Straight Talking From Andrew Leigh of Maynard Leigh Associates

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Each month a leading HR practitioner is invited to answer a tough question posed by Andrew Leigh. This month we welcome:

Allison Campbell, HR Director - Bacardi Martini Ltd: UK

Question: Apart from coping with the recessionary climate, what in your view is the most important issue now facing HR and HR practitioners and why?

Allison says

“For some time now, businesses have recognised the critical nature of investing in the right people programmes to give them the best chance of success.

In many businesses the HR function is represented on the Board along with the other business-critical functions which have traditionally had a place of influence, further reinforcing the importance of strong people programmes. Good news, then, when times are good, funding is secure and business is booming.

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Commenting recently on the financial services industry, Harvard Economics professor Benjamin Friedman argues that we do not really know the true costs of the system.

For example the biggest gains seem to flow to people who ensure that microscopically small deviations in asset prices “last for only one millisecond instead of three.” 1

Likewise, in the pursuit of nuclear power, we do not really know the true cost. The latter is seldom presented with the full social price of subsidy and the long term costs of dealing with toxic waste that may need decades if not centuries of expensive care.

Finally, what of the unused potential in companies that is now so clearly in the public arena as a result of the Macleod report on engagement? 2

That up to a third or more people feel underused or do meaningless work in often inhumane environments certainly has costs that are not measured. Such costs would probably need to be expressed as lost innovation, missing profits and lack of social goods.

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“The Spirit Level” published earlier this year claims to show why more equal societies almost always do better. There comes a point it claims when well being no longer increases in line with growth.

Its basic tenant is that at some point in the story of wealth creation, the more unequal a society is, the unhappier its people tend to be. What this prompts though is the question of whether this also applies to companies? Is there a link between the more unequal the corporate culture and more unhappy employees?

David McLeod’s recent report on engagement does not deal with issues of inequality but instead points out that happy employees tend to perform better than unhappy ones and so companies are ultimately more profitable.

The excellent recent government report on Engaging for Success must seem a thoroughly sick joke to thousands of unemployed and university-denied young people in the UK.

It’s as if we are living in two parallel universes, one where people talk intensely about the value of engagement and its effect on company performance, and another where countless young people see little hope of a job, let alone the luxury of engagement.

The MacLeod report early on mentions that it is about Unlocking People’s Potential, but it is mainly referring to those in work rather than those seeking it.

Economists are good at coming up with fancy measures and indices to show what is happening in society but the true cost of the wasted potential we are now witnessing is likely to resist a convincing metric for a while yet. What price do you put on the lost potential of a young person leaving school with only the prospect of joining an acronym?

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Approximate reading time 3 minutes

1) Menu based training
Mistake: Offering a whole raft of training programmes that look impressive to top management but are more PR than business focused.

Solution: especially in recessionary times development programmes need to stem from and be closely linked to current business goals.

2) Don’t do as we do, do as we say
Mistake: HR teams behave as a poor advertisement for team work while the members busily advocate to internal clients the benefits of team working.

Solution: Make sure the HR team models excellent team work and that enthusiasm for team working comes from the heart and personal local experience.

3) Tackling symptoms rather than causes