The Circle of Peers road show has pulled up at its last station in Gibraltar this week. So what did I find out from the participants? One consistent message at all locations was that our contacts are feeling under pressure.
I was thinking about this when I spotted the report from the Hay Group which states that four out of ten managers feel that Google is a better source of information to managers than their HR team! It makes for a good headline, but is this a real warning to HR professionals to focus on their people?
The report says that almost all (94 per cent) of HR directors who responded state that their department was reduced as part of company cost-savings. Three in ten (30 per cent) experienced particularly deep cuts with teams reduced by 11-25 per cent.
It went on to say that line managers are leaning heavily on their HR teams. More than two thirds (68 per cent) of HR directors who responded believe that dealing with day-to-day enquiries from line managers takes up to one third of their time.
Then the report says that over one third (38 per cent) of HR directors who responded agree or strongly agree that their team spends too long ‘hand-holding’, preventing them from taking a more strategic view. It also stated that the overwhelming majority (94 per cent) of HR directors who responded believe that empowering line managers to make people decisions is a top priority.
So my point for you to consider is that if this is an accurate reflection of what you are facing why are we not being courageous and empowering our managers by giving them the training that they need? The CIPD Foundation Awards in HR Essentials could be a good place to start.
For example the unit Supporting good practice in managing employment relations would give managers and supervisors all the basic information needed to manage the employment relationship they have with their team members. This includes understanding employee rights, grievance and disciplinary interviews, the importance of handling dismissals fairly, the impact of redundancies and what are fair and unfair reasons for dismissal.
Another example would be the unit: Supporting good practice in performance and reward management whereby managers and supervisors would learn about motivation, the purposes of performance management, develop their interviewing skills, understand how to have ‘difficult’ conversations and be able to conduct a performance review.
Two of the key hot topics for managers could be presented as development opportunities for managers at a reasonable cost. What is reasonable? How about £800 per manager?
This would give your organisation:
- A blended learning programme with learning materials on our eHub
- A one day workshop to develop skills
- Support from our adviser
- Assessment
- A CIPD certificate for the relevant unit
What about the benefits for you?
- Time for you to look at more strategic issues to identify where you can add value
- Investment in your managers which will help to engage them and make them feel valued
So are you going to be courageous? Are you going to give power and influence back to HR? If you are considering it, then fill out the form to receive more information on the Foundation Awards.