Is HR merely an administrative unit, as some critics claim, or is it a strategic player? Edward E. Lawler takes on the question of HR’s role in his recent article, “HR Should Own Organizational Effectiveness.” Lawler encourages HR to embrace its position in the success of an organization, stating that the management of human capital is equivalent to the management of financial capital and hard assets.
Lawler states that while more has been written recently on HR’s importance in organizational effectiveness and business strategy, little has changed in terms of HR’s actual involvement in this area. In his book, Effective Human Resource Management: A Global Analysis, Lawler and co-author John Boudreau present data from 1995-2010 showing that HR spends less than 15% of its time as a strategic business partner, and, he says, that had not changed by 2013.
Their research shows that when HR acts as a strategic business partner the company performs better. How can HR take on a bigger strategic role? By maximizing its ability to obtain, develop, and manage critical talent with an eye toward organizational effectiveness.
Source: Forbes.com, Feb. 11, 2014 Edward E. Lawler