Find out which programs human resource professionals may want to help out with
Although HR has, in the past, often been viewed primarily as a personnel management function, today, a num
ber of departments are contributing to nontraditional projects and tasks.
Increased HR participation in different programs and practices can raise the department’s profile — which may prove helpful if it wants to request additional
funding in the future.
Becoming more involved can also position HR departments to better understand the inner workings and needs of the overall organization, ultimately helping teams better serve their constituents.
For some human resource departments, taking on a larger role may mean assisting with external PR campaigns. Others are vetting technology and examining production elements that don’t directly pertain to talent management.
Could your department benefit from increasing its involvement in any of the following aspects?
PR
Although marketing departments may have traditionally handled most promotional efforts, small organizations, in particular — 43 percent of companies with 100 or fewer employees — view managing the company’s online reputation as HR’s responsibility, according to a 2017 Paychex survey.
Stepping into a larger employer branding role could help boost the perception of HR departments’ capabilities among the nearly half of small company employees (48 percent) who rated their department’s performance as average. Bigger businesses didn’t fare much better; 48 percent of employees at medium-sized organizations and 44 percent at large firms also described their HR team’s performance as average.
Enterprise-wide planning
Business leaders, according to Deloitte’s 2016 Human Capital Trends report, have progressively emphasized aligning HR strategy with organizational strategy in recent years. The consultant’s 2017 trend report suggests companies now support increased HR assistance in dealing with gaps that exist between technology, business and public policy — helping address issues, for example, relating to income inequality, unemployment and trade, which can directly affect employers through regulation, taxes and legislation.
Big data use
Business leaders have also placed pressure on HR departments to turn data into actionable insights in recent years, according to Deloitte. Human resource-related adoption of business intelligence/analytics solutions is expected to increase from 40 to 58 percent by 2020, according to a Sierra-Cedar prediction, one of the highest levels of growth out of all the application categories the company measured.
Sustainability
More than half (54 percent) of HR departments say they have little to no role in managing company sustainability efforts, according to Center for Effective Organizations research. Yet with McKinsey & Company data indicating 43 percent of companies in a variety of industries and regions are currently trying to align sustainability initiatives with their overall goals and/or values, going green is clearly a priority for many businesses — making it a favorable option for HR departments that hope to gain greater influence in decision making to escalate their involvement in.
As beneficial as increased HR involvement in additional areas can be, department members still have to ensure they can take care of their primary obligations.
For information on facilitating some of the HR roles and responsibilities in an organization to potentially free up time for other work, check out our blog posts on 3 steps that can help companies successfully outsource HR services, unexpected costs that may be missing from your HR budget and 4 points to consider when building your HR brand.
For more on future trends in human resource management, view our posts on today’s CHRO role, whether or not HR professionals should fear job automation and the surprising ways using blockchain in HR could permanently change the way companies hire.