Assignment Prompt & Instructions
I need your help
– ## JWI_522_W6_Lecture_1192.pdf
– Week6LilliaResponseJWI522.jpeg
– Week6RenaResponseJWI522.jpeg
– Week6JWI522Discussion.jpeg
**## JWI_522_W6_Lecture_1192.pdf**
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 1 of 6
JWI 522
Strategic Partnering with the C-Suite
Week Six Lecture Notes
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 2 of 6
EXECUTING THE PLAN:
ENSURING THE RIGHT PEOPLE STAY INVOLVED
What It Means
HR leaders and business unit leaders must be true partners. Neither party should be expected
to own the entire process of talent acquisition and development on their own. One of the most
important factors in developing a strong workforce is establishing an effective model for how
these two groups will work together to hire, assess and support their people.
Why It Matters
• HR leadership is only successful when it works hand-in-hand with business leaders.
• The expertise that business leadership and HR leadership has together is much more
than either has alone.
• Business leaders need the guidance of HR experts to help them evaluate performance
and determine when and how their teams need support and when changes need to be
made.
“Make talent development an explicit part of every leader’s job
and hold him or her accountable for it.”
Bill Conaty
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 3 of 6
HR CAN’T DO IT ALONE
You’ve probably noticed by now that there is a lot of alignment between the talent development practices
advocated by Conaty and Charan and those advocated by McCord. While they don’t agree on
everything, there is one point they are both adamant about.
“Hiring great performers is a hiring manager’s most important job. Hiring managers should
actively develop their own pipelines of talent and take the lead in all aspects of the hiring
process.”
Powerful, P. 108
Get senior leaders involved in selecting leadership talent … don’t just hand off recruiting to
whoever is convenient. Have your senior-most people leaders involved in the recruiting process
from the campus level to the top of the organization.
The Talent Masters, P. 262
A true partnership is about leveraging the deep expertise that each partner brings to the process.
However, one of the realities that many organizations face is that functional units find themselves working
in silos. While these structures have evolved to promote efficiency, the unintended consequence is often
a reduction in the open and regular exchange of ideas. Most organizations have made more than a few
valiant attempts to tear down walls and improve communication across departments. While some have
experienced successes, many have found that their gains were short-lived and that things reverted to the
old ways.
It’s not that most employees oppose cross-functional work environments or even that a handful of
conspirators were working behind the scenes to undermine the effort. It’s more about natural forces at
work. Most day-to-day interactions naturally occur among people doing the same sort of job. HR is no
different and is probably at least as vulnerable to working off on its own as any department is.
But no partnership is going to be strong and effective if the teams (or at least the leaders of the teams)
only get together once or twice a year, and then only to discuss specific tactical matters such as training
programs or annual performance reviews. Working well with business leaders requires a plan to make it
happen. Patty McCord describes the objective and approach at Netflix:
“All hiring managers should understand, really deeply, what the company’s approach to hiring is
and how to execute on it, down to every detail. And this should be modeled from the top.”
“Our recruiter’s job was to coach our hiring managers and they created a slide deck to go over
with every one of them, one on one. They would ask every hiring manager, “What’s your
interview process look like? What’s your interview team look like? What’s your structure around
having people come in for interviews look like?”
Powerful, P. 102
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 4 of 6
STRENGTHENING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
BUSINESS LEADERS AND HR
Bill Conaty was a leader of a business before he became the head of HR for GE. This experience helped
him better understand the realities faced by his fellow operators and gave him the insights needed to
drive proactive strategic talent management practices without having HR “get in the way” of operating the
business.
Several of our readings discuss the importance of HR professionals having “real-world” experience in the
operation of a business. Some even advocate having HR professionals rotate through internships or
temporary assignments in the organization in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the business
works. How practical this is will vary from company to company, but the point is a valid one – HR can’t be
an effective strategic partner if its leaders don’t understand the needs of the managers on the ground.
Patty McCord writes:
“HR must be business people who truly understand the way your business works, even if that’s
quite technical. They should be creative, proactive partners in the hiring process. Investing time
in explaining to them the details of the talents you need will pay remarkable dividends.”
Powerful, P. 107
“One thing I absolutely advise is making sure your HR people are your partners; you must stress
to them that you want them to be true business partners. When your HR people are
businesspeople first, it doesn’t seem odd to the rest of your management team to have them in
the room for a staff meeting or to coach hiring managers about how to interact and give feedback.
Instead of thinking HR is there to catch them misbehaving, team leaders will open up to input.
