Strategic HR: The Advocate of Human Asset Management

If people are your most important asset, what's the impact of HR in your organization?   

Integral to the topic of Human Asset Management is an honest organizational evaluation of the ‘keeper of human capital’, the human resources department. If human capital is truly going to be elevated to the level of human asset management, an organization needs a highly-regarded HR department driving the strategic discussion of people. Embedded in HR’s responsibilities are:

• Human Asset Risk Management assessing if:
  • employee costs equal required productivity
  • employees are value creators, value sustainers, or value eroders
  • employee skills are:
    • appreciating and pacing with strategic initiatives
    • stagnant and maintaining current levels but not growth levels
    • depreciating and creating a negative drag on performance, productivity, and profitability
      
      
• Human Asset Complex Consequence Analysis focusing on:
  • near-term, mid-term, and long-term time horizons
  • near-term – long-term human capital bench strength resulting in business resiliency
  • near-term – long-term impact on organizational agility – the ability to deploy relevantly-skilled people, on-demand
    
    
• Human Asset Impact Analysis on:
  • Competitive Advantage
  • Market Sustainability
  • Growth Acceleration

The Research – The HR / Business Strategy Paradox

If an organization is truly focused on Human Asset Management, a seat in the C-Suite is critical. HR must be involved in the decision-making process and not informed about decisions after the fact.  Here’s what the research says:

1. The importance of human capital to corporate strategy is NOT reflected by its role in the C-Suite & Boardroom                                                       

22% - Workforce issues drive strategy at the board level.

28% - HR advises C-Suite, but does not have a voice in decision-making.

26% - HR is not consulted at all about business planning.

24% - Workforce issues are an afterthought in business planning. HR is consulted after high-level decisions have been made.

Result:  Impact Severe. HR is not in the information loop and lacks the insights & status to be truly strategic.  Companies are not making progress toward meeting workforce goals. Business Performance Suffers.


2. Regarding HR & Workforce Data – The Gap 

What HR says: 

• Only 38% have ample workforce data to understand strengths & potential vulnerabilities from a skills perspective
• Only 42% know how to extract meaningful insights from the data available to them 

What the C-suite says: 

• They think HR uses metrics and benchmarking as a normal part of workforce development strategy.

Result: Impact Severe. The inability to translate the value of workforce excellence into the language of growth and profitability is a BIG problem for HR and the business.

Where is your organization on the Human Asset Management continuum? 

To find out more about an alternative method to evaluate the issues of human asset management, we invite you to watch Part 2 of our video series: "The Impact of Human Capital on Your Organization", or you can also schedule a complimentary assessment with a member of our team.