Some thoughts

I was watching the movie - I think Bourne Ultimatum and I liked the expression:


Hope for the best

Plan for the Worst

Transformations in HR

Is HR delivering on the promise of transformation?

A great majority of the multinational companies globally have completed or are in the process of HR transformation. However many HR departments have yet to deliver on the transformation promise. There remains a significant gap between what is expected of HR leaders and what HR leaders deliver.

Many research studies have reported that companies are being driven by the need to align the HR function more closely with business objectives and by the desire to offer more strategic support to the organisation. yet, the HR functions of very few companies are driving business outcomes.

Many professionals from the financial profession view HR as a cost centre and one that is only essential for compliance. HR is not being seen as a strategic partner. Nevertheless HR executives perceive that they are spending more time on strategic activities.

The two decades of work still does not show the impact of HR on business performance A small percentage of time is spent on strategic, value-based interventions.

Studies indicate that although the HR function has strong competence in professional knowledge, team, interpersonal and leadership skills, it lacks competence in several key areas. It can be summarised that HR lacks the skills that are required to deliver the business credibility that HR transformation is seeking to address.


Next week we will look at what is required for business transformation.

Competency based HRM

Traditional Human Resources Management emphasises job descriptions. This helps neither the organisation nor the employee. Job descriptions were part of the industrial age. With the pace of change now, we have to move beyond the industrial age.

Competency based HRM's focus on competencies enables the reinventing of the HR department. Competency becomes the foundation of all HR efforts. A concentrated focus on Competencies can accelerate productivity gains. Over the next few eeks I intend to cover this subject beyond what is described in my book Competency Management: a practitioners guide.

In the next blog post, we will talk about the transformations that are taking place in HR.

Learning the tools

I read the book Marketing Genius by Peter Fisk - a great book.

Some of the ideas - Vision of Google, Rise of Starbucks, evolution of e bay and the focus of Apple make interesting reading.