Make sure they really know how your business operates. Do they know the three key drivers of
revenue? Do they know who your top four competitors are? Do they know about the technology
that’s about to disrupt the market? Tell them. If they don’t want to know, replace them.”
Powerful, P. 147
Bill Conaty says that the time he spent running a business added to the credibility of talent management
recommendations made by him and his HR team. When business leaders see that you have real-world
experience to back you up and that you care enough about understanding their needs to leave the safety
of the HR wing to get out and ask questions, you can do a lot to address the image problem that many
HR professionals face. Whatever steps you take to gain this experience in your own career, there’s no
substitute for time spent “in the trenches”, if you really want to understand what’s going on.
EVALUATING STAFFING PERFORMANCE AGAINST THE PLAN
One of the challenges that undermine the effectiveness of the partnership between HR and business unit
leaders is that staffing plans get put in place and can exist for years without adjustment. As you read in
The Talent Masters, C-Sessions were a regular and highly structured process at GE. The role of HR in
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 5 of 6
these was to help the leaders step back and ask important questions about talent management and
strategy, and to assess whether the plan and the people were still the right ones to get the job done.
Whether you follow something as structured as a C-Session at your organization or not, staffing plan
evaluations must address four things:
1. Current status of the business
a. Has a new competitive force surfaced that changes the game?
b. Is a new strategic direction or technical skill needed?
c. Are there skillsets held by some employees that are no longer needed?
d. Have financial conditions changed?
e. Do you need people you don’t have?
2. Looking ahead – what’s coming down the road in a year or five years?
3. Opportunities across other business units to work together and find synergies that can strengthen
your competitive advantage
4. Performance of the team members
Other than voluntary turnover, staffing changes and corrections occur either because the business
conditions have changed, or employee performance has not met expectations. If the HR team stays
involved, it is more likely that these corrections can be made effectively and humanely.
It’s true that some managers will rush to make cuts in personnel without proper support for the employee,
but in reality, this is not as common as some may think. It’s more likely that they will hang on to someone
because they don’t want to make the tough decisions and let them that person go. While these can be
difficult conversations to have with managers, HR has a responsibility to both the business and to the
employee to help business leaders make honest evaluations of their team members and take the
appropriate actions.
As HR leaders, we have to guide our managers to make sure they are accurately assessing the situation
and providing feedback to their team members. This includes asking the all-important question, “If this
person applied for the job right now and you knew everything about them that you know now, would you
hire them?” Then, depending on the answer, HR leadership has to provide the support and courage to
make the change that is needed.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 6 of 6
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS WEEK’S CLASS
As you read the materials and participate in class activities, stay focused on the key learning outcomes
for the week:
• Discuss the importance of having engaged hiring managers
One of the most important roles an HR professional can play is to help business unit leaders
assess their team’s hiring needs and performance against the strategic plans they are expected
to execute. How often do you or your team meet and work with business leaders to evaluate
staffing needs before a search is requested? What mechanisms do you have for circling back
with managers to see how new candidates are doing? The assumption is often that, if there is no
feedback on shortcomings of a new hire from the manager, then the person must be doing okay,
and the HR team can turn their attention to the next hire.
• Strengthen the relationship between business leaders and Human Resources
For HR to remain a strategic partner, there must be a close and ongoing relationship between the
HR department and the business unit leaders they support. How solid is this relationship in your
organization? HR leaders should be scheduling meetings with business leaders at least
biannually to talk about the business. What's going well? What's not going so well? How is the
team doing? What's coming down the road in the next six months or a year that could place
additional demands on team members? How are the new members of the team doing? This
doesn't have to be an overly formal meeting – often the best discussions take place over lunch.
• Evaluate staffing performance against the business plan
Busy managers often find it challenging to accurately assess the performance of their staff. This
sounds counterintuitive since they are the ones closest to their teams, but sometimes that
closeness hides performance issues. Sometimes managers will try to "manage around"
challenges. They will compensate for a low performer on a team whom everyone likes, and
unintentionally undermine team performance and place additional burdens on others. Or maybe
they will decide that a team member needs to be let go when, in fact, there are opportunities
elsewhere in the organization that are a better match for that person. HR can play a valuable and
impartial role in helping managers step back and assess whether their team is delivering what is
needed and has the support it needs to get the job done.
