Insurance Exchange TexasIn a number of firms, client surveys include assessments of HR not only by line managers but also by employees. In one case, Insurance Exchange Texas found the HR function to be the lowest-rated function in the firm. The firm’s HR professionals felt they were designing and delivering excellent services, but these services were either misunderstood by employees or failed to meet their needs. The HR professionals had been judging their services by their own good intentions, while their clients were judging them by Insurance Exchange Texas impact and results of the services received. The HR role-assessment survey thus constitutes a diagnostic tool for identifying the expectations of line managers and other HR clients. The data generated by comparing ratings made by HR professionals, line managers, and others can lead to productive discussion in which expectations are set and shared, and roles are clarified and communicated. HR Function versus Individual HR professionals A business may find, in doing the above audits of Insurance Exchange Texas roles, that individual HR professionals do not have competence in all four roles, but at the same time, it should find that the function—as an aggregate of individuals—does share a unified vision and competency. In one company, for example, it was found that the individuals fulfilling the components of the Insurance Exchange Texas function were committed and competent; the field HR professionals were strategic partners with business leaders; HR functional leaders were administrative experts in their domains; employee relations experts worked effectively to understand and meet employee needs; and organizational effectiveness experts appropriately managed change. As a team, however, this group of talented individuals were woeful. In one-on-one interviews, these HR professionals acknowledged that they did not respect or even like one another. A team of Insurance Exchange Texas experts needs to forge individual talent into leveraged competencies. At the above firm, the individual HR experts began to share their concerns, openly discuss differences, and focus on common goals and objectives. |