By Richard Warren
The HR department has always been crucial in balancing business objectives and employee interests. The importance of the human capital management role increases when issues such as local traditions and compliance with a myriad of statutes, orders, and regulations are added to the equation. But balancing all this in a time when business dynamics and priorities are changing rapidly is probably the most difficult task for human resource specialists.
Austerity rules in compensation, cuts in training budgets, and tougher governmental regulatory enforcement sometimes lead to overreaction. Keeping the eyes on the ball and not permitting emotion to influence vital decisions affecting the organization’s workforce is an art and a commitment for HR departments nationwide.
What are the basic rules in balancing priorities in turbulent times?
Establish the rule of order. Your first priority should always be the alignment between business realities and employees’ interests. If you have to negotiate, do it. If you have to demonstrate the consequences of failing to balance both sides of the equation, do it. I suspect that when all is said and done, we will find that the Gulf disaster was the sum of many small decisions about drilling protocols, emergency response training, availability of safety gear, evaluation of subcontractor performance, and so on. Small decisions can have a huge impact. Now is not the time to ignore process.
Don’t try to do it all yourself. To balance priorities, you always need a consensus, a common understanding of the goals. An organization is always more similar to an organism than to a building. Many of the business goals are not set in stone; neither are the per-hour salaries as long as they are within policy limits. Try to assemble management and employees to openly discuss issues such as compensation, work hours reductions, investment in training programs, adherence to safety rules, market expansion, or outsourcing. When more brains are willing to find a solution, you will be surprised to see how many people will help you to achieve a balance of priorities.
Stick to a plan, but be flexible and ready to react to changes. If priorities change every week or month, is very difficult to manage the balance between them. Creating a plan to address the major issues in order of priority will always help, but don’t be stuck in the mud if abrupt change in the market, vendor selection, or another external factor dramatically turns the tables. Be prepared for realignment and rapid intervention in order to maintain the balance.
Forecast, prepare, and prevent. Once you set your priorities clearly, achieving balance between them and reality can be very easy—if you do your due diligence. The DOL is significantly increasing the number of audits this year. Now is the time to be certain you are “audit ready” regarding safety, affirmative action, FLSA, HR process and training.
Promote your efforts. Doing all this only within the closed circle of the involved parties (HR, management, etc.) will not produce much if all employees in the organization are not aware of your efforts. Keep employees tuned in the what is going on by taking advantage of the effective and inexpensive “enterprise 2.0” tools currently available.
Photography: Paul Tomlin
