From the Ask Tom mailbag –

Question:
I read your post yesterday about HR at different levels of work. I am stuck at S-II. How can I make an impact at S-III? How do I get the company to understand why this is so necessary?

Response:
Most companies see the HR role at S-I and S-II as necessary only because they are mandated by law to keep track of that stuff (compliance). By definition, administrative processes do not directly add value to the product or service experienced by the customer.

But, there is a silent switch at S-III where Human Resource systems begin to add value. It is not that most companies don’t see it as necessary, most companies don’t see it at all. They are blind to it. The only time they respond to it is when they find themselves suddenly short-handed.

Here is the prescription to have HR impact at S-III (system) level of work. Get out of your office and meet individually with each functional manager. Here is a list –

• Sales manager
• Marketing manager
• Contracting manager
• Project manager
• Operations manager
• QC manager
• Warranty manager
• R&D manager

Ask them these three questions –

1. What is the output created by your (function) department?
2. What roles and how many people do you need to do that work?
3. What will change in a month, six months, a year related to your work output and the people you need?

Go back to your office and write up your notes, one page per function. Put these is a tabbed 3-ring binder.

Have another meeting with each manager, show them the one page and ask three more questions –

1. Describe each role on your team, what problems do they have to solve and what decisions do they have to make?
2. What does each of those roles cost you in compensation?
3. How long does it take (lead time) to find candidates and train someone to be productive on your team?

Go back to your office and write up your notes, one page per function. Put these in the tabbed 3-ring binder.

By now, you should see the pattern of these questions and the construction of this human resource system. As the HR manager, you are making this system visible to each functional manager, so they can see it. You have also established a series of meetings that will continue (forever) where you will ask questions and begin the execution of this system. Your next meetings will consider these questions –

• If you expect work volume to increase (or decrease), given the lead time for training, when do we need to begin a recruiting effort?
• How will we describe the role in a job posting?
• How will we include the necessary elements in a role description?
• What are the key areas in each role, critical role requirements and output in each key area?
• What questions will we need to create to use in candidate interviews?
• Who would be valuable members on the hiring team?
• What will the onboarding process (orientation, training) look like?
• Which manager will be accountable for the output of this new hire?

Write up your notes, organize them into the 3-ring binder (your HR system) and EXECUTE. What you have created is a system called workforce planning. There is no magic fairy dust to this process, just a little (hard) work. -Tom