**Week6LilliaResponseJWI522.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6lilliaresponsejwi522-jpeg-10373753)
**Week6RenaResponseJWI522.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6renaresponsejwi522-jpeg-10373755)
**Week6JWI522Discussion.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6jwi522discussion-jpeg-10373757)
**Week6JWI522Discussion.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6jwi522discussion-jpeg-10373757)
**## JWI_522_W6_Lecture_1192.pdf**
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 1 of 6
JWI 522
Strategic Partnering with the C-Suite
Week Six Lecture Notes
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 2 of 6
EXECUTING THE PLAN:
ENSURING THE RIGHT PEOPLE STAY INVOLVED
What It Means
HR leaders and business unit leaders must be true partners. Neither party should be expected
to own the entire process of talent acquisition and development on their own. One of the most
important factors in developing a strong workforce is establishing an effective model for how
these two groups will work together to hire, assess and support their people.
Why It Matters
• HR leadership is only successful when it works hand-in-hand with business leaders.
• The expertise that business leadership and HR leadership has together is much more
than either has alone.
• Business leaders need the guidance of HR experts to help them evaluate performance
and determine when and how their teams need support and when changes need to be
made.
“Make talent development an explicit part of every leader’s job
and hold him or her accountable for it.”
Bill Conaty
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 3 of 6
HR CAN’T DO IT ALONE
You’ve probably noticed by now that there is a lot of alignment between the talent development practices
advocated by Conaty and Charan and those advocated by McCord. While they don’t agree on
everything, there is one point they are both adamant about.
“Hiring great performers is a hiring manager’s most important job. Hiring managers should
actively develop their own pipelines of talent and take the lead in all aspects of the hiring
process.”
Powerful, P. 108
Get senior leaders involved in selecting leadership talent … don’t just hand off recruiting to
whoever is convenient. Have your senior-most people leaders involved in the recruiting process
from the campus level to the top of the organization.
The Talent Masters, P. 262
A true partnership is about leveraging the deep expertise that each partner brings to the process.
However, one of the realities that many organizations face is that functional units find themselves working
in silos. While these structures have evolved to promote efficiency, the unintended consequence is often
a reduction in the open and regular exchange of ideas. Most organizations have made more than a few
valiant attempts to tear down walls and improve communication across departments. While some have
experienced successes, many have found that their gains were short-lived and that things reverted to the
old ways.
It’s not that most employees oppose cross-functional work environments or even that a handful of
conspirators were working behind the scenes to undermine the effort. It’s more about natural forces at
work. Most day-to-day interactions naturally occur among people doing the same sort of job. HR is no
different and is probably at least as vulnerable to working off on its own as any department is.
But no partnership is going to be strong and effective if the teams (or at least the leaders of the teams)
only get together once or twice a year, and then only to discuss specific tactical matters such as training
programs or annual performance reviews. Working well with business leaders requires a plan to make it
happen. Patty McCord describes the objective and approach at Netflix:
“All hiring managers should understand, really deeply, what the company’s approach to hiring is
and how to execute on it, down to every detail. And this should be modeled from the top.”
“Our recruiter’s job was to coach our hiring managers and they created a slide deck to go over
with every one of them, one on one. They would ask every hiring manager, “What’s your
interview process look like? What’s your interview team look like? What’s your structure around
having people come in for interviews look like?”
Powerful, P. 102
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 4 of 6
STRENGTHENING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
BUSINESS LEADERS AND HR
Bill Conaty was a leader of a business before he became the head of HR for GE. This experience helped
him better understand the realities faced by his fellow operators and gave him the insights needed to
drive proactive strategic talent management practices without having HR “get in the way” of operating the
business.
Several of our readings discuss the importance of HR professionals having “real-world” experience in the
operation of a business. Some even advocate having HR professionals rotate through internships or
temporary assignments in the organization in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the business
works. How practical this is will vary from company to company, but the point is a valid one – HR can’t be
an effective strategic partner if its leaders don’t understand the needs of the managers on the ground.
Patty McCord writes:
“HR must be business people who truly understand the way your business works, even if that’s
quite technical. They should be creative, proactive partners in the hiring process. Investing time
in explaining to them the details of the talents you need will pay remarkable dividends.”
Powerful, P. 107
“One thing I absolutely advise is making sure your HR people are your partners; you must stress
to them that you want them to be true business partners. When your HR people are
businesspeople first, it doesn’t seem odd to the rest of your management team to have them in
the room for a staff meeting or to coach hiring managers about how to interact and give feedback.
Instead of thinking HR is there to catch them misbehaving, team leaders will open up to input.
