3. FINDING THE BALANCE;TRANSACTIONAL & TRANSFORMATIVE HR

A N R S G W H I T E P A P E R • W W W . R S G - P L C . C O M

P R E S E N T E D I N A S S O C I A T I O N W I T H T H E H R W O R L D

W W W . T H E H R W O R L D . C O . U K

RSG’s HR Networking ForumThe HR World - Logotype with strapline on colour

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe HR World and RSG are very grateful to those individuals who gave their time to take part in The HR World

Debate and who contributed to the content of this white paper. We give special thanks to Gillian Fox for leading the

Debate and to Mel Missen for his review of the white paper.

ABOUT RSGBuilt on over 35 years of trading history, RSG has grown

organically, and through the acquisition of specialist

services, into an established selection, assessment and

solutions driven resource provider.

RSG’s focus is on strong partnerships; we have

developed solid relationships with our candidates and

clients since our inception in 1975 and this is reflected

in the repeat business and referrals that our specialist

companies receive.

Our family of companies, including Sanderson and

Resource Management, gives us an understanding

across a variety of market sectors, including permanent

and contract recruitment through to executive search,

bespoke recruitment campaigns, advertising campaigns

and total recruitment outsourcing. This knowledge

empowers us to provide our clients with an independent,

innovative and proven response, every time.

ABOUT THE HR WORLDLaunched in June 2014, The HR World is the premier

networking destination aimed exclusively at senior HR

professionals and talent & resourcing professionals.

It is a community for like-minded peers to sculpt the

conversation surrounding HR best practice, attend

quality networking events, contribute to respected

thought leadership content and to build their profiles

within the HR arena.

We want our members to shape the direction The HR

World takes by offering them the opportunity to discuss

the most pressing topics, contribute to publications such

as our white papers and to attend exclusive networking

events.

02

RSG’s HR Networking ForumThe HR World - Logotype

Resource Solutions Group (RSG), has secured a prestigious place on the Sunday Times Grant

Thornton Top Track 250, listing the UK’s top mid-market private companies as published by Sunday

Times Business Section.

CONTENTS02 About RSG & About The HR World

03 Contents

04 Foreword - Gillian Fox, Global Director of Talent and OE, RB (Reckitt Benckiser)

07 Defining Transactional and Strategic HR

Transactional, Reactive HR

Strategic, Proactive HR

09 A New Breed of Leadership

Becoming a Leader of Change

Insightful Conversations

A Future-Proof Philosophy

13 Finding the Balance; Reactive vs Proactive HR

16 In the Spotlight; The Ulrich Model

19 The Secret to Future Proof HR

21 Conclusion - Mike Beesley, CEO, RSG

22 Guest Profiles

24 Contact RSG & Contact The HR World

03

FOREWORDFrom Gillian FoxGlobal Director of Talent and OE, RB (Reckitt Benckiser)

When I was invited to lead The HR World Debate, Mike

Beesley, CEO at RSG, asked me to think about what

made me really passionate about my role. My answer to

this is always the same; put simply, I want to help people

and businesses grow and to be the best they can be.

While I feel that this passion is key to achieving success

in HR, over the course of my career I’ve come to believe

that perhaps another element plays an even more pivotal

role in finding triumph in the industry; that of holding a

strong business acumen and great leadership. The rare

gems of people I have come across in the HR industry

have all held in common a strong understanding of

how their organisation works, however all too often HR

people can stumble when asked the simple question

‘Do you know how your business makes money?’.

Thinking about my career so far, I have reflected on

what various business leaders asked for from their

HR departments. I remembered some common goals

they had all referred to – ‘strategic HR’, ‘true business

partnering’, ‘a seat at the table’ – and as I reflect on

whether there is always a common understanding

of what this means, and on the trade offs required

to move from a transactional HR function to a more

strategic one, it didn’t surprise me that a CEB study on

HR Operational Efficiency found that, while over 80%

of the organisations studied had completed or were

undergoing an HR Transformation project, only 16% of

completed projects were successful.

04

Working to help people and businesses grow to be the best they can be.

