Human Resource department needs to monitor and follow up to ensure employee morale does not take a beating, messages and policies are properly communicated and implemented.

Q. Discuss HR’s vital participation in the strategic and administrative “treatment” of a company during hard times.
A. HR needs to be truthful when announcing difficult decisions such as downsizing. The HR department needs to work closely with the CEO to ensure that the restructuring exercise is properly carried out and with the support of the staff. The companies will then know that people are not against bad news but they want to see quick and effective results.

Q. Have you come across some common employee expectations during turnaround?
A. Employees hate uncertainty. Therefore, it is important that the turnaround or restructuring plan should be shared with the staff to get their support. The management should treat the staff, who are retrenched, with respect as the remaining people are watching closely how their former colleagues are being treated.

The management should also direct the focus of the staff on the future and financial rewards when the company does a turnaround. It is important to turn the negative energy in to positive during the turnaround as negative energy impacts employees’ morale, hard work, and hope.

Q. Please elaborate on your principle: “Manage yourself with the head and others with the heart”.
A. The prime weakness of the external CEOs is that they do not know the existing team and the trend. This leads them to make decisions based on their own reasoning and without understanding the sentiments and background of the employees. In a restructuring exercise, one should use his head to plan and analyse, and the heart to energise and empathise with others. For example, a plan on the cost-cutting exercises with the head. However, when one implements it one needs to win the hearts to get the support of the people. Also, there arises the need to energise and motivate the workforce. Reda more...

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Not restricted to traditional practices alone, HR today seeks support and recognition from the CEO in driving change. - by IIPM Think Tank

In a CEO’s opinion the ‘real’ HR professional should have a profile matching the following: brain of Albert Einstein, charisma of J.F. Kennedy, negotiating skills of Henry Kissinger, marketing skills of Iacocca, hide of a rhinoceros, the soul of Mother Teresa, and stamina of Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

CEOs need credible HR partners who know the dynamic intersection of business results, customer expectations and people performance. By expecting more business acumen than ever from the HR function, CEOs have challenged HR leaders to redefine their roles and contribution. They feel HR executives have the capability to build trust, communicate and collaborate with others with professional compatibility, diplomacy and discretion.

A section of senior managers believe HR is a corporate Siberia with no visibility and accountability. They are perceived as being only able to deal with the softer side of business because they are diplomatic, typically positive in outlook and gracious. But the CEO, by contrast, requires an advisor who tells him or her what the key people issues are, and who rigorously influences him or her about the solutions.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey has rightly said “Management works in the system, leadership works on the system.” This clearly highlights one of the biggest expectations of a CEO from his HR manager. The emphasis is on the need of leadership that is skilled in identifying and developing talent.

A CEO expects the HR to identify the behaviours and skills that drive the organisation’s productivity and success. Senior HR executives are expected to be savvy interpreters of trends, with the ability to translate trends into valuable opportunities for the company, preparing the workforce to drive more productivity in the business. Read more...

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SARAH CORNALLY FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR, CORNALLY ENTERPRISES Learning lingua franca of the boardroom

With over 25 years as a leadership and management consultant, Ms. Sarah Cornally specialises in developing leaders to create culture that enables organisations to thrive. Ms. Cornally is a leading expert in organisational dynamics, examining culture and strategy of senior executives and leadership at the boardroom level. She has co-authored several books such as ‘Turning Strategic Intent into Real Results’.

Q. How do you see HR’s role as a strategic business partner?
A. Strategy is how you go about bringing a vision from an idea into existence. In business, it requires understanding all the forces at play in the marketplace, deciding how you will create value by mobilising resources that fulfill the purpose of an organisation. Consulting with organisations where there are co-creative relationships between the CEO, CFO, COO, CIO and CHRO gives a clear line of sight to the contribution each function plays in bringing the vision into being.

This requires the CHRO to understand the business strategy from a commercial perspective and all its implications for the organisational design, development and culture – both short and long term. CHRO should be able to demonstrate credible knowledge in understanding what the business strategy demands from various functions of the business and how HR can be a partner to enable this to work effectively.

Q. What does the leadership expect from HR?
A. The leadership needs a well-designed organisation that functions effectively to enable the business strategy to be implemented in the most effective and well-leveraged way that embodies their brand and strengthens their reputation. They need to be attractive to the kind of talent they need, recruit them well and be able to align them to deliver the results and retain them, while optimising their levels of engagement and contribution. They need to grow their future leaders to ensure continuity and evolution consistent with their long-term vision. Creating systems and processes which make sure that they meet all their responsibilities towards the employees and other stakeholder obligations is essential.

The board is concerned about organisational effectiveness and their stewardship responsibility regarding the health of the organisation and factors that impact on organisational performance. The directors need to have accurate picture of the organisation to exercise their responsibilities and work with management. The HR executives need to build understanding in the boardroom by speaking boardroom language and framing messages in meaningful ways. Click here to read full interview...

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