Human Resources Management is a business function developed in large organisations with large work forces where scale is important and, in most of those organisations, policy, process and risk management are the priority. So does that work for SMBs? We don’t think so (in fact, we don’t think it works well in most organisations).
A story from long ago
Early in my career as what was then called a Personnel Management practitioner, a very wise and loved boss of mine taught me a life lesson. Let’s call him Mike. It was that, if you are going to be successful in the field, you had to earn people’s trust. Mike spent a lot of time getting to know people and letting them get to know him. People came to Mike with all sorts of issues with confidence and he showed them that he was there for them by acting on them or advising them. They would even accept a “no” from him because it was Mike and they trusted him to be honest with them. From an organisational perspective, being informed about things happening out in the business equipped Mike to strategically deal with emerging issues before they became a problem and to lean in and provide support if someone was struggling with something at work or otherwise in life.
That is a lesson that I have used repeatedly in the work that I do.
When Mike moved on, the organisation’s first HR Manager replaced him and he liaised with senior management and issued instructions and policies from his office. People then came to me with their issues, saying “you’re not Mike but we trust you and you are all we’ve got”.
What is Human Resources Management?
According to Wikipedia:
- “Human Resources Management is the strategic and coherent approach to the effective and efficient management of people in a company or organisation such that they help their business gain a competitive advantage”; and
- “HR professionals manage the human capital of an organisation and focus on implementing policies and processes.”
Not very inspiring, is it?
And the language is hardly engaging, is it?
And not very people focused either?
The concept that people are human resources to be managed is perhaps, in itself, dehumanising, don’t you think?
In too many organisations, HR is seen as the enforcer of corporate risk management via policies and procedures. That approach really sends a message that, rather than people being an organisation’s greatest assets in truth, they are seen as the organisation’s greatest risks.
And that is one of the reasons why HR doesn’t work as it was perhaps intended to – that, in the pursuit of risk management and legal compliance, organisations placed those above people.
What is people business?
In small to medium businesses, the primary driver of success is the quality of the people and the relationships between them and with other key stakeholders like customers and suppliers.
So, unlike traditional HRM, it is very human-centred and that is why we call it “PEOPLE BUSINESS” – it about how we get the right people in the right roles doing the right stuff in the right way so that they and the business flourish together.
Of course, we need some policy and procedures but they are designed to help people to perform and behave to the standards expected so that work is enjoyable and productive for everyone…..and of course there are legal compliance requirements that need to be dealt with and actions that need to occur in the event of non-compliances but they are the footnote rather than the headline.
We use our 4c model to help our clients with their PEOPLE BUSINESS:
- Commitment – the fundamentals that deliver purpose and compliance
- Capability – the tools and systems that enable good people practice
- Competency – the skills and knowledge that deliver positive outcomes for businesses and people
- Culture – the integration of all of that to deliver everyday employee engagement and high performance.
That is what PEOPLE BUSINESS looks like.
Conclusion
If you are an SMB, you need to assure your compliance with legal requirements but the way that you do that sends messages to your people and you want these to be the right ones.
It isn’t just about making people follow rules – it is about how you get them engaged and happy to follow the rules because they know that the rules are right and they want to be successful in their role and relationships at work.
If you would like to learn more about ways that we can help you with your PEOPLE BUSINESS, please call us on 1300 108 488 or email us at enquiries@ridgelinehr.com.au.
