WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

By Dr. Beverly Hyatt

Have you ever gone to the Human Resources (HR) office in your company seeking assistance, only to come away with the question, “Whose side are you on, anyway?” Sometimes HR professionals come across as unfriendly, uninterested, impatient, or even condescending towards employees seeking assistance. It is often perceived as a negative experience, and you may ask yourself, “What is the role of HR if not to support or benefit employees?” Regardless of the issue, employees should feel comfortable voicing their concerns to an HR representative. Without an open, unbiased line of open communication with the Human Resources team, the discussion can negatively impact morale and lead to turnover.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the landscape for businesses was already rapidly changing. Now, HR personnel are grappling with the effectiveness of remote workers, retention, staffing issues, overall organizational effectiveness, and a host of other challenges. Be that as it may, today’s HR professionals are called to be client-centric.

Dave Ulrich, an author, and subject matter expert on strategic HR practices, shared his philosophy of modern HR practices. Ulrich posits that HR is typically viewed as the mirror of the organization, in that their general practice is to incorporate business strategies, such as employee development succession planning, job performance, recruiting, and problem-solving (among other services), to inform their HR practices. Ulrich recommends we should move “HR as a mirror of the organization” to “HR as a window of the organization.”

The window describes an outside-in approach where HR professionals should regard their HR business strategy as a “window to observe, interpret, and translate, external conditions of employees’ (internal customers’), and investors’ expectations as a means of informing their HR practices.” (Ulich et al. 2012) This helps by developing a client-centric service mission targeted for internal and external customers. Specifically, the incorporation of customers’ needs, wants, and expectations in the mission statement (company’s culture, goals, and values) creates a client-centric mindset among the HR team, improves employee motivation, and encourages employees to be self-directing, innovative and proactive in their work.

Indeed, looking from the outside-in helps customers meet organization goals, achieve their mission and influence repeat business. HR leaders who allow their teams to exemplify a client-centric attitude are better equipped to identify, design, and deliver a resolution to an employee’s request. Further, having a client-centric mindset can enhance employee drive, engagement, and altruist behavior between employees. Demonstrating a client-centric practice will add value to the worker experience, morale, the organization’s culture, and employees will feel empowered to seek assistance from the HR team more readily.