Research and results

Citation

Nolan, S. (2010), "Research and results", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 9 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2010.37209aab.008

Research and results

Article Type: Research and results From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 9, Issue 1

A look at current trends and data

Story 1

Successful HR leaders have diverse business experience

Research from HR transformation consultancy, Orion Partners, shows that successful HR leaders have diverse business experience outside of HR. The research, which is ongoing, initially encompassed interviews among a group of 30 HR leaders from a range of industries across the public and private sectors in Europe, America and South Africa. All participants held senior HR leadership positions at HR director level either for the whole enterprise or for a distinct part of a high profile company with a reputation for success as a business. A number of similarities within the population were identified including the following:

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  Great HR leaders do not get to the top in one organization and stop there. Seventy-three percent had held a senior HR leadership position elsewhere prior to their current role.

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  Diverse experience is the norm with 64 percent having had relevant business experience outside of HR, 50 percent having had experience of working outside their country of origin and 50 percent having worked in multiple sectors.

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  An HR qualification is shown not to be an absolute requirement with 46 percent holding no formal HR qualification.

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  Orion Partners found that HR leaders establish their credibility and build the foundation for future influence from three different perspectives. For some the primary focus is being a businessperson, for others it is building relationships and for the rest it is as a facilitator and coach. In spite of having preferred starting points, participants recognized the need to be able to use all three approaches flexibly to earn respect with a wide range of people in a variety of organizations.

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  A key finding was that the “mindset” among great HR leaders – how they define their role and purpose in the organization and what they believe about themselves, the HR function and its contribution to the success of the business – is more important than the many technical skills and knowledge they have amassed over their careers.

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  It was also identified that the best HR leaders share four defining characteristics and that these, in common with all of the other findings, were consistent across all sectors and industries. They are a sense of purpose, business focus, a focus on HR function construction and self-knowledge.

For more information

The full report can be downloaded from: www.orionpartners.co.uk/download/downloadfile.php?code=lead

Story 2

European survey shows low employee commitment

For the third consecutive year, coaching, consulting and training company, Krauthammer, has surveyed employees across Europe about the behavior they seek and experience from their managers. As with previous years, the results show that there are significant gaps between desires and reality. The company says that employee commitment is “worryingly low” and that senior managers in particular should beware of paying lip service to crucial behaviors, such as listening to staff.

According to the survey results, the majority of managers (64 percent) are behaving in an exemplary or at least operational way and the behavior of a third (33 percent) is at best penalizing and at worst disqualifying. However, 27 percent of employees report that their commitment to remaining in their organization over the next 12 months is low.

Krauthammer is building up a European dashboard of management dimensions. This means researching the behavior employees seek and experience for 27 essential management practices, such as the way managers “encourage them to express their ideas” or “identify their talent.” Of the 27 behavioral areas that were surveyed, two practices rank top of the list of most wanted, year after year. The gaps between the behaviors that respondents seek and experience in relation to these practices are as follows:

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  95 percent would like their manager to analyze their task problems together, 52 percent experience this.

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  80 percent want their manager to admit their mistakes spontaneously, but only 43 percent of managers do this.

For more information

The complete study can be downloaded at: www.krauthammer.com/Docs/Content/File/KO/how-to-become-a-born-manager.pdf

Story 3

Operational efficiencies a key business focus

Organizations are increasingly opting to focus on operational efficiencies rather than headcount and salary slashing, according to a report, “Managing people costs in a downturn”, from workforce change management and outplacement specialist, Rialto. The research investigated how organizations have been managing their people cost base in the global downturn, with particular emphasis on whether the focus is solely on cost cutting through headcount and salary reduction. It encompasses the views of 30 global organizations. Key findings include:

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  There is less emphasis on slashing headcount or salaries. The report reveals the most common strategies related to achieving operational efficiencies. These range from a more explicit intention on operational cost reduction, e.g. expense control, webinars or extension of debtor days to 120, through to more complex initiatives such as contracting the number of global operating regions and centralization of all back office in one location, supply chain consolidation into a single global contract and complete outsourcing of business services.

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  There is a renewed focus on alternative cost reduction strategies. Closely following the implementation of operational efficiencies was the implementation of alternative people cost reduction strategies, such as loaning employees to other organizations, secondments between sites with varying capacities, bonus deferment, salary and benefits freezes. Significantly, the latter is occurring in all global regions, even those with strong union partnership agreements such as France, Germany and the Netherlands.

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  Talent retention and development are still important. The report revealed that initiatives are focused on endeavoring to maintain training impetus in a more cost efficient manner; for example, through online learning and discussion groups and short term global assignments. Rather than freezing all hiring and employee-development programs, companies should use this period as an opportunity to upgrade talent and better engage existing employees.

For more information

Visit: www.rialtoconsultancy.com

Story 4

Business leaders plan to overhaul working practices

A report from Regus, a provider of workplace solutions, into the views of 1,130 business leaders across the globe on the workplace of the future has found that two thirds are implementing extensive innovations to their workplace models over the next three years. The primary focus for dealing with change will be to implement “socially-networked” workplaces and “trust-based” practices.

The research, conducted by JBA, a specialist in workplace performance, reveals that substantial business change is being predicted by 83 percent of respondents. As a consequence, there will be a 28 percent increase in investment in trust-based working practices – defined by granting all employees full temporal and spatial autonomy over when and where they work.

Furthermore, nearly a third of business leaders stated they are planning to increase investment in socially networked workplaces. According to the study, the socially networked workplace means actively encouraging employees to engage and collaborate with likeminded people far beyond the traditional workplace boundaries with a view to significantly increasing innovation and strengthening competitive and creative developments.

Key findings include:

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  Two thirds of global business leaders are implementing extensive innovations to their workplace models.

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  More than 40 percent are changing their workplace models to become more collaborative.

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  67 percent believe that investment in trust-based work practices will have a positive organizational impact; only 19.4 percent perceive a negative impact.

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  Over the next three years there will be a 27.5 percent increase in investment in trust-based workplaces.

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  79.5 percent believe investment in socially networked workplaces will have a positive organizational impact; only 8.4 percent perceive a negative impact.

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  Over the next three years there will be a 27.6 percent increase in investment in socially networked workplaces.

For more information

Visit: www.jbassociates.uk.com

Sara Nolan