Being Strategic

At last something I thought worth blogging about. This morning I finally got down to analysing some survey data that I had collected recently. Can't reveal much here as it will first need to be published the Management and then shared on BFM 89.9 first before I can divulge more details here in my personal blog. However, suffice to say that most senior Malaysian HR leaders view their roles from a much more strategic perspectives in the future than they are currently.

That is good news as I often draw laughter when I ask in my workshops "If you were a CEO, who would you take out for lunch...the financial guy or the HR guy?" The answer is of course obvious and my participants know it too.

The not so good news, which was not revealed by the survey though but rather from my observation, is that most business leaders who are heading businesses now don't know how to and/or don't want to elevate the status of their respective HR departments to a more strategic position. They are content to make the HR deal with union issues, policing the workforce and organise annual dinners.

So then the question is what will it take to make the HR team in every organisation more strategic? Well, the question really should be 'what needs to change for HR to become more strategic?' The answer to that is until an unless Malaysian organisations believe that strategy should drive culture HR professionals real worth as a strategic business partner will never be realised.

Now, say that I am a CEO of a local MNC in the telco industry. One day I wake up in the morning and wield my CEO wand and decree that henceforth the international operations will be hived off into a separate unit while the Malaysian operation will be managed independently. I then wave my CEO wand again and say the magic words
"Now go forth and do your stuff".

And magically my people go forth and do their stuff. The same stuff!

What will happen here you think? The poor man or woman who is going to lead this 'international operation' will then try to find the best square pegs from among his or her existing team to fit into the new hole of international business. This picture will of course will be entirely different if I as the CEO had used my CEO wand and asked the magic mirror this question : "Dear magic mirror on the wall....who among the fairest should make up the team of my new international business team?" The magic mirror will then say something like this "Dear master with the CEO wand....the ones who should make the new team must have the following 6 core competencies; they should have the following 7 skills and the leaders among them must have the following...." Now, what do I do? Do I say "Fine...people go and do your stuff"? No. I will go and find the HR guys on the whatever floor they have been holed up and tell them " Hey you HR guys, my strategic business mirror on the wall says that I need people with the following core competencies and their leaders apparently need to be able to demonstrate among others a 'global mind set'. Now what should I do.....I mean what are you going to do about that? Huh?

There....right there...when that beautiful question was asked...dawns the era of Strategic HR in my organisation!

A fairy tale you think?