Repositioning the Human Resource Function: Transformation or Demise?

Executive Overview The human resource department is being presented with an opportunity to become a significant player on the management team. This is occurring because the human resource (HR) function is being transformed into a significant management function. Environmental changes are confronting organizations with people issues of great importance and uncertainty. People issues are thus becoming formulated as significant business issues. One result is that line managers are reaching out to take control and ownership over the HR function. This is being facilitated by many HR departments that remain focused on issues involving functional expertise rather than business-relatedness. Examples exist, however, of companies in which the HR departments are seizing the opportunity to become vital members of the management team and working with line managers to tackle the people-related business issues. Doing so, however, appears to require a virtual repositioning of the HR department. This, in turn, involves new roles, new competencies, new relationships and new ways of operating for both HR and line mangers. The result is an HR department that is a management team player with a business issue and customer focus and a bottom-line orientation. New roles for both line managers and HR managers and enhanced organizational effectiveness in addressing people-related business issues may result.