原文：
New Competencies for HR
What does it take to make it big in HR? What skills and expertise do you need? Since 1988, Dave Ulrich, professor of business administration at the University of Michigan, and his associates have been on a quest to provide the answers. This year, they’ve released an all-new 2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS). The findings and interpretations lay out professional guidance for HR for at least the next few years.
“People want to know what set of skills high-achieving HR people need to perform even better,” says Ulrich, co-director of the project along with Wayne Brockbank, also a professor of business at the University of Michigan.
Conducted under the auspices of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and The RBL Group in Salt Lake City, with regional partners including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in North America and other institutions in Latin America, Europe, China and Australia, HRCS is the longest-running, most extensive global HR competency study in existence. “In reaching our conclusions, we’ve looked across more than 400 companies and are able to report with statistical accuracy what HR executives say and do,” Ulrich says.
“The research continues to demonstrate the dynamic nature of the human
整理文本
.
resource management profession,” says SHRM President and CEO Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR. “The findings also highlight what an exciting time it is to be in the profession. We continue to have the ability to really add value to an organization.”
“HRCS is foundational work that is really important to HR as a profession,” says Cynthia McCague, senior vice president of the Coca-Cola Co., who participated in the study. “They have created and continue to enhance a framework for thinking about how HR drives organizational performance.”
What’s New
Researchers identified six core competencies that high-performing HR professionals embody. These supersede the five competencies outlined in the 2002 HRCS—the last study published—reflecting the continuing evolution of the HR profession. Each competency is broken out into performance elements.
“This is the fifth round, so we can look at past models and compare where the profession is going,” says Evren Esen, survey program manager at SHRM, which provided the sample of HR professionals surveyed in North America. “We can actually see the profession changing. Some core areas remain the same, but others, based on how the raters assess and perceive HR, are new.” (For more information, see “The Competencies and Their Elements,” at right.)
To some degree, the new competencies reflect a change in nomenclature or a
整理文本
.
shuffling of the competency deck. However, there are some key differences.
Five years ago, HR’s role in managing culture was embedded within a broader competency. Now its importance merits a competency of its own. Knowledge of technology, a stand-alone competency in 2002, now appears within Business Ally. In other instances, the new competencies carry expectations that promise to change the way HR views its role. For example, the Credible Activist calls for HR to eschew neutrality and to take a stand—to practice the craft “with an attitude.”
To put the competencies in perspective, it’s helpful to view them as a three-tier pyramid with Credible Activist at the pinnacle.
Credible Activist. This competency is the top indicator in predicting overall outstanding performance, suggesting that mastering it should be a priority. “You’ve got to be good at all of them, but, no question, [this competency] is key,” Ulrich says. “But you can’t be a Credible Activist without having all the other competencies. In a sense, it’s the whole package.”
“It’s a deal breaker,” agrees Dani Johnson, project manager of the Human Resource Competency Study at The RBL Group in Salt Lake City. “If you don’t come to the table with it, you’re done. It permeates everything you do.”
The Credible Activist is at the heart of what it takes to be an effective HR leader. “The best HR people do not hold back; they step forward and advocate for their
整理文本
.
position,” says Susan Harmansky, SPHR, senior director of domestic restaurant operations for HR at Papa John’s International in Louisville, Ky., and former chair of the Human Resource Certification Institute. “CEOs are not waiting for HR to come in with options—they want your recommendations; they want you to speak from your position as an expert, similar to what you see from legal or finance executives.”
“You don’t want to be credible without being an activist, because essentially you’re worthless to the business,” Johnson says. “People like you, but you have no impact. On the other hand, you don’t want to be an activist without being credible. You can be dangerous in a situation like that.”
Below Credible Activist on the pyramid is a cluster of three competencies: Cultural Steward, Talent Manager/Organizational Designer and Strategy Architect.
Cultural Steward. HR has always owned culture. But with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory pressures, and CEOs relying more on HR to manage culture, this is the first time it has emerged as an independent competency. Of the six competencies, Cultural Steward is the second highest predictor of performance of both HR professionals and HR departments.
Talent Manager/Organizational Designer. Talent management focuses on how individuals enter, move up, across or out of the organization. Organizational design centers on the policies, practices and structure that shape how the organization works. Their linking reflects Ulrich’s belief that HR may be placing
整理文本
.
too much emphasis on talent acquisition at the expense of organizational design. Talent management will not succeed in the long run without an organizational structure that supports it.
