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Human resource departments are not doing enough to get out in front and help their organizations change and improve the way they work, according to business consultant Brad Power.

Some business leaders see their human resources department more as a bureaucracy where innovative thinking is not encouraged. Others say human resources is not used enough.

In order to integrate an attitude of constant improvement in a company, three areas need to be considered, according to Dave Ulrich, a professor and recognized leader in human resources – the people working there, the rewards given to them and the kinds of training they get.

Companies need to hire and promote people who take to heart the company’s mindset and behaviors, and let go the people who don’t. And so if the company hires people who value constant improvement it sends a clear signal about what the company thinks is important. When people see what is going on, they will change the way they work and what they do to fit what they see. The problem here is that the human resources professionals often are limited in what they can do – they have to follow the requirements set down by their manager. And these requirements tend to revolve around expertise, not the staff’s skills sets or behaviors.

Another way to instill constant improvement in a company is through rewards, which also can change the way people behave. Through rewards, companies can recognize workers who have achieved measured goals. To have constant improvement, workers not only have to do their work, but improve on it as well. But, again, human resources often has been limited to what it can provide here because it does not usually have the kind of experience or permission to work with managers in changing rewards to encourage improvement.

The third area, training and development, also can be used to encourage constant improvement. Training and development also can be used to show workers what the company sees as important. But human resource departments normally cannot encourage improvement training unless it is pushed by the company’s leaders.

To become more effective, human resources needs to help a company’s leaders focus on customers, long-term results and investing in the workforce. Human resources must be able to have the ear of the company’s leadership to be able to work constant improvement into the equation.

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