Canadian HR Reporter asked some members of the academic community and HR professional associations: “As HR professionals retire and these key positions are filled by a younger generation of HR practitioners, how will the HR profession be affected?”
Anne Charette
President, Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario, Toronto
We have been seeing many changes over the last 15 years as the profession moves to a more strategic role within the senior management group of most companies. I think if you are to go back to the beginnings of HR, it was an industrial relations focus with a personnel manager really being responsible for the labour relations/industrial relations function of an organization.
The profession has evolved as companies have begun to recognize the importance of their own human resources. I think there was a time when companies really didn’t see the value in their own people, and that no longer is the case. As a result, I think the whole HR function has become more of an integral part of the senior management strategic team, being involved in the strategic planning of where the company is going and how it’s going to get there — the whole vision, mission and values. If you take a look at most companies’ strategic plan, people play an important role. If you take a look at most companies’ vision, mission and values, they have built in elements that are very people orientated, for example wellness elements and work-life balance. These things are becoming more and more part of the very culture of most organizations. You cannot do that without having HR be an integral part of that strategic process.
Loren Falkenberg
Professor, Department of Human Resources and Organizational Dynamics, University of Calgary, Calgary
Strategic HR is really changing the profession. I see two worlds, one the contract HR specialist, for example in compensation and benefits, who would come in and take on a task for an organization that does not want the responsibility. The second is the in-house strategic HR person who will probably manage a bunch of contracted specialists.
These new formally trained generations entering the profession may look for increased flexibility in work arrangements.
Roger Ghegin
Communications Chair, Human Resources Association of Nova Scotia, Halifax
We have many strategic thinking people in HR right now and organizations need to use their expertise. The demands that are making the profession more strategic are the same ones that are forcing business leaders to include HR at the strategy table.
A greater number of the newer HR practitioners have a formal HR education and this gives them an advantage early in their careers. But in senior level HR positions, experience dealing with strategic business issues counts for more. Replacing the talent pool of experienced HR people will be a challenge.
Eileen Stewart
Head of HR Programs, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, B.C.
There is no guarantee that the new generation of practitioners will be moved into the senior positions. Businesses are demanding that HR professionals have strategic perspective, business acumen and be a partner with business. If the younger practitioners only focus in on the technical side of HR then companies will forgo having an HR presence. I see this happening here in the West. If people are not prepared to step up to the plate and be that strategic business partner and understand the business and find ways a leveraging business success through good people practices then companies will get rid of the HR area altogether.
Monica Belcourt
Director, International Alliance for Human Research, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University, Toronto
Our students believe that HR is an exciting new field, one that is growing and providing interesting job opportunities. They know that to have access to these jobs, to be competitive, they must have competitive HR credentials. This means a degree and the CHRP.
We are educating our students to understand the strategic role of HR. First, they obtain a superb grounding in business, from finance and economics to management strategy and policy, so that they are able to place HR in context and talk the numbers language of business. Then, in their HR courses, they are trained to analyze methods and practices in order to determine their validity and effectiveness. Put all this together and the result is a new breed of HR professional — well educated with a strong sense of exactly how and where HR makes a difference.
Graeme Simpson
Program Co-ordinator, Human Resource Management, Post-graduate Program, Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology, Toronto
The younger generation has a higher use of technology. They will drive that forward with an increase in the purchase of human resources software. They will also not have a need to keep information in their heads or binders, but to have the ability to access the information electronically when required.
The danger or the downside is that the whole people side of HR could get minimized. Techies like machines, traditional HR types like people rather than machines. This could lead to the customer service aspect of the profession playing second fiddle.
Michael Ford
President, Human Resources Institute of Alberta, Calgary
Today in HR there is a business partnership focus. HR is now a partner and an equal in a business rather than the administration function of the personnel office of the past. It really has become a strategic part of the business and that is what young people bring to the profession. This business partnership focus means that the CFO and the vice-president of HR are now equals who work together.
This profession has evolved from a personnel office to the human resource department to now a human capital department. We are now managing the human capital as an asset.
HR professionals today are more focused and better educated, rather then the person who was the jack-of-many-trades and just thrust into this area.
Kent Elliott
President, British Columbia Human Resources Association, Vancouver
As older practitioners retire, younger people taking the reins will put their stamp on the strategy that they have within the organization. If you look at the history of the profession, this has happened before. Fifteen to 20 years ago, a lot of new people came in but the changes were not monumental. It will continue to evolve.
The possibility exists that if a retiree has a strong relationship with a CEO or executive committee then a new or younger person may have some difficulty in matching that same relationship initially. They may need to grow into that role and that may impact on the organization strategy for a period of time. On the other hand, if the strategic HR role never existed in the organization the new person might bring a stronger relationship and therefore a strategic direction to the role. Any change really depends on both the outgoing and incoming practitioners.
Rick Jason
Program Co-ordinator, Human Resource Programs, Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology, Thunder Bay, Ont.
Generally the people who are retiring from the top HR jobs came through finance and really never had any formal training in HR. Industries today are looking for professionally certified people.
I think that HR is becoming a more strategic player in all industries. More and more, you will find that HR is being seen as a strategic equal with other departments. For people going into the profession, they better get certified because that is what industry is looking for.
Don Davidson
Program Head, Human Resource Management Diploma, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Moose Jaw, Sask.
As younger people replace those retiring, you will certainly have a group of HR practitioners with better formal training. They will be ready to step in and take over the job rather than learn it through the school of hard knocks. I think HR is the most important field you could be involved in — it is evolving and has a wider strategic reach all the time.