Strategy Architect. Strategy Architects are able to recognize business trends and their impact on the business, and to identify potential roadblocks and opportunities. Harmansky, who recently joined Papa John’s, demonstrates how the Strategy Architect competency helps HR contribute to the overall business strategy. “In my first months here, I’m spending a lot of time traveling, going to see stores all over the country. Every time I go to a store, while my counterparts of the management team are talking about [operational aspects], I’m talking to the people who work there. I’m trying to find out what the issues are surrounding people. How do I develop them? I’m looking for my business differentiator on the people side so I can contribute to the strategy.”
When Charlease Deathridge, SPHR, HR manager of McKee Foods in Stuarts Draft, Va., identified a potential roadblock to implementing a new management philosophy, she used the Strategy Architect competency. “When we were rolling out ‘lean manufacturing’ principles at our location, we administered an employee satisfaction survey to assess how the workers viewed the new system. The satisfaction scores were lower than ideal. I showed [management] how a negative could become a positive, how we could use the data and follow-up surveys as a strategic tool to demonstrate progress.”
Anchoring the pyramid at its base are two competencies that Ulrich describes
整理文本
.
as “table stakes—necessary but not sufficient.” Except in China, where HR is at an earlier stage in professional development and there is great emphasis on transactional activities, these competencies are looked upon as basic skills that everyone must have. There is some disappointing news here. In the United States, respondents rated significantly lower on these competencies than the respondents surveyed in other countries.
Business Ally. HR contributes to the success of a business by knowing how it makes money, who the customers are, and why they buy the company’s products and services. For HR professionals to be Business Allies (and Credible Activists and Strategy Architects as well), they should be what Ulrich describes as “business literate.” The mantra about understanding the business—how it works, the financials and strategic issues—remains as important today as it did in every iteration of the survey the past 20 years. Yet progress in this area continues to lag.
“Even these high performers don’t know the business as well as they should,” Ulrich says. In his travels, he gives HR audiences 10 questions to test their business literacy.
Operational Executor. These skills tend to fall into the range of HR activities characterized as transactional or “legacy.” Policies need to be drafted, adapted and implemented. Employees need to be paid, relocated, hired, trained and more. Every
function
here
is
essential,
but—as
with
the
Business
Ally
competency—high-performing HR managers seem to view them as less important and score higher on the other competencies. Even some highly effective HR
整理文本
.
people may be running a risk in paying too little attention to these nuts-and-bolts activities, Ulrich observes.
Practical Tool
In conducting debriefings for people who participated in the HRCS, Ulrich observes how delighted they are at the prescriptive nature of the exercise. The individual feedback reports they receive (see “How the Study Was Done”) offer them a road map, and they are highly motivated to follow it.
Anyone who has been through a 360-degree appraisal knows that criticism can be jarring. It’s risky to open yourself up to others’ opinions when you don’t have to. Add the prospect of sharing the results with your boss and colleagues who will be rating you, and you may decide to pass. Still, it’s not surprising that highly motivated people like Deathridge jumped at the chance for the free feedback.
“All of it is not good,” says Deathridge. “You have to be willing to face up to it. You go home, work it out and say, ‘Why am I getting this bad feedback?’ ”
But for Deathridge, the results mostly confirmed what she already knew. “I believe most people know where they’re weak or strong. For me, it was most helpful to look at how close others’ ratings of me matched with my own assessments. ... There’s so much to learn about what it takes to be a genuine leader, and this study helped a lot.”
整理文本
.
Deathridge says the individual feedback report she received helped her realize the importance of taking a stand and developing her Credible Activist competency. “There was a situation where I had a line manager who wanted to discipline someone,” she recalls. “In the past, I wouldn’t have been able to stand up as strongly as I did. I was able to be very clear about how I felt. I told him that he had not done enough to document the performance issue, and that if he wanted to institute discipline it would have to be at the lowest level. In the past, I would have been more deferential and said, ‘Let’s compromise and do it at step two or three.’ But I didn’t do it; I spoke out strongly and held my ground.”
This was the second study for Shane Smith, director of HR at Coca-Cola. “I did it for the first time in 2002. Now I’m seeing some traction in the things I’ve been working on. I’m pleased to see the consistency with my evaluations of my performance when compared to my raters.”
What It All Means
Ulrich believes that HR professionals who would have succeeded 30, 20, even 10 years ago, are not as likely to succeed today. They are expected to play new roles. To do so, they will need the new competencies.
