Emerging Trends and Challenges of

HRM

Dr. S. David 1
 Challenges facing HR
How can HR influence firm
performance?

How can HR cope with

workplace changes and trends?

What are HR strategies that

help a firm achieve competitive
advantage?
Dr. S. David 1-2
SHIFTS THAT ARE RE-SHAPING HR ROLES
FROM
Local markets, operations
Manufacturing, clerical work
Hierarchy
Intermediaries; face-to-face
Obedience to formal authority
Stability, efficiency, control
Full time job
Customer service
Work done by employees
Fixed work location
Management prerogative
Loyal service
White, male workforce
Financial performance
“Get a job”
Dr. S. David
TO
Global markets, operations
Service, knowledge work
Networks
Direct access,virtual relationship
Questioning of formal authority
Change, creativity, flexibility, order
Part-time and project work
Shareholder, stakeholder value
Work done by many contributors
Diverse work locations
Social licence
Marketable knowledge, skills
Diverse workforce
Triple bottom line
“Get a life”
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 CHANGING WORKER ASPIRATIONS

 RICHARD BRANSON
 MICHAEL JORDAN
 RICHARD BORES (Wizard Home Loans)
 MERY STREEP AND JODIE FOSTER
 ANITA RODDICK
 NELSON MANDELA AND JERRY MAGUIRE

“…had a dream and went through with it...loved what he did…

lives life the way he wants... created this lifestyle for herself out
of what could have been a downward spiral…really inspiring”

Dr. S. David 4
 HR AT A CROSSROADS

 “Significant change is inevitable for HR” but “what HR will be

and do is not yet clear”
 SRHM is doing research to develop a vision for the future of HR
and a profile of the future HR practitioner
 An HR practitioner might be "a hybrid line manager" who is
"first and foremost a business executive" but has expertise in
at least one HR function.
Former SHRM President and CEO, Helen Drinan
 “We have to get management to understand that they're
responsible for people” AND “If we do our job—and work
ourselves out of a job—so be it."

Dr. S. David 5
 EMERGING LEGAL ISSUES AT WORK

 NEW TECHNOLOGY ISSUES- e-HR; boundary less workplace;

virtual workers; new skills; electronic monitoring; genetic testing;
privacy; new employment relationships

 AGE CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE WORKPLACE - age discrimination;

phased retirement; health promotion; clashes with Gen X

 GLOBALISATION OF EMPLOYMENT LAW - global employment

standards; immigration issues; outsourcing; training and
employment of locals

 TRAINING FOR LEGAL COMPLIANCE - litigation over failure to

train; HR will require specialist investigation and compliance skills;
supervisors/managers will need new skills.

 WORKPLACE SAFETY- home work; technology and health; increased

worker sanctions
Dr. S. David 6
 HR EXECUTIVES’ VIEW OF THE FUTURE

TOP 5 BUSINESS CHALLENGES TOP 3 HR CHALLENGES

 Developing new markets

 Attracting and retaining
 Improving profitability talented people

 Market share growth  Improving organisational

 Becoming the recognised capabilities
global market leader
 Developing leadership skills
 Building shareholder value

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 “The bad and the ugly in HR”

 “Many HR people still lack business acumen”

 “We have not adequately managed high expectations

of HR”

 “There’s too much modeling of mediocrity… and way too

little real research going on”

 “We have overhyped e-learning and some other fads”

 “We do much order-taking… and mistaking talk for

action”

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Q. So, how do we organise all the shifts, trends,
speculation and forecasts into a framework
that can guide fruitful conversations between,
and strategic decision making by, senior line
managers and HR professionals?

