The redesign of your HR department does not happen overnight nor does it mean terminating the entire HR team and starting with a clean slate. Transforming your HR team has as much to do with its people as it does its philosophies and processes. Therefore, the successful redesigning of your HR department involves new behavior and patterns of thought for the transformation to be integrated into the entire company’s culture. Ultimately, these changes can define and build capabilities that will guide you better in dealing with business challenges. So let us begin by looking into a four-step model to include when redesigning and upgrading professionals in your HR department.
Step 1. Defining your standards
The standards of every company are like its backbone. Its strength and success will depend on how the HR professionals articulate those standards. These may include training so that they can become more articulate speakers. Or encourage them to think outside the box or even activities that allow them to be more tech-savvy—allowing those in the HR department to think beyond building a better talent force, structure, communication, or rewards practice. The transformation then becomes vital, serving stakeholders and a clearer understanding of its impact on the business.
Step 2. Performing regular assessments
Redesigning your HR department must include regular assessments to ensure that your organization’s HR professionals are meeting the company’s standards and still align with the organization’s mission and vision. Because employee assessments are often led by the HR department, it may be up to the organization’s executives to evaluate the HR department. Alternatively, and if there are multiple members in the HR department, the HR professionals may self-assess to determine whether they are still an effective team.
Step 3. Making Room for improvement
One of the best mindsets that a company can have is the awareness that there is always room for more improvement. Portfolios with development activities are one great option for upgrading the HR department. To address the ever-changing needs, there must be an ongoing initiative to encourage progress. This mindset allows HR professionals a continuity of finding better ways of implementing rules or addressing concerns. It also allows them to be excellent employee models that encourage career growth.
Step 4. Tracking progress
The competence of the professionals in your HR departments must be monitored regularly to ensure that they are all meeting the company’s standards. Monitoring HR department performance may involve interviewing employees to determine how effective the HR team is at meeting HR-related responsibilities and expectations.
As expectations change and increase, there will be an even greater need to develop methodologies that prepare the HR department for disruption and demand. HR professionals need to be prepared to respond to the changes so that they can stay on track. By integrating the new practices, they will become more effective and competent at their jobs.
Are you looking at how to redesign your HR department? Let’s talk about it. Email me at greg@inscapeconsulting.com.
