INCREASINGLY, the traditional human resource function in an                                                                                           
organisation is being put under the microscope by the chief                                                                                           
executive. This is done not so much out of doubt over what HR                                                                                         
is doing. In fact, it is done more to know what HR could and                                                                                          
should do in support of the business.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
And the entailing questions asked are: To what extent will HR                                                                                         
have to be reconfigured for it to progress beyond its basic                                                                                           
traditional functions to deliver greater value to the                                                                                                 
company's business?  How can the HR strategist play the role                                                                                          
of a business partner by focusing on the total business                                                                                               
results instead of what new micro HR procedures are needed?                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
These questions spring from the attitudinal change of chief                                                                                           
executives and the shift of importance that they are now                                                                                              
placing on their HR people to share in driving the company's                                                                                          
competition agenda.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
At the end of the day, it is people who make or break the                                                                                             
organisation, regardless of its financial muscle or                                                                                                   
technological prowess.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Integral in this preponderance is the issue of converting a                                                                                           
personnel department to a HR department. There is no shame if                                                                                         
the organisation's personnel department is doing a wonderful                                                                                          
job acting as a strategic agent in its primary function.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
But there are still corporate leaders who feel that the HR                                                                                            
department is only meant to take charge of the administrative                                                                                         
matters of employment - so, changing the name of that                                                                                                 
functional area from Personnel to HR is sufficient, as this                                                                                           
projects a modern image for the company.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Superficial as this may seem, it however gives the company the                                                                                        
impression that it has propelled itself into 21st century                                                                                             
management.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
More forward-looking chief executives demand that the name                                                                                            
change should reflect a fundamental shift from being purely                                                                                           
administrative to being strategic.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
The enlightened chief executive expects the HR leader to be                                                                                           
able to conceptualise, and possess the drive and competencies                                                                                         
to initiate and sustain change in the company. It is this                                                                                             
demand that challenges HR managers.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Generally, on the supply side of the market, there are three                                                                                          
types of HR people: the seasoned practitioner, the process                                                                                            
expert/consultant and the theorist/teacher, To what extent the                                                                                        
organisation wishing to transform itself from its status quo                                                                                          
to be the dynamic market leader through HR would depend very                                                                                          
much on what sort of HR people it has or needs to acquire to                                                                                          
drive this agenda.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
With global competition, HR managers are now pressured to                                                                                             
think about what competencies they have and what they must do                                                                                         
to be an effective partner of change.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
For a long time, HR managers have taken comfort in managing                                                                                           
their portfolio by tending to basic administrative needs. HR                                                                                          
development, where initiated,.  mostly focused on procedural                                                                                          
inputs like computerising payroll.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
There is a dire need to think organisational results and                                                                                              
systems perspective. It is also true that some very small                                                                                             
companies that have grown in business, but are still very much                                                                                        
in the formative stage of the organisational life cycle, would                                                                                        
require more basic HR support to stabilise things.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Most of these administrators in HR are seasoned practitioners                                                                                         
who have acquired their know-how through years of experience                                                                                          
on the job. Consequently, their main strength lies in their                                                                                           
knowledge of labour laws and HR housekeeping.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
There are others who mature in HR know-how through mostly                                                                                             
being exposed to consultancy training and application of                                                                                              
proprietary products, but are lacking in systems understanding                                                                                        
and practical problem-solving.  Thus, a lot of well-intended                                                                                          
ideas can sometimes create more problems than they hope to                                                                                            
solve, especially when these ideas satisfy the company's needs                                                                                        
during its growth stage.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
HR administrators who move from the staid administrative                                                                                              
environment to the more vibrant competitive scenario will find                                                                                        
much difficulty in delivering the results to match                                                                                                    
expectations.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
This is because basic administration relies heavily on set                                                                                            
structures and precedents and tries to provide consistency,                                                                                           
whereas change management operationalises new ideas and causes                                                                                        
new learning and discomfort before stability settles.                                                                                                 
Different expertise must be applied in the two different                                                                                              
scenarios.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Strategising HR requires HR to understand the company's                                                                                               
business direction and goals and, therefore, formulate its own                                                                                        
agenda to support the company. To be effective, HR should                                                                                             
consider what value it can add to the company's business in                                                                                           
the critical areas of systems and technology, values, culture                                                                                         
and behaviour and functional competencies.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
It redefines its roles into four dimensions: being the                                                                                                
strategic partner in business growth, the agent of change, the                                                                                        
employee facilitator and the HR administrator.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
As a strategic partner, HR aligns its own direction and                                                                                               
supports the company to refocus and to position itself in the                                                                                         
competitive business landscape. It scrutinises what alignment                                                                                         
is needed in terms of the culture, people's competencies and                                                                                          
systems which overarch the key factors of strategies,                                                                                                 
structure, system, staff, skills and style of management                                                                                              
subsisted by a set of shared values.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
In order to manage change, it must understand what stage of                                                                                           
growth the company is in. Many overlook this and, in their                                                                                            
enthusiasm to help management, will prescribe their favourite                                                                                         
magic bullet for all kinds of organisational malignancy.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Often, this happens because of a limitation in the consultancy                                                                                        
toolk- it is impossible to give what you do not possess. For                                                                                          
example, it all sounds nice to talk about becoming                                                                                                    
entrepreneurs when you are already entrepreneurial and are in                                                                                         
the formative or renewed formative stage of organisational                                                                                            
growth, and what you may need more is functional competencies                                                                                         
to build a sustainable system to support the business                                                                                                 
breakthrough. Without a good system and the right sort of                                                                                             
people to run it, the breakthrough collapses.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The role of the HR change agent can be anchored by the                                                                                                
training subfunction.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Training that is based on the TNA model should now be                                                                                                 
complemented by the added disclosure through the alignment                                                                                            
process in addition to recognition of the business direction.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Furthermore, HR should shift from doing training to providing                                                                                         
education because the former has a short-term impact while the                                                                                        
latter is a continuous process. Further input into the                                                                                                
training needs cycle should then be derived from the results                                                                                          
of performance evaluation. In this way, performance is                                                                                                
systemised.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
The role of the employee facilitator is to strike a meaningful                                                                                        
balance between employees' needs and employers' demands. The                                                                                          
give- and-take should be harmonised through monetary and non-                                                                                         
monetary compensations in exchange for benchmarked                                                                                                    
performance.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
What must the organisation do if it wants its HR to be                                                                                                
"strategic enabled?" In the Malaysian corporate scene, CEOs in                                                                                        
the 80s paid a lot of attention to marketing to meet the                                                                                              
expectations of their companies, and during the 90s turned to                                                                                         
the finance function to look after the numbers to generate                                                                                            
profits.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
As the economy in recent years has shifted from comparative to                                                                                        
competitive advantage in order to compete in the global                                                                                               
market, the search for that cutting edge has intensified.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Chief executives now take a more holistic view to evaluate                                                                                            
their strengths. What are their employees capable of                                                                                                  
delivering? What potential is there to convert work experience                                                                                        
into operational effectiveness?                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
In turn, HR leaders will have to ponder what strategies they                                                                                          
can craft that will transform the organisation from lingering                                                                                         
in status quo to be one with a sense of purpose and market                                                                                            
leadership.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
What HR brings to the discussion table must be a comprehensive                                                                                        
strategy to ensure people success.  To complete the process,                                                                                          
CEOs must be committed to making changes that can transform                                                                                           
the organisation. When this partnership is formed, luck                                                                                               
becomes a marginal thing.