Seems to me like this little economic crisis thing may just propel our profession into an organic change of its own.
For some time I’ve thought that the next evolution for HR will be to displace responsibility to operational management. Said differently, that we enable others to do for themselves what we’ve been doing for them.
Aside from the natural reluctance associated with self-annihalation, there is, of course, the refusal of those we enable to, well, just do things correctly on their own.
OK. But what happens when the chunk of cheddar shrinks and there ain’t quite enough to keep us white-collar desk-set types on the payroll? Huh? Huh?
Having survived similar times in the private sector – this will either create stagnation or evolution. I prefer the evolution that enables us HR types to facilitate effective management – as a business partner.
I shudder to think of those days if they come to pass. While it seems at first glance easier to let one self-service, there are way too many details for one to do that successfully. My full time job is something that does not involve having to constantly think of HR details, regulations, etc. For me to also keep all that in mind would be impossible. I am thankful that we have HR professionals, and especially thankful when they are very patient and don’t mind repeating the same answer for the 15,000th time. May you always be gainfully employed and there to keep us sane and gainfully employed.
My agency is working on a big initiative involving HR self-service, and we’ve already moved to a self-service model for travel and are headed there (I think) for procurement. I’m not sure how successful it can be if there isn’t a lot of effort invested in training users and managing their expectations.
For the 15,000th time: Attitude makes the difference. How do you measure attitude? Behavior.
How do you engage and address behavior? Communication.
What makes good communication? Education and desire.
Desire to listen, share, understand and grow. How could we do this better? 2.0
HR self- serve is almost 2.0 – Maybe we’re almost there. A couple more clicks and Voila!
Good morning, MD
The State Department just began a very modest rollout of its new HR Shared Services program this month – it’s designed to be a “tiered” system that puts more emphasis on self-service, but does provide higher tier communication with HR specialists. The only thing I’ve heard about it so far is that the call center is being flooded with requests from offices that aren’t included in the rollout. *laugh* However, the staff has been instructed that they cannot turn ANYONE away, so as to maintain confidence in the program.
I guess we’ll see how well it works over the coming months. I’ll try to remember to come back and share any news I hear about it.