Dave Ulrich, also popular as the ‘Father of Modern HR’, is a management guru and a partner at the RBL Group. He is also a professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and has authored many books on Human Resources and its role in organizations’ success. Prof. Ulrich is listed as a Thinkers 50 management thought leader and has won the Lifetime Achievement Award from HR Magazine for being the “Father of Modern Human Resources.”
Among his numerous articles and posts that have been reshaping how organizations look at human resources, we are listing a few that we found extremely interesting and relevant to today’s corporate scenario. Read on:
Analytics for HR Analytics: What Really Works
In this post, Prof. Ulrich speaks about how organizations fancy modern technologies and tools that seem glittery and exciting. Analytics, like many other new-age technologies, has become a recent elixir that is believed to enable HR professionals to become super effective. He has listed down the data from The 2017 HR Competency Study & What It Means For You) and in the book Victory Through Organization. The post talks about various segments where use of analytics has benefited HR professionals and processes. Prof. Ulrich further adds that organizations and HR professionals must assess the value that analytics has been adding to the business.
HR Is Not About HR
Yet another fabulous read by the HR Guru where he has reinstated the fact that HR is not just about employers and employees. He further adds that both HR professionals and business leaders must acknowledge the fact that HR is beyond what just happens inside an organization but a process that determines the influence the organization has over the external stakeholders too.
HR must be valued equal to any other business process as it has a significant contribution to the organization’s success and its image outside the organization. Employees are a company’s first brand ambassadors and a sound HR system protects the brands image through its employees.
Talent Matters to All Stakeholders
In this post shared by Prof. Ulrich, he has emphasized the fact that talent is crucial to an organization and impacts stakeholders at all levels. He added, “There is no question that talent matters to an organization’s success. Talent (workforce, people, competence, skills) has been the bailiwick for HR, captured in the maxim, ‘war for talent’.”
Quality talent impacts all stakeholders from board of directors to customers and investors, and organization outcomes. He states that, during his research, he has noticed that in some cases unique individual talent often helps organizations succeed. Thus, to say workforce or talent has a significant impact on an organizations outcome will not be an over statement.
Culture Is Not Enough…Get The Right Culture
Workplace culture has been getting a good share of the limelight of late and this particular post by Prof. Ulrich speaks about how just taking heed of workplace culture is not enough, but one needs to implement the right kind of workplace culture. In his post he states that while his conversations with many workplace leaders, he has heard them speaking of how they are revamping workplace culture and incentivizing their workforce.
He has also noticed that while most organizations start the process of having a competent workforce culture by incentivizing the workforce, most of them lose momentum on its way forward and many a times organizations fail to identify the right kind of culture that they must imbibe. An organization’s workplace culture must reflect what problem it is solving and not just physical attributes of the work station or perks.
How HR Gets Invited To The Table – Become A Credible Activist
The HR Guru, in this post shares his experiences from his 30 years association with the HR community, how HR professionals (when they are personally effective) are now being invited to take their seat at the table. The boardroom table was predominantly occupied by business heads across verticals, while HR hardly saw any representation until recent times.
The norm has been changing and HR leaders now are making significant contributions to organizational and business strategies or decision making. From the insights that Prof. Ulrich had drawn from the book ‘Victory Through Organization’, he further states that HR professionals who have credible and active contribution to the organization’s business outcomes have been invited to join the boardroom discussions and make effective contributions in strategic decisions too. Prof. Ulrich reaffirms that HR has a significant role to play in an organization and is not limited to an employer-employee perspective. It is time that HR becomes a credible activist in an organization to take it forward towards achieving the business goals.
Prof. Ulrich is undoubtedly an amazing visionary and his contributions to modern day HR are indispensable. Reading his articles and posts always gives a moral boost and a deeper glimpse into the thinking and working of HR. We urge all the HR folks out there to spend some time on reading his insightful writings. Trust us, you’ll enjoy it! . Till then, cheers to the HR Guru and may his writing help HR become credible to business outcomes.
(To read more posts by Dave Ulrich, please visit his LinkedIn page! You can follow him on twitter on @dave_ulrich)
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From India, Noida
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