Anne Charette
President, Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario, Toronto
We have been seeing many changes over the last 15 years as the profession moves to a more strategic role within the senior management group of most companies. I think if you are to go back to the beginnings of HR, it was an industrial relations focus with a personnel manager really being responsible for the labour relations/industrial relations function of an organization.
The profession has evolved as companies have begun to recognize the importance of their own human resources. I think there was a time when companies really didn’t see the value in their own people, and that no longer is the case. As a result, I think the whole HR function has become more of an integral part of the senior management strategic team, being involved in the strategic planning of where the company is going and how it’s going to get there — the whole vision, mission and values. If you take a look at most companies’ strategic plan, people play an important role. If you take a look at most companies’ vision, mission and values, they have built in elements that are very people orientated, for example wellness elements and work-life balance. These things are becoming more and more part of the very culture of most organizations. You cannot do that without having HR be an integral part of that strategic process.
Loren Falkenberg
Professor, Department of Human Resources and Organizational Dynamics, University of Calgary, Calgary
Strategic HR is really changing the profession. I see two worlds, one the contract HR specialist, for example in compensation and benefits, who would come in and take on a task for an organization that does not want the responsibility. The second is the in-house strategic HR person who will probably manage a bunch of contracted specialists.
These new formally trained generations entering the profession may look for increased flexibility in work arrangements.
Roger Ghegin
Communications Chair, Human Resources Association of Nova Scotia, Halifax
We have many strategic thinking people in HR right now and organizations need to use their expertise. The demands that are making the profession more strategic are the same ones that are forcing business leaders to include HR at the strategy table.
A greater number of the newer HR practitioners have a formal HR education and this gives them an advantage early in their careers. But in senior level HR positions, experience dealing with strategic business issues counts for more. Replacing the talent pool of experienced HR people will be a challenge.
Eileen Stewart
Head of HR Programs, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, B.C.
There is no guarantee that the new generation of practitioners will be moved into the senior positions. Businesses are demanding that HR professionals have strategic perspective, business acumen and be a partner with business. If the younger practitioners only focus in on the technical side of HR then companies will forgo having an HR presence. I see this happening here in the West. If people are not prepared to step up to the plate and be that strategic business partner and understand the business and find ways a leveraging business success through good people practices then companies will get rid of the HR area altogether.
Monica Belcourt
Director, International Alliance for Human Research, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University, Toronto
Our students believe that HR is an exciting new field, one that is growing and providing interesting job opportunities. They know that to have access to these jobs, to be competitive, they must have competitive HR credentials. This means a degree and the CHRP.
We are educating our students to understand the strategic role of HR. First, they obtain a superb grounding in business, from finance and economics to management strategy and policy, so that they are able to place HR in context and talk the numbers language of business. Then, in their HR courses, they are trained to analyze methods and practices in order to determine their validity and effectiveness. Put all this together and the result is a new breed of HR professional — well educated with a strong sense of exactly how and where HR makes a difference.
Graeme Simpson
Program Co-ordinator, Human Resource Management, Post-graduate Program, Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology, Toronto
The younger generation has a higher use of technology. They will drive that forward with an increase in the purchase of human resources software. They will also not have a need to keep information in their heads or binders, but to have the ability to access the information electronically when required.
The danger or the downside is that the whole people side of HR could get minimized. Techies like machines, traditional HR types like people rather than machines. This could lead to the customer service aspect of the profession playing second fiddle.
Michael Ford
President, Human Resources Institute of Alberta, Calgary
Today in HR there is a business partnership focus. HR is now a partner and an equal in a business rather than the administration function of the personnel office of the past. It really has become a strategic part of the business and that is what young people bring to the profession. This business partnership focus means that the CFO and the vice-president of HR are now equals who work together.
This profession has evolved from a personnel office to the human resource department to now a human capital department. We are now managing the human capital as an asset.
HR professionals today are more focused and better educated, rather then the person who was the jack-of-many-trades and just thrust into this area.
Kent Elliott
President, British Columbia Human Resources Association, Vancouver
As older practitioners retire, younger people taking the reins will put their stamp on the strategy that they have within the organization. If you look at the history of the profession, this has happened before. Fifteen to 20 years ago, a lot of new people came in but the changes were not monumental. It will continue to evolve.
The possibility exists that if a retiree has a strong relationship with a CEO or executive committee then a new or younger person may have some difficulty in matching that same relationship initially. They may need to grow into that role and that may impact on the organization strategy for a period of time. On the other hand, if the strategic HR role never existed in the organization the new person might bring a stronger relationship and therefore a strategic direction to the role. Any change really depends on both the outgoing and incoming practitioners.
Rick Jason
Program Co-ordinator, Human Resource Programs, Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology, Thunder Bay, Ont.
Generally the people who are retiring from the top HR jobs came through finance and really never had any formal training in HR. Industries today are looking for professionally certified people.
I think that HR is becoming a more strategic player in all industries. More and more, you will find that HR is being seen as a strategic equal with other departments. For people going into the profession, they better get certified because that is what industry is looking for.
Don Davidson
Program Head, Human Resource Management Diploma, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Moose Jaw, Sask.
As younger people replace those retiring, you will certainly have a group of HR practitioners with better formal training. They will be ready to step in and take over the job rather than learn it through the school of hard knocks. I think HR is the most important field you could be involved in — it is evolving and has a wider strategic reach all the time.
