Next Generation HR: Connecting Strategy, People and Work

These are testing times for organizations and those that lead them. Recession and economic turmoil in some parts of the world, and rapid growth in others, have changed the rules of business.

It’s become increasingly clear that people issues – such as the war for talent, leadership development and workforce performance – are the difference between long-term success and failure. As a result HR functions are, quite rightly, being asked to step up to the challenge.

Human capital management has become central to the business, and that puts HR firmly in the spotlight. HR is ideally laced to make a significant contribution to business strategy. However, the performance of HR too often lags behind the expectations of the management team. The question is, why?

In order to gather a more detailed view of how HR has evolved over recent years, we questioned more than 1,400 organizations about their HR priorities and their people management processes. The results suggest that whilst there have been positive developments in the HR arena, still too many HR functions are clinging on to a traditional and process-oriented approach, and consequently the full potential of HR is not being realized.