Ulrich urges HR to reflect on the new competencies and what they reveal about the future of the HR profession. His message is direct and unforgiving. “Legacy HR work is going, and HR people who don’t change with it will be gone.” Still, he remains optimistic that many in HR are heeding his call. “Twenty
整理文本
.
percent of HR people will never get it; 20 percent are really top performing. The middle 60 percent are moving in the right direction,” says Ulrich.
“Within that 60 percent there are HR professionals who may be at the table but are not contributing fully,” he adds. “That’s the group I want to talk to. ... I want to show them what they need to do to have an impact.”
As a start, Ulrich recommends HR professionals consider initiating three conversations. “One is with your business leaders. Review the competencies with them and ask them if you’re doing them. Next, pose the same questions to your HR team. Then, ask yourself whether you really know the business or if you’re glossing on the surface.” Finally, set your priorities. “Our data say: ‘Get working on that Credible Activist!’ ”
Robert J. Grossman, a contributing editor of HR Magazine, is a lawyer and a professor of management studies at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. from：
Robert J. Grossman , HR Magazine, 2007,06
整理文本
.
译文：
人力资源管理的新型胜任力
如何在人力资源管理领域取得更大成功？需要怎样的专业知识和技能？
从1988年开始，密歇根大学的商业管理教授Dave Ulrich先生和他的助手们就开始研究这个课题。今年，他们发布了一份全新的2007人力资源胜任力研究报告[2007 Human Resource Competency Study (HRCS)]，这项研究成果将成为未来几年人力资源领域的专业指南。
Ulrich 教授介绍说，“人们想知道什么样的专业技能能让已经很成功的人力资源管理者们表现的更好，”他与密歇根大学的商业学教授Wayne Brockbank先生共同领导了这项研究。
该项研究由密歇根大学的罗斯商学院及盐湖城的RBL集团主办，并与世界各地的机构进行合作，合作伙伴包括北美的美国人力资源管理协会以及拉美洲、欧洲、中国、澳大利亚等地的研究机构。HRCS是全球范围内现有的最具规模、持续时间最长的一项人力资源胜任力研究。Ulrich教授介绍说：“为了达到准确的研究结果，我们对400余家企业进行了调查研究，我们甚至能够准确说出HR高管说过什么和做过什么”。
美国人力资源管理协会的总裁兼CEO、高级人力资源管理师Susan R. Meisinger女士评价说：“这项研究充分表明了人力资源管理这个领域的不断发展的性质。研究结果同样也昭示出，现在正是涉足这个行业的黄金时刻。我们依然能够真正为企业创造价值。”
整理文本
.
曾参与过此项研究的可口可乐高级副总裁Cynthia McCague先生说：“人力资源胜任力研究是人力资源领域内一项非常重要的基础性研究。它创造并不断强调了一个框架，让我们思考HR是如何驱动公司业绩的。”
（一级标题）关于新成果
该项研究发布了六项高绩效人力资源从业人员所具备的胜任力，从而取代了在2002 年HRCS发布的五项胜任力，这充分表明了HR这个领域在不断发展进步。每一项胜任力都被细化为绩效因素。
“因为这是第五次进行这样的调查了，所以我们可以与过去的研究结果进行比较，从而看到这个行业的变迁。”美国人力资源管理协会的调研项目经Evren Esen这样说，她此次负责提供北美洲HR行业的相关数据。“我们能清楚地感觉到行业的变化。一些核心部分保持不变，而根据被调查者对人力资源领域的评价和看法，其他的部分则是全新的。（更多资讯，请参见“胜任力及其组成因素”）
从某种程度来说，新的胜任力反应了术语上的一些变化或者胜任力的重新组合，然而，新的胜任力还是有一些根本的不同。
五年前，HR在文化管理方面的作用被包含在意义更广阔的胜任力里。现在它的重要性是如此突显，所以被作为一个单独的胜任力提出来。掌握科技知识这在2002年是一项独立的能力，现在则被包含在商业同盟这项胜任力中。其他方面，新的胜任力让人们看到了HR所承载使命的变化。例如，“可信赖的行动家”号召人力资源管理者放弃中立态度，表明自己的立场——对事物拥有自己的态度。为了使读者更好地理解这些胜任力，把这些胜任力看做一个三层的金字塔是很有帮助的，而可信赖的行动家就是塔尖。
整理文本
.
