National survey looks at where HR is going
Pandemic preparedness and how to handle layoffs will likely emerge as key HR issues in an upcoming professional practice analysis, according to Cheryl Lamerson, professional standards manager at the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA).
CCHRA regularly reviews the human resources body of knowledge — the collection of knowledge, concepts, skills and abilities required to be a successful HR professional — to ensure the exams for the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation remain current.
“We will be asking people about the whole body of knowledge and body of work of HR — what is the knowledge, what are the skills, what are the abilities, what are the competencies, really, of HR and what distinguishes a high-functioning HR performer from a not-so-high-functioning HR performer,” said Lamerson.
Most designation-granting organizations do a practice analysis every three to five years because the work setting is constantly changing, she said.
For example, the H1N1 flu (also known as swine flu) pandemic and SARS in 2003 have brought pandemic and emergency preparedness to the forefront in many organizations, said Lamerson.
The global recession will also likely have an impact on the skills and competencies HR professionals are currently focusing on, she said.
While hiring will always be an important part of HR, right now it’s probably taking a back seat in many organizations. Instead, more HR professionals are focusing on layoffs and downsizing and how to do them right, said Lamerson.
But it will also be important for HR professionals to be ready for when the economy turns around and organizations are once again hiring and selecting talent.
“You’ve got to make sure that you’re able to do those activities and do them well,” she said.
The council has hired an external certification and testing consultant from Morrisville, N.C.-based Castle Worldwide to conduct the review.
The review will include a three-day workshop in July with a panel of 15 to 18 experts, nominated by the provincial associations, representing different areas of HR expertise. Based on what comes out of the panel, CCHRA will then hold focus groups, at least one per province plus a virtual focus group, with four to eight new and seasoned HR professionals per group.
Finally, CCHRA will conduct a survey of as many HR professionals as possible across the country. While Statistics Canada reports about 150,000 people work in HR in Canada, Lamerson said she would like to see about 8,000 people participate in the survey.
“We’ll be looking at the lower level and the higher level, so we’ll be looking at the full profession,” said Lynn Palmer, CEO of CCHRA.
“They get to put their fingerprint on this practice analysis,” said Lamerson.
The council hopes to have the final results of the review by January 2010.
“We’re hoping the outcome will be very, very credible and will be able to stand us in good stead for the next five years,” said Palmer.
The last review, completed at the end of 2007, reflected HR’s increasingly strategic role within an organization.
That review took two years, mostly because it was run exclusively by volunteers and also included focus groups and a survey of CHRP holders.
The review resulted in the eight functional dimensions of the body of knowledge being consolidated into seven, as the human resources information management dimension was collapsed into the professional practice in human resources dimension.
The seven dimensions are:
•professional practice in human resources
•organizational effectiveness
•staffing
•employee and labour relations
•total compensation
•organizational learning, development and training
•workplace health and safety.
The review also led to the 203 required professional capabilities (RPCs) — which are based on the core capabilities, policies and practices of the HR profession — being rewritten for clarity and condensed into 187.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the functional areas we have now will stay. I also wouldn’t be surprised if there were slight changes in some of them as well,” said Lamerson.
