News & Views: One Size Does Not Fit All in HR Anymore

Today’s job market is seeing a flurry of hiring activity in many areas, including in the HR field. As the economy has grown and the corporate landscape has changed, little evidence remains of the tentative stance many companies took when hiring post-9/11. Companies are starting to feel comfortable hiring more aggressively and are putting HR teams in place to support their organizations in the pursuit, recruitment and development of key talent. However, rather than hiring generalists, companies are hiring experts who are capable of more in-depth HR work.

The Birth of the Specialist

In the past, HR professionals who became generalists rather than specialists did so both because they were expected to be multifaceted and because they liked the variety that the role of generalist provided. But now, in many cases, this has begun to limit career potential rather than enhance it. As the title implies, generalists are often viewed as somewhat knowledgeable in all aspects of HR, but without a strong depth of understanding of any one facet. The HR generalist of old wore many hats and was much more administrative and tactical in nature. By contrast, the specialized HR professional today is a true strategic partner to the business.

HR specialists are becoming more involved in the business as a whole through implementation of organizational development programs, training and development programs, change management, succession planning, diversity training, and designing creative benefits packages and HR systems. They work with senior management to plan today for the challenges of tomorrow. These obstacles include coping with a lack of talent, a shortage in the technical labor pool, the need to retain key personnel, the difficulty of engaging a younger workforce and managing the exodus and retirement of the baby boomer generation. Savvy HR professionals specialize in one or more of these areas.

As true business partners, today’s HR professionals realize their job description transcends traditional HR duties and that their role must include strategic decision-making to drive their company’s performance. They, as part of a non-revenue-generating arm of their companies, need to be able to clearly demonstrate value by establishing and improving the types of programs and procedures previously mentioned, as well as managing the recruitment, retention and development of key talent. Employers want to know how HR will contribute to the bottom line—and see a demonstrable return on their investment. This mindset is indicative of the current business environment as a whole.

As companies continue to invest in their futures, more and more of the associated responsibilities with workforce growth will fall to HR. To this end, HR professionals know they must fully understand the business objectives that drive their organizations. They are proactive in learning how HR can be more involved in supporting the day-to-day operations of key departments. Whether the department in question is sales or research and development, strategic HR professionals build strong programs that grow the employees’ skill sets in each domain. HR professionals need to be strong coaches and consultants to the business line managers in order to help make them better and more successful managers.

HR’s Expanded Role

There are many areas that companies are hiring specialized HR professionals for, especially talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, employee assimilation, retention, change management and training and development. These specialty areas are now evolving in the following ways:

Talent Acquisition and Succession Planning

HR professionals are doing more than ever before to help build the human element that is so critical to a company’s growth and well being. For example, directors of staffing and recruiting are being asked by senior management to create and/or implement succession planning and retention programs. The knowledge that makes internal staffing specialists successful should be harnessed for best practices in bringing new recruits onboard and retaining existing employees. This same expertise is also extremely effective in succession planning, more and more staffing managers are being pulled into this specialized area of HR.

Compensation and Benefits

With job seekers routinely receiving multiple offers, it falls to HR to develop forward-looking compensation and benefits packages to attract prospective employees, as well as creative programs and services to grow the next generation of leaders. Today, employers are offering employees and job candidates an array of benefits to choose from—including the standard health insurance, 401K contribution and retirement plans—that are appealing to the employee but affordable for the company. Enhanced benefit plans may include additional vacation time, child care, transportation allowances, even fitness programs.

Innovative compensation packages, on the other hand, may feature bonuses, short- and long-term incentive programs and skill-based pay. Today, the emphasis is on total compensation rather than base salary, which has traditionally been the focus. No matter what is included, benefits and compensation packages must strike the right balance of meeting the employees’ needs but also be sustainable for the future of the company.

Assimilation

At one time HR may have been responsible for passing out employee handbooks and benefits paperwork or conducting a quick orientation session to help new employee acclimate on his or her first day, the trend now is for HR to be responsible for the whole onboarding process. From putting together an agenda for a new hire’s first two weeks to working with senior managers on a 90-day plan for a successful assimilation into the new company, including training and development opportunities from the start.

Retention

On the retention side of the business, there is an increasing demand for HR professionals who can create employee development programs that help strengthen the employee’s personal employment outlook by defining a career path at the company, offering training and certification opportunities, as well as mentoring programs and work/life balance support. In a booming economy where employee retention comes to the forefront, there is a strong need for an HR professional expert in maintaining staff levels and protecting against workforce depletion.

Change Management

Change management is an especially important discipline, as companies need higher performance from their employees in order to serve the needs of an ever-evolving organization. HR has an important role to play by helping business managers obtain change management skills as well as driving all aspects of organizational change—from communication plans to recognizing areas of resistance to outlining success models.

Training and Development

In order for training and development initiatives to succeed, they must be tied into business objectives. By being knowledgeable in the business side of the organization, a training and development specialist will not only be able to contribute directly to the bottom line by establishing integrated programs, he or she is able to build projects that are specific to the organization’s unique challenges and the skills of its workforce.

Making the Shift

The shift to specialization need not frighten today’s HR generalist. It is an opportunity to learn and to contribute further to the bottom line through designing programs and services that improve individual skills and overall company performance. As the business climate in general and individual organizations changes, HR is instrumental in the evolution.

The business world has become more bottom line-focused in recent years with emphasis on doing more with less. HR can work with line managers to hold the staff accountable through performance management, giving feedback to employees on a continual basis rather than just once or twice a year. HR professionals who are skilled at managing employee expectations and stimulating growth will only be more in demand in the future.

The HR professionals in demand today have proven business sense along with educational achievement—a bachelor’s degree is the admission to entry and a master’s in a related field or a master’s in business administration will differentiate them from the pack. An HR professional with an MBA may be especially attractive to companies, because it gives them a better understanding of how business works.
Impacts of HR Specialists

HR specialists are becoming more involved in the business as a whole through: 

• implementation of organizational development programs
• training and development programs
• change management
• succession planning
• diversity training
• designing creative benefits packages and HR systems
• working with senior management to plan for future challenges

The trend toward specialization has made one thing clear: HR professionals must find the time to learn more about all the areas of HR and then decide on an area for gaining expertise. There are many ways to do this, such as taking industry-related courses; working toward a master’s degree in business management, HR or organizational development; or completing certified professional programs. Another way is by attending industry seminars and tradeshows, as well as signing up for newsletters, blogs and webinars that focus on the new area of specialization.

Additionally, the power of networking shouldn’t be overlooked. Networking isn’t about finding a new job; it’s about establishing connections to help further knowledge and relationships. Seek professionals in the specialty area and pick their brains. Another key is to find and work under a knowledgeable mentor who can teach more than just the fundamentals of HR. All of these will greatly aid the HR professional’s progress in HR today.

It is an ever-changing world for today’s HR professional, but by acquiring a strong business acumen coupled with an in-depth knowledge of a specialty area and a broad understanding of the ins and outs of HR—the evolution from a generalist to a specialist should be easily achievable.