Human Resource Management Challenges

The rapidly transforming business landscape means that there are currently many human resource management challenges which will continue to evolve for years to come. Tom Marsden, Director of Professional Services at Alexander Mann Solutions says that HR departments really need to be adding real business value to their organizations. "Although the restrictions of the recession aren't over yet, companies are recognizing that in 2010, they will need to take steps to retain their workforce. This could be through an increased emphasis on training and engagement programs or by investing in areas that will optimize expenditure, such as integrated technology systems or improved candidate attraction schemes. The signs are that HR departments are preparing to maximize their resources and staff as organizations look to grow."

How can improvement happen without the right tools to measure HR effectiveness? As with many other areas of business, this profession also needs to be able to measure results in terms of transaction management, as well as in terms of the positive influence on business. "Utilizing metrics to determine effectiveness is the beginning of a shift from perceiving HR's role as purely an administrative function to viewing the HR team as a true strategic partner within the organization," the WFPMA says. "In fact, the next section reports that survey participants believe a critical future issue for HR will be organizational effectiveness - again supporting HR's critical role as a strategic partner to management."

This world federation also notes that, "Where HR departments have traditionally focused on measuring their own effectiveness, there is an evolving recognition that they can provide organizational value by measuring the effectiveness of the entire business organization. The shift is significant as it represents movement from simply counting the numbers hired to determining the ROI of collective and individual hires on a long-term basis. Going beyond measuring turnover, this new approach considers 'bad' turnover and 'good' turnover along with the overall cost of replacement hires."