可信赖的行动家 这项胜任力是获得出色表现的首要关键因素，这就意味着应该将掌握这项胜任力放在优先位置。Ulrich 教授说“你必须具备全部的这些胜任力，毫无疑问，这个胜任力是关键所在。但是，没有其他的胜任力，你不可能拥有这项。从某种意义来说，这是一个整体。”
盐湖城的RBL集团的人力资源胜任力研究项目经理Dani Johnson先生也持同样观点，“这点非常重要，如果你不具备这项胜任力的话，那么你就过时了。这项胜任力已经渗透到你工作的方方面面。”
可信赖的行动家这项素质是成为高效HR领导人的核心，“最优秀的HR人才并不犹豫踌躇，他们积极进取且贡献良多。CEO们并不希望HR只为他们提供选择——他们想要你的建议，他们希望你能从专业角度给出建议，就像法律和财务总监一样。” Susan Harmansky这样说。她是一名高级人力资源管理师，担任美国肯塔基州路易斯维尔市的Papa John’s国际连锁机构的当地餐饮公司的高级人力资源总监，她之前曾担任人力资源认证协会（Human Resource Certification Institute - HRCI）的主席。
Johnson 说“你当然不希望自己只值得信赖，但是没有行动力，因为这样的话你在商业上就没有价值了。人们都喜欢你，但是，你毫无影响力。另一方面，你也不希望自己只具备行动力，但是却不值得信赖。因为这样会让你自己置于险境。”
在可信赖的行动家之下，是三项胜任力：文化干事，人才管家/组织设计者和战略设计师。
文化干事 HR总免不了与文化打交道。但是，基于Sarbanes-Oxley和其他条例的压力，CEO们总是更多地依仗HR来管理文化事物，这是第一次文化能力被作为一项单独的
整理文本
.
胜任力列出来。对于HR从业人员和HR部门来说，在六项胜任力当中，“文化干事”这项胜任力的重要性是排在第二位的。
人才管家/组织设计者 人才管理主要包括员工入职、升迁、调动或离职等事务。组织设计则包括关于公司如何运作的公司政策、实施和结构等。它们之间的联系反应了Ulrich教授的观点，他认为，人力资源管理者将过多的经历放在了员工需求方面，而忽略了组织设计。长远看来，人才管理如果缺乏组织架构的有效支持，也难于持久。
战略策划师 战略策划师能够敏锐地感知到商业的趋势及其影响，能够发觉潜在的障碍和机遇。新加盟Papa John’s的Harmansky向我们展示了“战略策划师”这项胜任力是如何为整个商业战略做出贡献的。“在我到任的最初几个月里，我的很多时间都用来四处探访我们在各地的分部。在探访分部的时候，我的管理层伙伴们探讨运作事宜，我则和那里的员工进行交谈。我试图了解那些与人相关的事务。我应怎样培养员工？我尽量利用自己在人力资源方面的商业头脑，以便能为商业战略作出贡献。
无独有偶，弗吉尼亚洲Stuarts Draft市的McKee食品公司的HR经理，高级人力资源管理师，Charlease Deathridge女士发现了一个实施新的管理措施中的潜在障碍，她运用了“战略策划师”这个胜任力。“我们在本地工厂推出了一个‘精益生产’管理方案。对此，我们进行了一项民意调查。调查结果显示员工的满意度比我们预想的要低。我向管理层陈述了如何将负面因素化为正面因素，我们要如何应用这些数据和接下来的调查，并将其作为一种战略性工具，帮助我们达到成功。”
在金字塔的底部，有两项胜任力，Ulrich教授将其称为“基柱——必要但不充分”。（在这里要特别说明一下，中国的情况比较特殊，因为中国目前的人力资源行业还处在一个相对初级的阶段，人力资源的精力更多地是放在事务性工作中。）这些技巧已经被看作是
整理文本
.
