The New Competencies: What HR Professionals Must Know and Do to Be Effective¹

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July 12, 2007 - By Bill Crigger, SPHR

Since 1988, David Ulrich, professor of business administration at the University of Michigan, and his associates have been trying to determine what HR professionals must know and do in order to be effective. At a special session held at the Venetian Hotel on Tuesday, June 26, David and an associate revealed the basics of the 2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS). The new study included participation of more than 10,000 HR professionals and their line management.

The purpose of the HRCS was to find answers to two questions: 1) What are the competencies that distinguish HR professionals? and 2) What are the capabilities needed by HR departments to help build the business?  The survey included 1,669 HR participants; 5,048 HR associates and answered the survey on behalf of a HR participant (360˚ survey); and 3,346 non-HR associates, persons outside HR.

With the globalization of business and the workforce, the challenges that companies face have changed dramatically. David quipped that the skills that an HR professional needs are changing so fast, that 50 percent of what he knows about HR is out-of-date in about two and one-half to three years.

David’s handout overview indicate that the trends in the data are apparent:

• There are more women in HR: 54% in 2007 vs. 23% in 1988
• People are joining HR from other functions
• China has an emerging HR profession: 60% of participants have fewer than five years of experience in HR
• We are moving away from functional HR to embedded HR

The evolution of the 2007 HRCS Model has changed from the 1987 model of three intercepting circles to one made of 6 domains held inside a “V” shaped graph with people on the left axis and business on the right axis and HR professionalism at the base.

The six domains include, reading from the bottom to the top of the” V”:

>   Talent Mgr./Org. Designer  >   Culture and Change Steward   >  Strategy Architect

                                   >    Operational Executor >  Business Ally                                                           

                                                            >Credible Activist

The new HRCS model revealed that “HR professionals must master both people and business issues. Along the people axis, HR professionals need to meet customer and investor expectations by making sure that strategies are designed and delivered. (Executive Summary, The RBL Group, page 4).” Mastering only the people side of the business will not lead to success.

The six domains that make up the new HR competencies:

Credible Activist – The HR professional must be credible, respected, trusted and listened to, while at the same time taking a position, having a point of view and speaking out in meetings in a credible, timely fashion.  Janet Parker, SHRM Chair, in her opening conference remarks referred to taking a risk and speaking out as HR with an Attitude.

Culture and Change Steward – David suggested “helping to shape the norms, environment, history and language of the company outside – in” … “Help your company identify its brand, what the company wants to be known for by its customers.”

He suggested that to be the steward, “HR professionals should ask their leadership team three questions:

1.  What are the top three things we want to be known for by our customers in the next 3-5 years? As we go forward?
2.  How do we make it real to the customers? What is important to them?
3.  How do we make it real to the employees?

As an organizational strategic endeavor, develop a checklist for change.

Talent Management / Organizational Designer – manage the three “Cs” of Competence, Commitment and Contribution and build a competence model for the organization’s future. Assess skills needed and available, engage employees and allow people to make a difference. Align HR practices with customer expectations: the customer is the person who buys the product.  David proposed that HR professionals “build on the organization’s strengths” as a focus as opposed to focusing only on overcoming weaknesses. “Think about the organization as a capability, not as a structure.”

Strategy Architect – HR does not own the building, but is responsible for designing the plans for the impact of the overall development and growth of the organization. “Bring outside views into the company, execute strategy and maintain strategic clarity” were three of the architectural concepts discussed by David.

Operation Executor – Six Sigma flawless execution: define the process goals, measure where you are, analyze, improve and control the process so you do not slip back and have to do it over.

Business Ally – is the least important of the six domains, but the study indicated that it is the difference between high and low performers.  HR professionals must have a base understanding of the business in order to help the business prosper.

David Ulrich closed the 5-hour session by explaining that the successful HR professional and HR department focuses on all six domains.  Even if you cannot perform each of the six domains well, “some things are so important that they are worth doing poorly.  Stick with it and you will do it well.”

For more information on the study, contact The RBL Group at  hrcs@rbl.net or by telephone at 801-373-4238.

Bill Crigger is president and managing partner OI Partners – Compass Career Management Solutions (North Carolina).  He has more than 30 years of experience in human resource management and career counseling.   Bill is president for the Charlotte AREA SHRM chapter, certified as an SPHR and serves on the ACF-DOL taskforce.  He can be reached at bcrigger@oipartners.net or 704-849-2500.

¹ Much of the information contained in this article was taken from my participant notes, a PowerPoint Presentation and Human Resource Competency Study Executive Summary, by The RBL Group, presented by David Ulrich at the June 26 session.