Reference no: EM132182810

Only 4% of mid- and top-level managers outside the HR department rate their company’s human resource programs as excellent in an international survey by the Deloitte consulting firm. Another 24% say the performance is good. That leaves more than 7 out of 10 who consider the performance just adequate or worse. Their colleagues in the HR department tend to agree, with just 5% rating their department’s performance as excellent and 34% calling it good. What is going wrong? The analysts at Deloitte see the problem as a failure to align HR work with the company’s strategy. Many managers and employees in these departments are sticking to their old, familiar roles as specialists in particular functions. Departments are spending more on technology but underinvesting in improvements to their people (through hiring, training, and development) and processes. For this situation to improve, HR managers and employees need to educate themselves about the business, so they understand how they can contribute to solving business problems. HR professionals who want to take a leadership role may even plan career paths in which they take a turn in line management, responsible for sales or production, so they have a fuller picture of what makes the company tick. Questions 1. Imagine that you work for a manufacturing company where the HR department’s performance on providing the necessary talent is just “adequate.” From a business standpoint, what might be the consequences of this less-thanexcellent performance? 2. Imagine you run the HR department in that same manufacturing company. What is one step you could take to improve your department’s performance?