Make sure they really know how your business operates. Do they know the three key drivers of
revenue? Do they know who your top four competitors are? Do they know about the technology
that’s about to disrupt the market? Tell them. If they don’t want to know, replace them.”
Powerful, P. 147
Bill Conaty says that the time he spent running a business added to the credibility of talent management
recommendations made by him and his HR team. When business leaders see that you have real-world
experience to back you up and that you care enough about understanding their needs to leave the safety
of the HR wing to get out and ask questions, you can do a lot to address the image problem that many
HR professionals face. Whatever steps you take to gain this experience in your own career, there’s no
substitute for time spent “in the trenches”, if you really want to understand what’s going on.
EVALUATING STAFFING PERFORMANCE AGAINST THE PLAN
One of the challenges that undermine the effectiveness of the partnership between HR and business unit
leaders is that staffing plans get put in place and can exist for years without adjustment. As you read in
The Talent Masters, C-Sessions were a regular and highly structured process at GE. The role of HR in
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 5 of 6
these was to help the leaders step back and ask important questions about talent management and
strategy, and to assess whether the plan and the people were still the right ones to get the job done.
Whether you follow something as structured as a C-Session at your organization or not, staffing plan
evaluations must address four things:
1. Current status of the business
a. Has a new competitive force surfaced that changes the game?
b. Is a new strategic direction or technical skill needed?
c. Are there skillsets held by some employees that are no longer needed?
d. Have financial conditions changed?
e. Do you need people you don’t have?
2. Looking ahead – what’s coming down the road in a year or five years?
3. Opportunities across other business units to work together and find synergies that can strengthen
your competitive advantage
4. Performance of the team members
Other than voluntary turnover, staffing changes and corrections occur either because the business
conditions have changed, or employee performance has not met expectations. If the HR team stays
involved, it is more likely that these corrections can be made effectively and humanely.
It’s true that some managers will rush to make cuts in personnel without proper support for the employee,
but in reality, this is not as common as some may think. It’s more likely that they will hang on to someone
because they don’t want to make the tough decisions and let them that person go. While these can be
difficult conversations to have with managers, HR has a responsibility to both the business and to the
employee to help business leaders make honest evaluations of their team members and take the
appropriate actions.
As HR leaders, we have to guide our managers to make sure they are accurately assessing the situation
and providing feedback to their team members. This includes asking the all-important question, “If this
person applied for the job right now and you knew everything about them that you know now, would you
hire them?” Then, depending on the answer, HR leadership has to provide the support and courage to
make the change that is needed.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 6 of 6
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS WEEK’S CLASS
As you read the materials and participate in class activities, stay focused on the key learning outcomes
for the week:
• Discuss the importance of having engaged hiring managers
One of the most important roles an HR professional can play is to help business unit leaders
assess their team’s hiring needs and performance against the strategic plans they are expected
to execute. How often do you or your team meet and work with business leaders to evaluate
staffing needs before a search is requested? What mechanisms do you have for circling back
with managers to see how new candidates are doing? The assumption is often that, if there is no
feedback on shortcomings of a new hire from the manager, then the person must be doing okay,
and the HR team can turn their attention to the next hire.
• Strengthen the relationship between business leaders and Human Resources
For HR to remain a strategic partner, there must be a close and ongoing relationship between the
HR department and the business unit leaders they support. How solid is this relationship in your
organization? HR leaders should be scheduling meetings with business leaders at least
biannually to talk about the business. What's going well? What's not going so well? How is the
team doing? What's coming down the road in the next six months or a year that could place
additional demands on team members? How are the new members of the team doing? This
doesn't have to be an overly formal meeting – often the best discussions take place over lunch.
• Evaluate staffing performance against the business plan
Busy managers often find it challenging to accurately assess the performance of their staff. This
sounds counterintuitive since they are the ones closest to their teams, but sometimes that
closeness hides performance issues. Sometimes managers will try to "manage around"
challenges. They will compensate for a low performer on a team whom everyone likes, and
unintentionally undermine team performance and place additional burdens on others. Or maybe
they will decide that a team member needs to be let go when, in fact, there are opportunities
elsewhere in the organization that are a better match for that person. HR can play a valuable and
impartial role in helping managers step back and assess whether their team is delivering what is
needed and has the support it needs to get the job done.
