I Hate HR

What is your evidence surrounding the comment that HR does not attract top-tier talent? How should HR professionals go about changing this perception?

See Dave Ulrich’s book on HR competencies as well as my book on “Achieving Strategic Excellence: An Assessment of Human Resource Organizations”. I believe part of the problem with HR starts with the low salaries paid. In our MBA program at the University of Southern California we have trouble getting the best master’s students to focus on HR. In part it is because the starting salaries in HR are lower than most other fields of business. Of course it’s HR that typically sets the starting salaries for new MBA’s.

How does an individual who has read your book start moving their organization towards an HC-centric organization?

It’s hard to give a general answer to this question. I devote a chapter of my book to organizational change and point out that it’s difficult for even someone at a senior level to lead change. Indeed often the best way to create a talent centric organization is to start one rather than to change a large traditional organization to a more talent centric one.

Where do older generations, who still want job security, stand in an HC-centric world?

People who want a more predictable career by and large should look beyond the fast, hot moving companies which dominate press coverage. One alternative, of course, is to look for a job in government or the non-profit sector. Another alternative is to look at organizations that take a high involvement approach to management. They certainly exist and encourage individuals to take a long-term orientation toward their career. My book gives a number of examples of high involvement organizations that are worth considering. For example, W.L. Gore and Whole Foods.

Since Boards are effectively at the top of the organization, how do you begin change within them, especially with long standing Boards?

Boards are probably the hardest group to change. Basically, the starting point needs to be a new approach to membership. This means the board chair and the governance committee looking for board members who have a commitment to talent as a source of competitive advantage. I would say that shareholder activism could make this happen, but the way most boards are structured, shareholder activism is unlikely to have much effect. It really does come to the chair and/or the CEO taking the lead. Most boards need at least two members who have a strong expertise in talent management and organization design.

What would Board recruitment look like in an HC-centric organization?

Recruiting individuals with a talent expertise is not hard. They are plentiful in universities and indeed inside some corporations. The problem is that most boards don’t seek them out and most search firms don’t present them as candidates for board positions.