Role of HR manager

There are two questions here - what does HR know about their organisations business and what should they know.

There is little solid research to address the first question - academics like Lawler attempt to answer it (although until recently it was based on self perception only) but the fact that the question is even asked suggests that both we (as HR professionals) and our customers (the business) think that as a function, do not know enough. Although I have nothing other than personal experience and having talked to hundreds of HR managers and Directors over the last ten years, I personally disagree and believe that HR does have an adequate understanding of business, but a very poor ability to link what we do to business need or business language.

As to what we should know, I believe the answer for HR (like any other business professional) is more than we currently do. HR brings a wealth of technical skills and knowledge - the real skill and sign of a great HR professional is being able to apply that knowledge in the context of the business need, balancing competing demands and uncertainities of dealing with people with the changing business environment to find a solution that is 'good enough' because perfection is not possible. In this context, every professional needs to keep learning throughout their career.

My relationship with clients who understand the role my consulting practice offers, typically align me with the HR Director who manages my activities from afar and coordinates access into other functional departments. In those fortunate alignments, I have had the pleasant opportunity to work with professionals who by virtue of their acute understanding of the business were able to guide my efforts expertly, sufficiently and effectively with much success.

In fact, in an ongoing yearlong consulting relationship with a midsize business in NYC, the HR Director's intimate familiarity with the businesses goals, objectives and strategies aided in the identification of major internal threats that nearly crippled the company.

From my experiences, having intimate awareness and knowledge of a company's strategies and focus helped the HR Director play a significant role in collaborating with other senior officers to identify poor performance, direct employment decisions, correct inefficiencies and even recommend strategies that averted problems. I say both questions deserve serious considerations at this level.

The answer to the first question, "How much do HR managers know...", is a matter of curiosity but no utility that is obvious to me.

The answer to the second question, "How much should they know...", is "Everything", no matter what sort of HR manager one is.

A business' only strategy, its immutable objective, is to generate more profits. All else is tactics, the employment of ever-changing means at hand to accomplish strategy. A business rewards contributors to its profits with power, status, and money. Those rewards can be put to use in the accomplishment of your own HR management strategy.

To the extent that you perceive yourself as a manager of assets akin to machinery, raw materials, cash, etc., you should know as much as possible about the business' tactics for generating profits from the combination of all its assets. You need to know how and when various goods are produced in order to ensure an adequate supply of usable labor, for example.

To the extent that your perceive yourself as a nurturer of human potential, you should know as much as possible about what every employee of the business does and what he or she wants to do. Comprehensive knowledge of the entire business' tactics will follow naturally from paying attention to individual people. Employees themselves, walking each inch of the paths at whose sides you only stand, are best able to tell you what is going on in the business. Listen to them before listening to executive briefings. Do not limit your knowledge to that which others deem to be adequate.

Most HR managers fall somewhere in between the extremes of pure asset manager and pure human nurturer. The two perspectives complement one another.

The asset manager can use nurturing skills to increase the profit yield of the assets managed, thereby increasing the status, power, and financial rewards bestowed upon the asset manager. These rewards can then be re-invested in generating more rewards.

The nurturer can use asset management skills to the same end, acquiring rewards (assets) which can be invested in further nurturing of human potential. An HR manager esteemed for contributions to profits is better able to open career doors for an individual employee, for example.

HR managers who do not care to invest the considerable time and effort required to learn "everything" about the businesses in which they work must settle for the rewards of mediocrity. In fact, most do.

I am not from the HR background, but have a strong inclination to be a part of the HR team at a Senior level. I have spent 25 years in the private sector in India in various organizations ranging from Family owned (Automotive) to so called professional organizations (IT Industry).
On question "1" i.e How much do HR managers know about the business side of their company? My personal opinion based on my experience is that most of the HR managers actually don't want to get deeply involved into the business side of the organization. Their major aim seems to be to satisfy and please the top management by meeting their own KRA quantifiers instead of imparting the requisite / fruitful knowledge/ training to the employees of the organization. In a typical organization, their focus generally remains at saving smallers amounts of money for the mangement and while doing so many a times , the employee motivation levels go fairly low due to the dissatifaction from such policies. The cost of loosing produtivity is much higher than the amount saved.
On question "2" ideally they should no everything and their knowledge about the company's business and needs shall be higher than any other employee of the organization. A HR manager with such a knowledge can help in building highly motivated work force at a very small cost.
Unortunately a larger part of HR Managers play the role of Human Resources Recruier instaed of the role of Human Resources Development.

In my business relationship with HR Professionals I have come to the realization that the business excels because their fingers ard on the people pulse. Whether it's is through directive or mandate much of what I know of the relationship is based on hardcore understanding and appreciation of the core issues:
- personnel assignments
- hiring, promotion and retention of the right personnel
- identification of personnel screening tools
- leadership and training issues
- personnel discipline and accountability
- compliance and regulatory issues management

Human Resources has been the steady interventions in virtually every business function. Adept at analyzing the situation and applying swift but effective strategies their biggest downfall is the la k of support.

When it comes to the engaging aspects of personnel issues, I have to realize steadiness and experience. Compliance and regulations Are essential aspects of their function they manage with minimal energy.

If you want an unadulterated response that's where the corporate response.
redponse will vome..

I duslpect

I wanted to conclude my comments above by saying the unadulterated corporate response will come from the HR Director who feels a geuine commitment to people managememt.

The HR leadership should know as much about the business as any other operational and functional leader. To not understand the business and how it does what it does is tantamount to negligence on the part of HR leadership. Simply knowing that "I work for ABC hula-hoop company and we make and distribute hula-hoops" isn't enough. Understanding the business means knowing how the product is made; knowing how the product is distributed; knowing the internal and external challenges to both. I means understanding how revenue is realized and how, in the case of HR, how the companies people assets impact revenue.

All to often HR people only know what their company does. They don't engage in the trenches and therefore they are not truly aligned with the business. However, those that are enjoy a wonderful profession and the opportunity to make significant contribution to the company goals.

HR must focus its energies on advancing the business. If all it wants to do is focus on compliance while ensuring the "i's" are dotted and the "t's" are crossed, important as those may be, it is not adding value.