Transcript HR as a Strategic Business Partner

The Iowa Experience:
Human Resources as a
Strategic Business Partner
Mollie K. Anderson, Director
Iowa Department of Administrative Services
For the International Personnel Management Association
October 1, 2004
1
Why Did You Choose HR?
 Why did you get into HR?
 How long have you been in this field?
 Where do you want this profession to take
you?
2
What an HR Professional Is
 The systemizing, policing arm of
executive management
 An advocate for employees
 Strategic business partner for customers
 A champion for change
3
The Primary HR Goal
 Get the right person…
 With the right skills…
 Into the right job…
 With the right supervision to meet performance
expectations and …
 Add value to the organization.
4
The Primary HR Questions
 How do you attract and retain quality
employees?
 How can you become a strategic partner
with your customers?
 How do you improve productivity and ROI?
 What issues affect employers’ ability to
meet company goals?
5
HR Challenges Today
 Changing employee demographics and needs
 More competition for a skilled workforce
 Focus shifting from regulation to service
 Demand for customized service
 The need to support desired business
outcomes and affect the bottom line
6
The Iowa Experience
 Department of Administrative Services
combined 3 ½ agencies in 2003
 Adopted the entrepreneurial management
concepts of strategist David Osbourne
 Four goals: Improve customer service, save
money, streamline, and use resources in a
more flexible manner.
 Unique financing approach
7
Entrepreneurial Management
 A customer-focused (NOT program
focused) approach…
 To delivering services (NOT running a
program)…
 In a competitive marketplace (NOT a
monopoly.)
8
How DAS is Set Up in Iowa
 A complement of infrastructure and facilities
services, including full range of HR functions
 Each fee-based operation covers its costs
 Customer Councils set utility rates
 ‘Rowing and steering’ functions separated
 Moving toward one-stop shopping model
9
What DAS Started With
 Traditional financial infrastructure
 ‘Old’ agencies without legislative champions
 Thirty percent budget cuts over three
previous fiscal years
 Highly tenured, program-focused employees
 Grumpy, uneducated customers
10
What DAS Has Done
 Passed enabling legislation
 Developed fee-based financing models,
determined service costs, and reduced
cross-subsidized ‘drug deals’
 Adopted an internal shared services model
 Established and empowered customer
councils
11
What DAS Is Doing Now
 Refining financing and legislative
framework
 Eliminating silos between merged agencies
 Engineering a culture change
 Re-motivating employees with training and
incentives
12
The Iowa Approach to HR
 Define internal and external customers
 Know your customer(s) and their
business(es)
 Know your business goals and what it
takes to achieve them
13
Setting HR Priorities
 Know your customers’ (internal and
external) priorities
 Understand the financial risk
 Evaluate the potential for improvement
14
How to Create a Compelling
Picture for Action
 Do your homework and be prepared to tell
your story
 Identify risks of inaction
 Know the impact on financing and
productivity
15
How to Get Your Own Team On
Board
 Lay out clear expectations
 Use a customer service representative
model and service delivery agreements
 Use performance evaluations and reward
programs
16
Example: Workers Comp
 Start with the viewpoint that people are the
face of government
 Tell the story simply, using the numbers
 Define the risk (financial, productivity) if no
action is taken
17
How to Get Invited to the
Decision Making Table
 Connect with customer goals—save
money, streamline processes, etc.
 Know your business—and your customers’
business
 Articulate a compelling story
 Follow up!
18
What Role Does
Communication Play?
 Start with research—know the facts
 Tell your story in a compelling,
understandable way
 The ‘visual identity’ concept works
 Repeat, repeat, repeat
19
Use the Tools
 For the basics, an FAQ
 Annual reports
 Newsletters or bulletins
 Crisp financial results
20
What You Can Measure
 Customer satisfaction
 Financial goals
 Grievances
 Processing time
 Turnover/retention
21
The Bottom Line
 Watch the people who have leveraged their
HR expertise to move ahead.
 HR is no longer just a knowledge game—
you must be able to apply what you know.
 You must be able to listen, evaluate and
persuade.
22
What You Can Do to Develop
Your Skills and Career
 Education
 Write and talk
 Use associations and seminars
 Move around in HR specialties and to career
opportunities
 Cross-functional teams
 Look for emerging issues
23
Lessons Learned—a Recap
 Be proactive, not reactive
 Know your customers and your business
 Do your homework
 Learn from others when you can
 Be concise and clear
 Keep current on emerging issues
 Get involved in HR organizations
 Sometimes you have to move
 You can’t go it alone
24
Question
and Answers
Visit the DAS website,
http://www.das.iowa.gov
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