leadership matters
A Different Take
on HR Professionalism
Organizations today need to shift from shortterm
to long-term thinking, taking into account
a much broader, multi-stakeholder view of the
world in decision-making. Organizations must
move from “accounting” to “accountability” – a new perspective
that considers not just financial stakeholders,
but customers, suppliers, the community, the environment
and, first and foremost, our own employees.
That was a key message of Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development (CIPD) CEO Peter
Cheese’s opening remarks at the 2015 CIPD annual
conference I attended in November in Manchester,
UK. These remarks underpin a new focus the UK
HR body is exploring as it develops an updated direction
for the HR profession and its members in
that country.
“We know there’s no one-size-fits-all model for
great HR, and we need to adapt our HR practices
to the context and needs of our workforces and organizations,”
Cheese told delegates. “But our actions
and decisions must be guided and framed through
principles and values that drive good, ethical and sustainable
business. These principles should provide
the framework for HR to support the judgments and
compromises organizations must make.
“Ultimately, we need a new definition of what it
means to be an HR professional, with a greater focus
on clarity of professional capability and purpose, and a
strengthened ability to provide trusted and credible advice
to businesses, whatever the circumstances,” he said.
CIPD is exploring this new thrust around
“principle-based HR” as part of its broader Profession
of the Future strategy – work and research that will
help define how the HR profession can champion
better work and working lives for all stakeholders.
After an extensive research project (From best to good
practice HR: developing principles for the profession
– http://bitly.com/1Xoq2aY) that examined the
changing nature of HR and how potential guiding
principles would be developed, its next steps include
defining the principles and then equipping HR professionals
with the knowledge, skills and expertise to
apply those principles in practice.
COMPETENCE AND ETHICAL
RESPONSIBILITY
CIPD’s new direction is recognition that, in a profession
where business decisions have profound impacts
– on workers, communities, the environment, suppliers/
vendors and society – competence is not
By Brenda Clark, CHRE
Rawpixel/Shutterstock.com
IN A PROFESSION WHERE
BUSINESS DECISIONS
HAVE PROFOUND
IMPACTS – ON WORKERS,
COMMUNITIES, THE
ENVIRONMENT,
SUPPLIERS/VENDORS AND
SOCIETY – COMPETENCE
IS NOT ENOUGH.
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ JANUARY 2016 ❚ 9
