It is no secret to anyone that the human capital of companies is the most important asset today and that their proper management depends on their competitiveness and survival. It is also known that the management of people has evolved over time and today it is assumed that the managers who are appointed or appointed to organize and carry out this process, for the most part, belong to the boards of directors, the board of Directors and other top-level management spaces, that is, their voice is heard without intermediaries, by the main managers in each company and increasingly participate in the most important decision-making.
Now once we are heard,
- What actually happens next in practice? Why do we perceive that they still don't believe us?
To answer these questions, I have used the results of interviews and talks with managers who have surrounded me for more than 17 years of work experience, first as a specialist and for more than 6 years as a manager of human capital in medians. and large Cuban companies, as well as specialists, colleagues and managers of other Cuban companies.
I want to share with you five of the most common responses, which in turn constitute barriers to break down (they are not the only ones, nor are they in order of importance), intertwined with personal comments, as well as some strategies that I have used and recommend for counteract the negative effect on us and on our companies, of the attitudes and behaviors, both of our collaborators and of the rest of the managers.
I am convinced that if we are able to overcome at least these 5 barriers (which are harsh realities), we will be contributing to the achievement of the long-awaited credibility that we need to carry out any business project.
1. Almost always the GCH issues on the agendas of the Boards of Directors, Boards of Directors, etc. are planned for the last hours of each session:
It is really unlikely that ten or fifteen minutes before the end of each session, usually before lunchtime, they will give us all the attention we demand for the discussion of our topics. We almost always run over ideas or points of interest and we end up almost imposing what must be done, so we are not able to generate a true commitment to what is agreed.
We recommend: Define with the General Director of the Company the duration and rotation of schedules for the discussion of topics, trying not to always be the last. Explain to all involved, with great tact, the reason for these proposals and the benefits it brings to everyone.
2. Little depth and quality of the reports presented by the DCH in the Boards of Directors:
It depends entirely on us, the managers of CH. On the one hand, we allow our collaborators mediocrity and superfluous analysis of the chosen topics and, on the other, we are not able to provide them with specific reports that capture everyone's attention on the main problems of the GCH in each period analyzed, the responsibility of each manager and possible solution proposals.
We recommend: Prepare and approve a thematic plan for the whole year (flexible and adjustable in time). Initially define with our collaborators, what we want to transmit in the reports, what we want not to be missing in the analyzes, leaving a space for the individual creativity of each one of them. Train them and when they acquire habits and analytical skills, let them propose to us the form and content of each report.
3. Executives do not have time to deal with human capital management issues, that is what those in charge of that area are for. The most important thing is to produce and sell:
Really if we do not produce or sell, we simply would not exist as a company. But when a manager responds to us in this way, from the outset, we know that he has problems with the use of time, but worse, he forgets who is the true manager of people in the company: himself. He also forgets that he can obtain good results in the short term, but that if he does not prioritize how to manage and motivate his collaborators, the true "driving forces" of those results, in the medium and long term, will have irreversible problems in meeting strategic objectives in your area and may even jeopardize your tenure at the company.
We recommend: Intensify the work of advising managers on the tools and practices of GCH (be persistent, do not tire of continuing to insist), give them greater participation in the preparation, evaluation and improvement of the same. Design training programs aimed at turning managers and middle managers into true people managers. Include precise criteria in the subsequent evaluations of each manager, on the results achieved in the management of people and stimulate / penalize based on them.
4. The GCH generates a lot of paperwork, little substance and no more value is generated
It is true that the GCH generates paperwork, there is no known bureaucratic process that does not. Even a doctor caring for a patient generates necessary bureaucracy, such as prescriptions, records, reports, test results, etc. Regarding the generation of value, it is also true that many companies still continue to measure traditional indicators without connecting them to their overall objectives and results and find it difficult to demonstrate their contributions in terms of values.
We recommend:
We must be as objective, creative and innovative as possible and design simple, simple, easy to apply tools and procedures that use the least amount of paper possible, adjusted to the characteristics of our companies, but without forgetting, leaving the evidence and traceability necessary for proper quality management. Not living alone to comply with procedures, but realizing in time, when a procedure hinders the agile operation of the company and being willing and daring to improve it, to change it.
Regarding the generation of value, we must be able to design and implement a system of indicators aligned to the Company's Vision, Mission and Strategy (a comprehensive scorecard applied to each sub-process of the GCH), which allows monitoring, communication, implement, measure and understand the effectiveness of Human Capital Management and its impact on the generation of benefits.
5. Little leadership, charisma and technical mastery of those responsible for the areas of human capital
It also depends entirely on us. We must achieve the necessary competence, ours and that of our collaborators, not only technical and interpersonal relations, but understand and dominate the business where we operate, for as Wayne Brockbank and Dave Ulrich say, HR professionals should strive to become protagonists to define the direction of the business and to leverage the human competences and organizational capacities necessary to achieve success.
We recommend: Being up-to-date in our field and willing to apply what we learn, without fear of making mistakes, surrounding ourselves with capable collaborators, committed to the company, with learning abilities and self-preparation habits and respecting ourselves, giving a good example of how direct, (there is little point in demanding from others what we design and then do not do), working better every day for external clients and especially internal ones, not to think that once the management tools are designed (with the essential participation of managers), that they are good, ideal and effective, just because we like them, above all they have to work and must be understood, accepted and improved by those who use them: The Managers and Middle Managers.
Related Posts
- Páez Núñez, Juan Carlos / 2012 / Tool to design a system of indicators to communicate, implement and measure Human Capital Management based on the Balanced Scorecard Model / Presentation presented at the Ibero-American Event IBERGECYT 2012 / GECYT / Havana, Cuba.Wayne Brockbank and Dave Ulrich / 2002 / “Study of human resources competencies. Interpretation of the individual feedback report ”.
