What does HR 3.0 look like? One of the most important chapters in the evolution of HR
concerns the way it is being driven to move closer to the center of organizational strategy.
This, of course, is a double-edged sword— it’s great news for those ready … it’s bad news for those who are not.
We have seen HR undergo an evolution from the model that prevailed in the post-WWII era— what I call HR 1.0—through to HR 2.0, which has dominated until recent times.
HR 1.0 was a model forged in the late 1940s that had its genesis in the massive influx of former military personnel from the Second World War. These were very talented and experienced people.
There were those who had their roots and expertise in supply chains and logistics—they became our first procurement managers. There were others for whom supply-chain logistics meant the deployment and utilization of people—they formed the core of our first personnel departments.
These people, these HR ancestors, were focused on transactional excellence in areas such as employment law compliance, payroll processing and recordkeeping. While critical at the time as business transformed during the 1960s and 1970’s and organizational strategy evolved, this was no longer sufficient.
HR 2.0, as I call it, emerged sometime in the late 1970s and carried on for almost three decades. HR professionals were required to move beyond transactional tasks into areas such as Employee Relations, Performance Appraisals, Training and Recruiting. It represented a move upwards along the value chain, an encouraging sign that HR would move closer to the corporate ‘center.’
These were halcyon days for some of the most competent people in the HR field, seeing the emergence of HR leaders like Randy MacDonald at GTE and now IBM, Bill Conaty at GE, d**k Hallock at Oxy, and Libby Sartain at Southwest and Yahoo!. These leaders paved the way for untold numbers of HR people to shape how their own organizations delivered HR.
But, in far too many organizations, the people involved weren’t the right fit for the new era of heightened corporate focus and accountability. There was an emerging interest in the use of Information Technology and how it could liberate HR from the routine processes, freeing up professionals to concentrate on higher-value tasks.
In short, the target has moved. And it continues to move. Now we are getting a glimpse of HR 3.0 and the next wave of activity that promises to give HR a ‘seat at the table’... if we’ve earned it. Frankly, it hasn’t followed the trajectory that some had anticipated.
Tags: 3.0, hr, look