NEW REPORT

Why HR holds the key to corporate futures

This case study report features numerous examples of how HR can tackle the difficult issues, the inevitable unforeseen hitches and the hard choices to be made in areas ranging from strategic partnering through to setting up shared service centres. There are cases, such as Kelly Services, where HR has taken the lead in driving new business opportunities or in underlining the link between people and corporate performance, as at AIB. Other cases are operationally focused. Examples of shared services to improve both costs and service to business units include Sun Microsystems award-winning implementation.

Many of the issues are of perennial concern. Companies that have developed reward systems that demonstrably support performance improvement based on a rigorous link between strategic imperatives and business goals include BT, AstraZeneca and Nationwide. Change is another constant for most businesses. HR can play a central role in steering the way to successful transitions as Novo Nordisk reveals.

If HR is to gain the confidence of the business, it has to be able to demonstrate its contribution to results. Cases where measurement systems have been implemented with this goal in mind range from public sector organisations such as the US Office of Personnel Management and Central Norfolk Health & Social Care Economy, through to international companies such as Nortel and Borealis.

Talent is a topic on every CEO’s mind and HR’s role in ensuring that the organisation attracts and retains the best people is critical. Examples of business-led talent management include First Data Corporation and ST Microelectronics.

By following the stories in this case study collection, you can learn how to benefit from others’ experience in planning your own projects. The lessons they contain should help you to avoid many of the tricky but predictable problems that can arise, or enable you to trouble shoot difficulties if they occur. Every organisation is unique. But the challenges and issues for HR are often strikingly similar. As these cases demonstrate, they are also surmountable.