3G HRM - Case study

Résumé du document

During the last 15 years we have seen notable changes the Human Resource management function. Today we consider that there have been three different levels in the evolution of the HR function. The first generation of HR, was dedicated to the "Personnel Administration", what we consider the foundation of the function. Its job was mainly to support the company it was working for by providing all the basic HR services like leave processing, salary packaging, recruitment and training. The problem was that all those jobs could be easily replaced by information and e-Learning systems, which means that the HR function wasn't really necessary in a company. It didn't really add much value to the company.

In order to be more useful, the HR function needed to be more connected to the company and more aware of what it was looking for. That is what the second generation HR is all about. It managed to become more valuable to the company by trying to understand its actual needs. The HR department began working more closely to the managers in order to study and understand how the company worked, and help find new solutions and strategies to improve the management of the labor. They added value to the company by finding ways to increase the productivity of the labor force and improve their working conditions. They considered themselves more as business partners than simple employees.

Extraits

[...] It didn't really add much value to the company. In order to be more useful, the HR function needed to be more connected to the company and more aware of what it was looking for. That is what the second generation HR is all about. It managed to become more valuable to the company by trying to understand its actual needs. The HR department began working more closely to the managers in order to study and understand how the company worked, and help find new solutions and strategies to improve the management of the labor. [...]

[...] As competition for the position grew, HR managers needed to find a way to be seen as a key element of the company, someone that couldn't be easily replaced. This is why a 3rd generation HR made its appearance. Compared to the other generation HR, the 3G HRM is considered as a key decision maker in a company. He is expected to contribute to the creation of business strategies and work at the organizational level with all the senior executives. By having good business knowledge and a high position in the company, this generation is able to take big management and organizational decisions to improve the company. [...]

[...] Do you believe these changes have been effective why/why not? Yes I think those changes have been effective because today the HR function is not what everybody think it is anymore. When we talk about HRM we usually hear that it is useless and that any employee can do the same work. Most people think that HR managers focus on hiring employees for there company (1st Generation but it has changed over the years. Today their function is much more sophisticated. [...]

[...] Companies need to understand that HR managers can be more useful for companies, that their function has changed and that they can have more responsibilities. The study of this document has shown us that the 3rd generation of HRM can really add value to companies and can operate at any level of the companies. They have the knowledge and the ability to operate at the same level as the senior executives and have a real impact on the big decisions made by the company. [...]

[...] However it is said that only approximately 10-13% of the senior executives are satisfied by these HR initiatives: - Improving worker productivity - Improving adaptability/new opportunities & ways of working - Facilitating organizational change - Improving employee and wider stakeholder engagement - Improving the delivery of HR services to the organization - Re-skilling the HR workforce to become better business partners - Increasing employee retention Approximately 65% of the senior executives consider those initiatives to be important. Those results show that those changes didn't really have a real impact on business performance. What do you think the challenges for HR are in the future? [...]