**Week6LilliaResponseJWI522.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6lilliaresponsejwi522-jpeg-10373753)
**Week6RenaResponseJWI522.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6renaresponsejwi522-jpeg-10373755)
**Week6JWI522Discussion.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6jwi522discussion-jpeg-10373757)
**## JWI_522_W6_Lecture_1192.pdf**
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 1 of 6
JWI 522
Strategic Partnering with the C-Suite
Week Six Lecture Notes
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 2 of 6
EXECUTING THE PLAN:
ENSURING THE RIGHT PEOPLE STAY INVOLVED
What It Means
HR leaders and business unit leaders must be true partners. Neither party should be expected
to own the entire process of talent acquisition and development on their own. One of the most
important factors in developing a strong workforce is establishing an effective model for how
these two groups will work together to hire, assess and support their people.
Why It Matters
• HR leadership is only successful when it works hand-in-hand with business leaders.
• The expertise that business leadership and HR leadership has together is much more
than either has alone.
• Business leaders need the guidance of HR experts to help them evaluate performance
and determine when and how their teams need support and when changes need to be
made.
“Make talent development an explicit part of every leader’s job
and hold him or her accountable for it.”
Bill Conaty
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 3 of 6
HR CAN’T DO IT ALONE
You’ve probably noticed by now that there is a lot of alignment between the talent development practices
advocated by Conaty and Charan and those advocated by McCord. While they don’t agree on
everything, there is one point they are both adamant about.
“Hiring great performers is a hiring manager’s most important job. Hiring managers should
actively develop their own pipelines of talent and take the lead in all aspects of the hiring
process.”
Powerful, P. 108
Get senior leaders involved in selecting leadership talent … don’t just hand off recruiting to
whoever is convenient. Have your senior-most people leaders involved in the recruiting process
from the campus level to the top of the organization.
The Talent Masters, P. 262
A true partnership is about leveraging the deep expertise that each partner brings to the process.
However, one of the realities that many organizations face is that functional units find themselves working
in silos. While these structures have evolved to promote efficiency, the unintended consequence is often
a reduction in the open and regular exchange of ideas. Most organizations have made more than a few
valiant attempts to tear down walls and improve communication across departments. While some have
experienced successes, many have found that their gains were short-lived and that things reverted to the
old ways.
It’s not that most employees oppose cross-functional work environments or even that a handful of
conspirators were working behind the scenes to undermine the effort. It’s more about natural forces at
work. Most day-to-day interactions naturally occur among people doing the same sort of job. HR is no
different and is probably at least as vulnerable to working off on its own as any department is.
But no partnership is going to be strong and effective if the teams (or at least the leaders of the teams)
only get together once or twice a year, and then only to discuss specific tactical matters such as training
programs or annual performance reviews. Working well with business leaders requires a plan to make it
happen. Patty McCord describes the objective and approach at Netflix:
“All hiring managers should understand, really deeply, what the company’s approach to hiring is
and how to execute on it, down to every detail. And this should be modeled from the top.”
“Our recruiter’s job was to coach our hiring managers and they created a slide deck to go over
with every one of them, one on one. They would ask every hiring manager, “What’s your
interview process look like? What’s your interview team look like? What’s your structure around
having people come in for interviews look like?”
Powerful, P. 102
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 4 of 6
STRENGTHENING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
BUSINESS LEADERS AND HR
Bill Conaty was a leader of a business before he became the head of HR for GE. This experience helped
him better understand the realities faced by his fellow operators and gave him the insights needed to
drive proactive strategic talent management practices without having HR “get in the way” of operating the
business.
Several of our readings discuss the importance of HR professionals having “real-world” experience in the
operation of a business. Some even advocate having HR professionals rotate through internships or
temporary assignments in the organization in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the business
works. How practical this is will vary from company to company, but the point is a valid one – HR can’t be
an effective strategic partner if its leaders don’t understand the needs of the managers on the ground.
Patty McCord writes:
“HR must be business people who truly understand the way your business works, even if that’s
quite technical. They should be creative, proactive partners in the hiring process. Investing time
in explaining to them the details of the talents you need will pay remarkable dividends.”
Powerful, P. 107
“One thing I absolutely advise is making sure your HR people are your partners; you must stress
to them that you want them to be true business partners. When your HR people are
businesspeople first, it doesn’t seem odd to the rest of your management team to have them in
the room for a staff meeting or to coach hiring managers about how to interact and give feedback.
Instead of thinking HR is there to catch them misbehaving, team leaders will open up to input.
Make sure they really know how your business operates. Do they know the three key drivers of
revenue? Do they know who your top four competitors are? Do they know about the technology
that’s about to disrupt the market? Tell them. If they don’t want to know, replace them.”
