Creating People Advantage_How to address HR challenges worldwide through 2015

"Creating People Advantage_How to address HR challenges worldwide through 2015"
A comprehensive global study conducted jointly by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), World Federation of Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA), and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) surveyed 4,741 executives in 83 countries and markets.

Downloadable at http://www.bcg.com/impact_expertise/publications/publication_list.jsp?pubID=2638

Summary
(retrieved from EFMD http://www.efmd.org/component/efmd/?cmsid=080519sqlv&pub=080519pnhr)

Executives worldwide see talent gaps as top people challenge in every region and industry
Managing talent is the most critical HR challenge worldwide and will remain at or near the top of executive agendas in every region and industry for the foreseeable future. The ability to gain competitive advantage through people strategies - or people advantage - requires an overall HR approach. This report suggests that it is vital:

To understand the connections that link HR to metrics and strategy. A most effective way is to create a strategic workforce plan. For doing so, there are two steps

• Understand how strategy drives the demand for people (to provide long term guidance)
• Understand the four bridges that connect strategy and HR, namely: sourcing (recruiting, HR branding,), performance (metrics, incentives,), development and affiliation (compensation, motivation)

To deploy operational excellence to bring the HR function up to speed by focusing on three key areas:

• Strengthen capabilities : establish the HR function as a step on the career paths of high potentials , build the people management skills of line managers
• Establish accountability and efficiency by optimizing the HR delivery model by automating processes, sharing services and distinguishing between the various HR roles
• To increase cooperation by designing key HR processes (people reviews, mobility management) and by serving as experts on organizational issues

The future

This "Creating People Advantage" report furthermore analyses and ranks 17 HR challenges. The top 8 future challenges in HR fall into three strategic categories:

1. Developing and retaining the best employees
2. Anticipating change
3. Enabling the organisation

Developing and retaining the best employees

• Managing talent : attracting, developing and retaining all individuals with high potential and communicating the HR value proposition
• Improving leadership development : defining leadership models, assessing leaders and designing development programmes
• Managing work-life balance : dealing with new and non-traditional expectation about work

Anticipating change

• Managing demographics : namely the loss of capacity, knowledge and productivity with an ageing workforce
• Managing change an cultural transformation : by developing an integrated approach to operational and organisational change, focused on employee behaviour
• Managing globalisation by having the right people in the right location and by enabling effective and efficient cross-country and cross-cultural collaboration

Enabling the organisation to become a learning organisation and transform HR into a strategic partner

HR executives must also excel at the fundamentals of the HR function: restructuring the organisation, delivering on recruitment and staffing and mastering the HR processesThe remaining six HR topics are:

• Managing diversity
• Enhancing employee commitment
• Improving performance management and rewards
• Managing CSR
• Measuring HR and employee performance
• Providing shared services and outsourcing HR

The Boston Consulting Group, visit http://www.bcg.com
World Federation of Personnel Management Associations visit http://www.wfpma.com