HRD MANAGER: ROLES AND

COMPETENCIES

Jayendra Rimal
 Roles and Competencies

Role
A set of task related behaviours required of a
person by his or her position in the organization.

Competency
A competency is an area of knowledge, ability, skill
and other characteristics which an individual
must possess in order to produce the outputs for
his/her roles.
 Senior Executives Roles in HRD
• Instill a corporate HRD philosophy
• Develop a leadership style congruent with this
philosophy
• Develop HRD strategies and plans
• Create organizational status for HRD function
• Staff HRD department with competent people
• Ensure availability of adequate resources
• Develop a positive climate for HRD
• Develop professional competencies in HRD managers
• Do not expect immediate and visible results
 Line Managers’ Roles in HRD
• Identify developmental needs of staff

• Demand professional development services

• Develop staff on the job

• Create a positive HRD process and climate

• Motivate for development

• Utilise staff capabilities

• Liaise and coordinate with HRD specialists

 HRD Managers’ General Roles
• Develop HRD policies and programmes

• Plan HRD functions

• Implement HRD mechanisms and processes

• Monitor and evaluate HRD practices

• Provide specialist/professional services

• Advocate HRD philosophy and approaches

• Establish linkage and coordination with managers and

outside consultants
 HRD Managers’ Specific Roles
• Manager

• Facilitator of learning

• Consultant

• Researcher
 Manager
• Manager of organizational learning systems

• Developer of HRD policies

• Operational management of HRD department

(planning, organizing, leading, coordinating/controlling)

• Strategy development, long term planning and

integration of HRD

• Marketing, promotion and development of HRD within

the organization

• Evaluation of the impact of HRD on organizational

effectiveness
 Facilitator of learning

• Learning specialist: group facilitation, instruction, use

of media and learning transfer

• Analysis of training and development needs

• Programme planning and design

• Developer of instructional strategies/materials

• Instructor

• Evaluation of learning achievement

• Dissemination of knowledge

• Counselor
 Consultant
• Diagnosis of OD/organizational change needs

• Management of OD/change process

• Strategies development for organizational change

• Planning and designing of change programmes/interventions

• Marketing of OD programmes

• Evaluation of OD programmes

• Facilitation of change process

• Advocate
 Researcher
• Knowledge seeker

• Conceptualizer

• Evaluator
 HRD Managers’ Roles, contd…
ASTD Model: Nadler Model:

Evaluator Supervisor of programmes

Group facilitator Facilitator of learning
Individual development counselor Instructional strategist
Instructional writer Administrator and manager
Instructor Designer of programmes
Manager of training and development Arranger of facilities
Marketer
Media specialist
Needs analyst
Programme administrator
Strategist
Task analyst
Theoretician
Transfer agent
 Core Competencies of HRD Manager
• Operational management competency

• Strategic management competency

• Programme planning and development competency

• Programme evaluation competency

• Capacity development need assessment competency

• Learning programme design and evaluation competency

• Marketing competency
 Core Competencies of HRD Manager, contd…

• Learning/group facilitation competency

• Change agent/OD practitioner competency

• Consulting competency

• People management/relationship competency

• HRD professional and functional competency

 New Competencies for the HR Professional (David Ulrich)
Credible Activist
• Delivering results with integrity
• Sharing information
• Building relationship of trust
• Doing HR with attitude
Culture & Change Steward
• Facilitating change
• Valuing culture
• Crafting culture
• Personalizing culture
Strategy Architect
• Sustaining strategic agility
• Engaging customers
Talent Manager/Org Designer
• Ensuring today’s & tomorrow’s
talent
• Developing talent
• Shaping organization
• Fostering communication
• Designing reward systems
Operational Executor
• Implementing workplace policies
• Advancing HR technologies
Business Ally
• Interpreting social context
• Serving the value chain
• Articulating the value proposition
• Leveraging business technologies
 Why HRD Fail in Organizations
• Failure to demonstrate need for the change

• Failure to establish viable competency development

programmes for competitiveness

• Not viewed as strategic planning process

• Failure to measure and communicate impact on

organizational effectiveness and efficiency

• Learning not viewed as an essential competitive

advantage in the marketplace

• Poor image of HRD

 How to Respond?
• As a Manager
Utilize both the opportunity and position power to bring about
needed changes regarding HRD importance and roles with
accessibility to executive decision making
• As a Facilitator of learning
Deliver and facilitate programmes and activities; planning, designing
and developing training/development activities that improve skills
and competencies
• As a Consultant
Gain and mobilize power to influence the importance of HRD; analyse
performance and recommend solutions; exhibit expertise in subject
matter; identify challenges and help in strategic planning
• As a Researcher
Ensure that learning programmes provide a positive “payoff”; ability
to correctly diagnose organizational ills; utilization of research skills
 Effective HRD Managers
• Ability to plan HRD activities targeted at the needs of main HR
categories

• Ability to establish goal priorities for HRD over one-to-five year

time span

• Ability to identify the most appropriate organizational positioning

for HRD

• Ability to communicate and influence within and outside the

organization

• Ability to develop effective HRD management information systems

• Ability to develop HRD capacity within the HRD department

• Ability to provide model of management practices and competencies

focused by HRD

• Ability to demonstrate professional and technical capability of HRD

• Ability to build confidence in HRD staff

 HRD Program Design Strategy
• Establish a written HRD philosophy

• Establish a HRD policy

• Obtain support from the top management

• Integrate HRD into the long term organizational plans

• Conduct extensive needs assessment

• Encourage collaboration

• Establish criteria for participation in HRD activities

Thank you !