Powerful, P. 147
Bill Conaty says that the time he spent running a business added to the credibility of talent management
recommendations made by him and his HR team. When business leaders see that you have real-world
experience to back you up and that you care enough about understanding their needs to leave the safety
of the HR wing to get out and ask questions, you can do a lot to address the image problem that many
HR professionals face. Whatever steps you take to gain this experience in your own career, there’s no
substitute for time spent “in the trenches”, if you really want to understand what’s going on.
EVALUATING STAFFING PERFORMANCE AGAINST THE PLAN
One of the challenges that undermine the effectiveness of the partnership between HR and business unit
leaders is that staffing plans get put in place and can exist for years without adjustment. As you read in
The Talent Masters, C-Sessions were a regular and highly structured process at GE. The role of HR in
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 5 of 6
these was to help the leaders step back and ask important questions about talent management and
strategy, and to assess whether the plan and the people were still the right ones to get the job done.
Whether you follow something as structured as a C-Session at your organization or not, staffing plan
evaluations must address four things:
1. Current status of the business
a. Has a new competitive force surfaced that changes the game?
b. Is a new strategic direction or technical skill needed?
c. Are there skillsets held by some employees that are no longer needed?
d. Have financial conditions changed?
e. Do you need people you don’t have?
2. Looking ahead – what’s coming down the road in a year or five years?
3. Opportunities across other business units to work together and find synergies that can strengthen
your competitive advantage
4. Performance of the team members
Other than voluntary turnover, staffing changes and corrections occur either because the business
conditions have changed, or employee performance has not met expectations. If the HR team stays
involved, it is more likely that these corrections can be made effectively and humanely.
It’s true that some managers will rush to make cuts in personnel without proper support for the employee,
but in reality, this is not as common as some may think. It’s more likely that they will hang on to someone
because they don’t want to make the tough decisions and let them that person go. While these can be
difficult conversations to have with managers, HR has a responsibility to both the business and to the
employee to help business leaders make honest evaluations of their team members and take the
appropriate actions.
As HR leaders, we have to guide our managers to make sure they are accurately assessing the situation
and providing feedback to their team members. This includes asking the all-important question, “If this
person applied for the job right now and you knew everything about them that you know now, would you
hire them?” Then, depending on the answer, HR leadership has to provide the support and courage to
make the change that is needed.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWI 522 (1192) Page 6 of 6
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS WEEK’S CLASS
As you read the materials and participate in class activities, stay focused on the key learning outcomes
for the week:
• Discuss the importance of having engaged hiring managers
One of the most important roles an HR professional can play is to help business unit leaders
assess their team’s hiring needs and performance against the strategic plans they are expected
to execute. How often do you or your team meet and work with business leaders to evaluate
staffing needs before a search is requested? What mechanisms do you have for circling back
with managers to see how new candidates are doing? The assumption is often that, if there is no
feedback on shortcomings of a new hire from the manager, then the person must be doing okay,
and the HR team can turn their attention to the next hire.
• Strengthen the relationship between business leaders and Human Resources
For HR to remain a strategic partner, there must be a close and ongoing relationship between the
HR department and the business unit leaders they support. How solid is this relationship in your
organization? HR leaders should be scheduling meetings with business leaders at least
biannually to talk about the business. What's going well? What's not going so well? How is the
team doing? What's coming down the road in the next six months or a year that could place
additional demands on team members? How are the new members of the team doing? This
doesn't have to be an overly formal meeting – often the best discussions take place over lunch.
• Evaluate staffing performance against the business plan
Busy managers often find it challenging to accurately assess the performance of their staff. This
sounds counterintuitive since they are the ones closest to their teams, but sometimes that
closeness hides performance issues. Sometimes managers will try to "manage around"
challenges. They will compensate for a low performer on a team whom everyone likes, and
unintentionally undermine team performance and place additional burdens on others. Or maybe
they will decide that a team member needs to be let go when, in fact, there are opportunities
elsewhere in the organization that are a better match for that person. HR can play a valuable and
impartial role in helping managers step back and assess whether their team is delivering what is
needed and has the support it needs to get the job done.
**Week6LilliaResponseJWI522.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6lilliaresponsejwi522-jpeg-10373753)
**Week6RenaResponseJWI522.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6renaresponsejwi522-jpeg-10373755)
**Week6JWI522Discussion.jpeg**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/week6jwi522discussion-jpeg-10373757)
– 1
– 2
– 3
– 4