Is Lean HR the Key to Simplifying Processes and Boosting Business Value?

Lean HR: The Future of Human Resources

Lean HR is the future of HR. Eliminate waste from your processes. Keep your procedures simple. Communication must be clear and easy to interpret. This is the only way HR can add value to the business and the bottom line.

At its core, Lean is about the identification and elimination of waste through a structured approach to problem-solving. It focuses on reducing the complexity of each process and identifying areas of improvement.

LEAN HR

There appear to be basic flaws in management lessons that we have been taught and hence need to be relearned.

On public forums, organizations refer to their human resources as assets and capital; however, in profit and loss statements and balance sheets, they are shown as costs, expenses, and liabilities. Why this flawed conceptualization? Why is the most important asset of an organization, the competitive differential, shown as a liability or expense?

Accounting Norms and HR's Role

This is only an accounting norm. HR is traditionally considered as adding up to the cost of managing a company as it incurs expenses in hiring, training, caring, and retaining employees. We need not be unusually worried about the accounting perspective of HR. If HR is really seen as a cost center adding no value, then why are organizations not dispensing with HR as a cost-cutting measure? Similarly, the inventory department can also be considered a cost center in terms of accounting norms, but can the company dispense with it?

HR's Business Perspective

HR has a business perspective which is now being increasingly highlighted. It may not directly generate profits but provides human capital to the company that creates wealth for it. It is now looked upon as a strategic business partner in organizational growth by managing, developing, engaging talent, and succession planning. Having said so, HR can still explore avenues of directly generating revenues by saving hiring and training costs by rationalizing its hiring process to focus on candidates with the right competency and cultural fit, which can minimize attrition and save expenses on training them.

It can also lessen hiring costs by developing proper succession planning. It can develop metrics to measure ROI on training, for example, the reduction in rejections and improvements in quality after specific skill training, which it can quantify. This revenue is tangible. However, the benefits on productivity emerging from peaceful industrial relations and a great culture of bonding and gratitude in the form of reduced absenteeism, negligible conflicts and industrial disputes, and greater synergy are intangible and unquantifiable. Therefore, HR is a business function in the true sense.

Regards,
B. Saikumar

Navi Mumbai

Why Does Your Organization Need to Hire a Full-time Human Resource (HR) Team? "You can outsource HR activities of your organization to domain experts. It will be more cost-effective for your organization," I asked a CEO of an organization. He replied, "Look, Sanjeev, every day so many things go wrong. We cannot blame clients, customers, competition, and government for all our failures. We need someone in-house to be blamed for our failures and wrongdoings, someone who can be held accountable for everything (wrong) in the organization." How true is that?

- Sanjeev Himachali

Redefining the Role of Human Resource professional
Every initiative taken by an HR professional shall answer THREE questions – How will it help in attracting and retaining talent?; Will it add any value to the customer?; How will it impact the revenues and profits of the organization? Check the video in YouTube to read more realistic HR Quotes.
https://youtu.be/MTsXo55QgaI