Since its inception in 1987, the global HR Competency Study (HRCS) has helped shape the role of HR professionals globally. Through rigorous research and insights from HR leaders across the world, this study has helped businesses and the HR community to learn, embrace and implement impactful practices.
HRCS is conceptualized by the RBL Group, co-founded by Dr. Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, who are on the forefront of strategic HR transformation, organization strategy and transformation, and leadership capability development. The assessments have helped HR professionals to evaluate their HR processes and structure to pinpoint opportunities and areas of improvement.
Stanton Chase and the RBL Group are partnering to bring the RBL Group’s popular HR 360 Assessments and HR Effectiveness Audits to the India market. Given the recent evolution of the workplace, the focus of HR has evolved substantially, and the results of this new study would be watched closely by the global HR community.
Round 8 of HRCS is now in progress and will remain open till mid-February. The study is updated every four to five years, resulting in the publication of content that helps shape the HR profession and its evolution globally. It has helped define the role of HR as a strategic contributor to business. Prior rounds of studies have produced acclaimed books such as “HR Champions,” “HR Value Proposition,” “HR Competencies,” “HR from the Outside-In,” “Global HR Competencies,” and “Victory Through Organization.” HRCS is also the largest global study on HR, with thousands of ratings spanning over 30 years, and is open to all HR professionals.
Key Insights From The Previous HRCS
Insights from the 2016 Round 7 of HRCS have been invaluable and resulted in highlighted competencies through which HR professionals deliver business value. The research identified what individual HR professionals should know and do to respond to these business opportunities.
The findings included three core competencies and six enablers.
Three Core Competencies
1. Strategic positioner – applies knowledge of business context and strategy
2. Credible activist – builds relationships of trust and influence with key people within the organization
3. Paradox navigator – navigates the many embedded tensions in business operations
Six HR Enablers
Three of these enablers focused on building a strategic organization:
1. Culture and change champion – makes change happen and weaves change initiatives into culture change
2. Human capital curator – manages the flow of talent by developing people and leaders, driving individual performance, and building technical talent
3. Total reward steward – manages employee well-being through financial and non-financial rewards
Three enablers focused on tactical delivery:
1. Technology and media integrator – uses technology and social media to create and drive high-performing organizations
2. Analytics designer and interpreter – uses analytics to improve decision making
3. Compliance manager – manages the processes related to compliance by following regulatory guidelines
The Round 7 study also found that some competencies were more critical for certain stakeholders. Creating value for internal stakeholders, such as line managers and employees, requires being a credible activist. Creating value for external stakeholders such as investors and external customers, however, requires being a strategic positioner.
About 50 percent of the perceived performance of HR professionals comes from their competencies. About 35 percent of the perceived performance of HR professionals comes from their demographics and career histories. A key overarching finding was that the activities of HR departments as a whole consistently explain more of the department’s performance than the competencies of the HR professionals within those departments. HR professionals have more impact on key stakeholders when they work as an effective HR department.
About the Author:
Mark Nyman is the president of the solutions business at the RBL Group and is a recognized expert in organization design and transformation. He has consulted with Adidas, AT&T, Merck, Pfizer, Rio Tinto, and many other top companies.
