The new role of HR in corporate SA - time to sink or swim

                                                                                         

HR as a function and a profession is transforming - willingly or unwillingly. No more the traditional administrative and process-focused role of the past. What business needs now is a strategic partner that is intimately involved in both the strategy and the operational aspects of the company.

In his book Jack Welch gives an indication of the pivotal role that a strategically focused HR team can play in the overall success of a company.

To meet the challenges of this new role - that of business partner - HR professionals have to develop a deep and strategic understanding of the business they are in, the industry in which they operate, and the global market dynamics which impact their organisation. HR practitioners have to drive their own awareness, skill and capabilities to generate innovative and practical strategies that deliver against business objectives.

The option of serving the administrative and rule enforcement needs of business - a role to which HR has become accustomed - is falling away. Corporate SA, like corporate America and Europe, is realising the strategic, cost, and efficiency benefits of outsourcing this administrative role to specialised and expert service providers.

Doing the numbers, so to speak, has lead businesses to the inescapable conclusion that efficiencies and economies of scale mean that organisations specialising in certain administrative and operational aspect of HR, for example, salary administration or Industrial Relations, are able to offer a high level of service at a cost-effective rate.

That is, experts may be more effectively accessed on an outsourced basis rather than integrated into the structure of the organisation. This review of HR services has also significantly impacted what aspects of HR are identified as areas to be outsourced. There are pros and cons to outsourcing, and this area is dependent on industry sector and individual organisation dynamic. However, every forward-thinking HR function should be reflecting on the implications and benefits of some degree of outsourcing.

So where does this leave the in-house HR function in corporate SA? Put bluntly, it has no alternative but to step into the business partner role. Organisations have restructured, reprocessed and ’restrategised’ every part of their operating processes - there is now little room left in most organisations to cut costs or significantly improve operating practices.

About the author:
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