Evolution of HRM Strategies Towards Business Alignment and Leadership Development

The whole approach towards HRM has undergone a sea change over the years and is continuing to do so. In the initial stages, HRM, guided by humanistic considerations, was seen as a philosophy that the development of people in an organization is a prime responsibility of management. This approach took the view that human beings should not be seen as a resource; rather, employee development is the responsibility of the employer.

Over the years emerged a modified: partly humanistic and partly business-oriented approach which regards the development of people as the most important asset for improving the performance of the organization. In this respect, the emphasis shifted to developing roles, role relationships, appraisal systems, training, job design, and the like. The idea was that HRM is important for the growth of the organization and is a good investment for the future.

In the coming years, HR strategy would have to become more aligned with the business strategy. It would have to be so designed that it identifies persons who will move to higher positions and groom them for future careers. The high performers would have to be given special consideration. This approach holds the assumption that the corporate future is important and special care has to be taken to groom those who will assume leadership roles.

Hi Ekta,

What you said is very much true. HRs are no longer considered unproductive. Words like strategies and ROI, which were unheard of in HR, are now becoming buzzwords.

Regards,
Soumya Shankar

Dear Ekta and Soumya,

Very true. We are fortunate to be in this era where nothing is static. We can take the opportunity to shape tomorrow's organization. However, in my opinion, there should be a transdisciplinary approach to do this.

I am a little bit more concerned about achieving that particular growth path to be at that leadership position. For example, from Generalist HR to OD HR, which is considered a very niche area and at the same time carries the greatest impact on the organization. Whatever good or bad the OD Change agent does, is seen by organizations.

There is now a concern about unheard issues like Replicating Excellence (not only achieving it). Who other than HR should be given the chance to do it?

I think we will witness a lot more changes and perhaps will be the cause of great change. Who knows? :D

Regards,
Thesysthink