Todayís emphasis on business expansion is creating ìgrowing painsî for many HR professionals

Todayís emphasis on business expansion is creating ìgrowing painsî for many HR professionals, according to a recent study conducted by the Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS) in partnership with the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). The study found that two-thirds of respondents say HR is not reacting fast enough to the strategic challenges related to organizational growth, and about the same percentage say the emphasis on growth in their organizations is changing the meaning of ìstrategic HR.î

ìIt can be hard for HR to keep up in high-growth companies,î said Jay Jamrog, i4cpís Senior Vice President of Research. ìThose firms are not only scrambling for the talent they need to keep growing, they tend to have a strong focus on issues such as meeting customer needs, delivering quality products and staying innovative. A lot of HR pros donít have much expertise in these areas. It requires a different kind of strategic HR to help drive growth.î

Indeed, the study found that senior HR leaders are struggling to play a key role in their organizationsí growth strategies. Thirty-three percent of respondents said those leaders were ìon the sideline,î contributing instead in spot roles such as talent acquisition and integration. Another 10% said HR leaders werenít involved at all in growth strategy, and 22% said HRís overall role is ìbelow the executive-team level.î

Not all HR functions feel stymied in this area, however. About a fifth of respondents said senior HR leaders are indeed critical members of the executive team, and 16% said HR plays a key role in promoting organizational growth in their companies.

ìEven though they are in the minority, these are the HR professionals who are probably the true business partners,î stated Jamrog. ìThey understand the executive point of view and know what it takes to help their companies grow. But even if theyíre not represented on the executive team, HR can provide a crucial supporting role to leaders who are focused on growth.î

When asked what HR needs to do to ìretoolî and become more effective in growth situations, 68% of respondents pointed to the development of programs to help leaders get better at growing their organizations. Another commonly cited strategy was ìdesigning and staffing the growth-related organization,î and a third strategy was helping organizational leaders to ìframeî the growth challenge.

ìThe survey data strongly suggests that, in addition to talent acquisition and leadership development targeted to growth, HR leaders must dramatically increase their external focus ñ on markets, customers and new ways to serve them ñ if they are going to be strategic players going forward,î said Ed Gubman, HRPS Special Issue Editor.

The HRís Role in Organizational Growth Survey was conducted by HRPS, in conjunction with i4cp, in June/July of 2007.

For more information about this study, please contact Greg Pernula at greg.pernula@i4cp.com or via phone at (727) 345-2226.