Skilled, Proactive and Customer Focused Staff

Skilled, Proactive and Customer Focused Staff

Introduction

This paper aims to aid our understanding of the correlation between multi-skilled, proactive and customer focused human resource management (HRM) and organisational change (OC). We look into four key areas such as: integrating HRM and OC; theories of strategic HRM; HRM's supportive vs. strategic role - should HR professionals maintain its traditional supportive role or adopt strategic roles; and lastly, how HR professionals manage resistance to change.

We identified that HRM's focus is on managing people within the employer-employee relationship. It involves the productive use of people in achieving the organisation's strategic business objectives and satisfying employee needs. HRM needs to be more then just a set of activities; it is a major contributor to the success of an enterprise because it is in a key position to affect customers, business results and shareholder value (Stone, 2005). An organisation's external effectiveness, productivity and profitability are built on the foundation of effective HR, thus the need for higher levels of sensitisation to the 'human side of the enterprise' (Chandra and Kabra, 2000).

Organisations are consistently changing and organisational changes are large-scale transitions that affect interactions, reporting relationships and responsibilities (Gilley and Maycunich, 2000). Regardless of industry, size of business, or stage of development, companies have to cope with the dynamics of flux and instability, and business success depends on the ability of an organisation to be flexible and resilient (Schomer, 2002). Several factors drive organisational change; including costs, market competition and share, financial disasters, declining revenue and profits and technology (Gilley and Maycunich, 2000). Businesses have to deal with multiple changes at the same time (Schomer, 2002).

A changing business environment has led to a strategic shift in the HR function. Strategic HRM focuses on the linking of all HR activities with the organisation's strategic objectives (Stone, 2005). In Jacobs, Johnson and McKeown's (2007) article: HR is required to act as both a stabilizer and champion in the midst of storms of change. The rest of the organisation looks to HR to provide needed structures, processes and approaches to support change. Also to see that change efforts deliver long-term results.

Stone (2005) and Heathfield (2007) both mentioned that the HR professional's role must parallel the needs of his changing organisation; these roles include strategic partner, employee advocate, change champion and administrative expert. HR professionals must fully develop themselves as whole leaders, owning both internal knowledge such as mission, values and strategies as well as explore vast knowledge outside their current sphere of responsibility, in order to effectively manage cross-organisational initiatives (Losey, 2004).

2.0 Literature Review - Critical Issues2.1 The integration between Human Resource Management (HRM) andOrganisation Change (OC)HRM is not purely coordinating an organisation's human resources; it plays a role to intentionally incorporate the interest of an organisation and its employees (Stone, 2005). When an organisation is expecting to transform, the alignment between organisation's strategies and HRM's policies and strategies plays a critical part. With that integration, HR functions can support and facilitate the achieving ...