人人都应该具有的技能。但令人失望的是，在美国，受访者给予这两项胜任力的分数明显低于其他国家受访者所给的分数。
商业同盟 人力资源管理者了解商业的运作，包括客户是谁，他们为什么购买公司的产品和服务，HR对公司的成功运做贡献良多。HR想要具备成为商业同盟这项胜任力（可信赖的行动家和战略策划师也一样），就必须如Ulrich所说，成为一名“商业学者”。也就是说要真正了解商业——包括其运作模式，财务和战略问题等——这些在今天依然是非常重要的，这一点在过去20年的研究中都有所体现。然而，这方面的进展却依然止步不前。
Ulrich教授曾在他的讲学途中对他的HR学员们进行了10个问题的商业能力测试。他说“即使那些具有良好绩效的人对商业缺乏应有的了解。”
操作执行者。这些技巧被纳入传统的或者“古老的”的人力资源事务范畴：需要起草、修订并执行规章制度，为员工支付薪酬、对其进行安置、雇佣、培训等等。这里的每一项功能都非常重要，但是，是和商业同盟这一胜任力融合在一起。高绩效的HR经理们似乎把它们的重要程度略微看轻了些，对其它胜任力给予了更高的分数。Ulrich教授还观察到，即使是非常高效的人力资源管理者，如果过于忽略处理这些琐碎事务，也存在着一定的风险。
（一级标题）实操工具
在为曾经参加HRCS研究的人员提供调研报告的时候，Ulrich教授发现人们都为这项研究成果所预示的光明前景感到兴奋。被调查人员反馈报告为他们提供了一份路标图，他们被此激励并努力追随。
整理文本
.
曾参加过360度绩效考核的人都知道，批评有时候听起来确实很刺耳。当确实没有必要的时候，剖析自己，倾听别人的意见可能比较冒险。加上你可能要与你的上司或同事分享这个结果，他们还要给你作出评价，你可能就决定要放弃了。当然，也有一些员工被高度激励，像Deathridge，积极参与了调查并接受了访问。
Deathridge这样说：“结果并不尽如人意，但你必须面对。回到家里，努力思考，为什么我会得到这样坏的评价？”
但是对于Deathridge来说，结果大多是她以前所知道的。“我相信大多数人都知道自己的优势和弱势所在。对我而言，最有帮助的是看看其他人对我的评价是否与我对自己的评价相吻合……我明白了要成为一名真正的领导人，我还有许多东西需要学习，我从这项研究中获益良多。”
Deathridge说她所收到的个人调查反馈表使她意识到她必须有个人立场的重要性，她明白自己必须提升“可信赖的行动家”这项胜任力。她回忆到，“曾经有这样一件事情，我的一位直线经理要对一位员工采取纪律措施。在过去，我可能并不会很鲜明地表明我的立场。当时，我很清楚地知道自己的感受，我告诉他，这样处理员工的绩效问题是不够的。如果他想对此采取纪律措施，应该是最低的级别纪律处罚。而在过去，我所做的就大大不同了，我会说，‘让我们折中一下，按照第二级或第三级来处理吧。’但我没有这样做，我鲜明地表明我的观点，并坚持了自己的立场。”
可口可乐公司的HR总监Shane Smith先生已经是第二次参加这次调研了。他这样说：“我第一次参加这项研究是在2002年。现在，我看到了对我工作的一些指引。我很高兴地看到我的绩效评估和我的评分是相符的。”
整理文本
.
（一级标题）这些意味着什么？
Ulrich认为那些在30年前，20年前甚至10年前成功的人力资源管理者在今天并不一定成功。因为HR所扮演的角色在改变。因此，他们需要具备新的胜任力。
Ulrich督促人力资源管理者反思这些新的胜任力以及人力资源行业的未来发展。他的语气是非常直接，并且严厉的。“传统的HR工作已经结束了，而那些不愿意随之改变的人力资源管理者也将退出历史的潮流。”当然，他依然非常乐观，很多的人力资源管理者响应了他的号召。他这样说，“20%的人力资源管理者将不会改变，还有20%真正表现优越，中间的60%正在朝着正确的方向发展。”
他还补充到，“在60%的人当中，可能有一些人想改变但没有取得多少效果，这些人是我最想与之交谈的。……我想告诉他们需要做些什么才能获得效果。”
作为开始，Ulrich建议人力资源管理者进行三次对话。“一个是与你的商业领导。与他们一起讨论这些胜任力，询问他们你是否具有这些胜任力。接下来，将同样的问题询问你的HR同事们。接下来，询问你自己是否真正了解商业或只知道些皮毛。”最后，为你自己设定优先顺序。“我们的数据显示：‘从可信赖的行动家开始！’”
Robert J. Grossman是HR Magazine的签约作者，他是一名作家，纽约Poughkeepsie Marist学院的管理研究教授。
出处：
Robert J. Grossman , 人力资源杂志, 2007,06
整理文本
因篇幅问题不能全部显示，请点此查看更多更全内容