'Differentiation is the only route to competitive advantage in the race to attract the best people'
Ralph Tribe, HR director of Getty Images
'Ethical doesn't mean soft. We've had 10 years of year on year profits.'
Helen Sweeney, HR director, Co-operative Financial Services
It is such quotes by eminent HR specialists which makes one rethink the context HR deals with in the current day scenario. It is all very well to believe that the transition of the role of HR from administrative to a strategic role, is because of the development and application of the "soft skills" that HR people specialise in.
However, the hard reality is that this transition is not an attribute of the soft skills that they possess but the hardcore strategies that they employ today, something aptly titled as "hardballing"
Like Ralph Tribe says, in this day and age of competition it is a matter of winning the race The race to attract the best people, to provide them with opportunities for their own development, and retaining those people to ensure that the competitive advantage stays with you. The challenge lies in ensuring that your organisation remains ever-attractive to the best of employees creating HR brand equity for your organisation. Thus, the resultant focus on the VRIO framework (value,rare, inimitable and organised).
HARD BALL STRATEGIES FOR HR TODAY:
1) Not "out sourcing" Not "off shoring" Not "near shoring" Not "in sourcing"
but
"Best Sourcing Is the name of the game today.
The greatest resource for a company today is its talent resource. To ensure this talent resource organizations today face the challenge of attracting the best talent in the field today. Playing hardball in such a situation would greatly benefit any organization that is, a relentless pursuit of the best in the business and single mindedness of purpose till you have that as your employee. Thus, "Best Sourcing" is searching for the