In the course of our work we have the opportunity to support business leaders from very different companies across many industries. The challenges they face in effectively managing their organizations and reaching company goals are extremely diverse as you might imagine.
Or, so it would seem.
In reality however, it is the usual “set of suspects” or root causes that underlie most companies’ struggles to achieve the best return on their investments (ROI) and profitability.
In successful businesses it is intentional leadership, clear and effective HR and business practices, and continuous communications that keep everyone on the same page and create business success. When any one of these areas is left unattended or requires repair or improvement, you can anticipate that business goals and expectations will be missed at the same time that costs go up and performance levels fall.
Sometimes these consequences are observable, while at other times they are not. In fact, many companies don’t even know they are struggling with any set of root causes. Their approaches and sub-par results are attributable to, “that is the way we have always done it,” or “running a business has always been difficult.”
It is not unusual that the disconnects often are first discovered when new leaders join organizations or outside expertise is brought in to direct a special project or install new technology. The diversity of new views and different experiences can shed light on what has been holding an organization or company back from developing its resources, achieving business results and being more prosperous.
From a staffing perspective the classic example from one small-organization executive was that he “hadn’t had any problems until he hired his first trained HR manager.” He did have a great relationship with his labor attorney and was proficient in budgeting for wage and hour claims, but was totally missing the obvious.
Creating the connections between the vital fundamentals mentioned above — leadership, clear and effective HR and business practices, and continuous communications — is everyone’s responsibility within a business. Championing that perspective and then engaging all parts of the organization to grow managers, leaders and the culture necessary for optimum business results does however fall to HR in our view. Developing the necessary capacity to be that champion/influencer and to effectively help bring about those results depends on an HR organization that is itself led and staffed properly.
Our 26 years of focus on HR careers and helping companies meet their HR talent needs make us an effective workforce solution intermediary to support establishing and growing an effective HR organization at any stage of development.
We know HR — it’s all we do. If you would like to talk about what support you or your company may need to accelerate your HR and business successes, contact us today. It all starts with a conversation!
If you are planning to attend HR Symposium next week in Santa Clara, we look forward to seeing you there!
Best regards,
Rod
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Merit Resource Group is the Bay Area’s premier, boutique HR Recruiting and HR Search firm exclusively focused on HR staffing and HR consulting services.