A. Scenarios is one way

Dr. S. David 9
 Key HR Challenges for
Today’s Managers: Environmental
Rapid change
Workforce diversity
Globalization
Internet revolution
Legislation
Evolving work and family roles
Skill Shortages
Rise of the service sector

Dr. S. David 1 - 10
 Key HR Challenges for
Today’s Managers: Organizational

Quality, distinctive capabilities

Decentralization
Downsizing
Organizational restructuring
Self-managed work teams
Small business growth
Technology
Outsourcing

Dr. S. David 1 - 11
 Key HR Challenges for
Today’s Managers: Cultural
Basic assumptions and beliefs shared by
members of an organization…
• rules, norms
• behaviors
• philosophy
• dominant values
• feeling or climate
Dr. S. David 1 - 12
 Individual Challenges

Key HR Challenges for

Today’s Managers: Individual
 Matching People and Organization
 Ethical dilemmas
 Social responsibility
 Productivity
 Empowerment
 Brain drain
 Job insecurity

Dr. S. David 1 - 13
TWO SCENARIOS OF THE 21ST CENTURY ORGANISATION

MIT Initiative on Inventing the Organizations of the 21st

Century (January 1997) facilitated by Peter Schwartz of
the Global Business Network:-
http://ccs.mit.edu/21c/21CWP001.html

The scenarios were developed during 1994-1997 by MIT

academic and research staff in discussions with
hundreds of executives at various MIT Symposia,
executive education programs, etc.

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FUTURE OF ORGANISATIONS: Scenario 1

SMALL COMPANIES,LARGE NETWORKS

 Autonomous teams of 1-10 people
 Temporary - task or project based
 Linked by high bandwidth, electronic network
 Venture capital infrastructure identifies promising teams and
provides financing

 Independent organisations for social networking, recreation,

learning,reputation building and income smoothing
 evolved from professional associations, unions, clubs,
university alumnis, neighbourhoods, families, churches
 they are home for our identity as projects come and go

Examples: Film industry; Prato Mills (Italy); Nike; Nokia PC Display Division

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 Small Company, Large Network HR

 Very specific HR scope focused on project organisation

(e.g. talent scouting/selection, pay, health & safety)

 Outsourced
 agents, brokers, specialist providers
 contract staff organisations handle the HR for their talent
as part of their brand and competitive strategy

 Mutual employment obligations spelled out in project

contracts
 or implicit in industry standards
 or assumed from past working experience

 Project Manager’s reputation depends on his/her people

skills and hence there is a reluctance to delegate to HR
specialists
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Small Company, Large Network HR (cont.)

 Selection is via networks, personal references,

reputation

 Performance management is via peer pressure and

industry/ professional standards

 Rewards are contractual or entrepreneurial (equity

based)

 Development is via doing leading edge projects

 Innovation is via brokers, deal makers, agents, sponsors

 Individuals rely on professional associations, “guilds”,

managers/agents
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CHANGING “HR” ROLES: Some Generalisations

PAST FUTURE

HR ROLE WAS CLEARLY PEOPLE/LEADERSHIP ROLE IS

DIFFERENTIATED DISTRIBUTED AND DIFFUSE
 mechanistic  knowledge management
(Personnel Admin)  relationship management;
 ritualistic, legalistic (IR) teamwork
 CEO’s eyes and ears  legal compliance
with the troops  change management
 distinct professional  no distinct HR profession -
career paths new hybrid roles emerge

HR is HR’s responsibility People/Leadership is

everyone’s responsibility

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 NEW CRITERIA FOR RATING “HR”?

 Profit generated per employee (compared to industry benchmark)

 Salary/wages costs compared to industry median (reflecting
value of corporate reputation/intangibles in labour market)
 Number of talented candidates applying for advertised (and
unadvertised) vacancies
 Time taken to satisfy customer orders, inquiries, complaints
(compared to agreed service standards)
 Incidence of customer complaints caused by employee behaviour
 Cost of re-work
 Cost/risk due to time lost through injuries, absences, disputes
 Rate/cost of unplanned turnover among good performers
 Percentage of customers citing “service quality” or “competent,
caring staff” as a competitive edge for the company
 Net cost of generating organisational improvements
 Percentage of revenue/profits coming from initiatives taken in
last 3 years
 Share price premium compared to industry peers
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