience - the ethical flame - of the business alive . Corporations need to be able to look back at their history and it seems that HR- related skills are best suited for this.

The future: supermanagers?

So, far from being eliminated, industry experts see HR responsibilities as crossing the whole of the organisational spectrum. But it is going to be a very different type of role in order to fulfil all these functions. The thoughts of most commentators are leaning toward the idea that we will see a supermanager emerging: what one senior executive termed a ˜transformer'. This person will help people work and develop and in the process have a stake in part of the ongoing transformation of the business. Because, in the view of those I talked to in my research, our businesses are not static bodies, but living entities in constant flux and development. We have to work with individual employees who are personally undergoing the same process of change. To manage these dynamic processes requires people with vision, but also people who value the human contribution above all else.

Best practice guidelines for outsourcing

These guidelines are adapted from the publication Outsourcing in Brief ² which I wrote in 1997 in an attempt to explain what was then the emerging outsourcing phenomenon . Since then outsourcing has become a huge global business. But the basic management principles of how to get it right still apply.

Management issues

• Retain in-house control over strategic direction.

• Retain responsibility for setting standards to which the supplier must conform.

• Use a prime contractor.

• Make the supplier responsible for delivery.

• Be prescriptive about the service requirements rather than the method of service delivery.

• Never lose sight of the business-driven objectives of outsourcing.

• Avoid lock-in to any single supplier.

• Expect value-for-money, but accept the supplier's need to make a profit - a partnership.

• Understand the strategic, political and managerial implications of the scope of your outsourcing.

• Define the supplier's points of contact - ensure adherence.

• Have an appropriate person to manage the contract.

• Keep the procedures simple.

• Regularly review the outsourcing contract and relationship with the supplier.

• NEVER stop negotiating.

• Re-tender contracts at defined intervals.

• Regularly review the outsourcing market to identify trends and changes.

• Monitor supplier's resource levels and business knowledge.

• Encourage co- operative contract evolution and take advantage of developing technologies.

• Retain and exercise the right to conduct IS audits at the supplier's premises.

• Aim for continuous improvement.

  HR-specific issues

• Ensure sufficient number and quality of in-house staff remain to manage the outsourced situation.

• Promote a continuing bond between supplier staff and end-users.

• Make the morale of supplier staff a customer concern.

• Sort out personality conflicts as soon as possible.

• Review regularly in-house staff skills and numbers .

• Involve end-users in monitoring service delivery against targets.

• Retain the right to veto supplier's choice of key staff.

  Service/business issues

• Match expectations with needs, not historical achievements.

• Have a contingency escape plan covering the outsourcing contract, software ownership etc.

• Maintain the right to invite tenders for new work.

• Recognise that requirements will change and be willing to adjust costs accordingly .

• Ensure that service-level agreements are always realistic and do not expect them to remain static.

• Continue to benchmark the service and consider alternative approaches.

• Discuss with all concerned , at the earliest possible stage, plans which could affect services.

  Communications/understanding issues

• Clearly define the scope and interface of what is outsourced.

• Establish unambiguous roles and responsibilities for the customer, end- user and supplier.

• Maintain regular customer/supplier contact at various levels - even when things are going well.

• Establish an open relationship, be prepared to compromise.

• Build a relationship of trust with the supplier.

• Hold regular meetings to monitor achievements.

• Define clear escalation procedures.

• Do not abuse escalation procedures - nit-picking with managers is counter-productive

• Encourage the supplier to propose changes based on their expertise.

• Ensure customer awareness, understanding and commitment.

  Using or adapting this checklist, fleshing it out to meet you own specific needs, as well as sharing it with others can only contribute to the overall success of the HR outsourcing process.

 

^[1] Results of a poll of 250 HR managers at the October 2002 Richmond Events European HR Conference