05

When I joined Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) back in

2003, their HR function was the function to be in. It

was cutting edge, well structured and resourced – The

Ulrich Model at its best. In contrast, I now find myself

in a very transactional HR environment at RB (Reckitt

Benckiser). I considered the fact that although their

HR was fantastic, RBS then went on to face a huge

crisis in 2011, which they are still recovering from today;

yet RB, for all their transactional HR, continue to be a

very successful company. For that reason, I can quite

understand why business leaders at companies such as

RB might challenge how strategic an HR function they

would want. For me the answer is that transactional

models have taken us so far; a strategic model will

sustain and build our success – it’s the ‘future-proofing’

piece. The question is how will we do it?

When thinking about how HR will develop and what

it will look like in the future, I refer to a study by the

Hay Group, which concludes that HR is on the cusp

of change and will look radically different by 20301.

However, just 28% of respondents surveyed felt that

their HR practices were in a position to help them to

deliver their organisational strategy2. Interestingly,

business acumen and innovation were deemed the

universal competencies required for successful business

partnering, so is the real problem here that we are facing

a skills gap? How would we honestly rate our team’s

capabilities? Perhaps the debate surrounding reactive

vs proactive HR is just a pre-cursor to the wider debate

of how HR will play a leading role in the transformation

of organisations, whilst simultaneously managing its

own evolution?

As much as I would like to say that the result of The HR

World Debate has been to provide the definitive Holy

Grail of guides to implementing a successful HR strategy,

of course, this is not the case. However, what I can

assure you is that the event brought to light the various

experiences, insights and opinions of my peers who are

collectively paving the way to a positively perceived,

more effective HR. Learning from one another will play

a fundamental part in how we evolve and shape the

future of HR and, while you may be familiar with some of

the methodologies and concepts outlined in this white

paper, I hope you will also come across some new ideas

that will give you some food for thought on how you

structure your HR now and in the future.

The answer is that transactional models have taken us so far; a strategic model will sustain and build our success – it’s the ‘future-proofing’ piece. The question is how will we do it?

1. Hay Group. On the Cusp of Change: The Future of HR. Hay Group: London, 2014. Page 11.

2. Hay Group. ibid. Page 11.

Unfortunately, as HR professionals, we will all too often hear definitions of HR along the lines of: ‘they manage payroll’, ‘they make sure that our business operates ethical practices’, or ‘they deal with absenteeism and sickness’.

06

There is a simple way of determining if your HR

department is transactional or strategic; the answers

provided by your senior business leaders and general

workforce in response to the question ‘what is the role of

the HR department?’ will provide you with all the insight

you need. Unfortunately, as HR professionals, we will all

too often hear replies along the lines of: ‘they manage

payroll’, ‘they make sure that our business operates

ethical practices’, or ‘they deal with absenteeism and

sickness’. Rarely will we hear that HR’s purpose is to

provide leadership or a unique perspective in order to

drive the business forward and, consequently, we tend

to find ourselves in an environment where the perception

of the HR function is limited to dealing solely with the

implementation and administration of policies. So, what

do we need to do to move beyond this culture and to

reposition ourselves as key players in business strategy?

First of all, the concepts of transactional and strategic

HR must be further defined. While the above instances

can act as strong indicators of either a transactional or

strategic HR function, there are more qualifying factors to

transactional HR than dealing with general administration

and, similarly, engaging with senior business leaders is

only one facet of strategic HR.

07

DEFINING TRANSACTIONAL AND STRATEGIC HR

First of all, the concepts of transactional and strategic HR must be further defined.

08

TRANSACTIONAL, REACTIVE HRTransactional HR departments primarily revolve around

the completion of administrative activities. While they

may complete these activities in a somewhat ‘strategic’

manner, so long as the focus is on administration,

these HR departments will not see themselves at the

Executive table. Susan Quinn, author of From Reactive

to Proactive: High Impact Strategic HR, suggests that

the attitude of transactional HR departments will vary

from being ‘a friend and advocate for the employee’ to

policing them with ‘outright suspicion and distrust’3.

Furthermore, while transactional HR teams will at best

play a small part in helping the business to overcome

short-term issues, they will ultimately fail to look at

business problems that occur outside of their primary

domain and, therefore, will cut themselves off from

being able to play a part in the future success and

sustainability of their company.

STRATEGIC, PROACTIVE HRAs defined by Quinn, a strategic HR department is

one that is ‘recognised by the organisation as being

an important contributor to the company’s future

and is engaged in activities that will help to move the

organisation forward’4. At a basic level they will have at

least progressed from simply being a ‘people function’

to actively playing a part in the overall performance of

the business. In addition, similar to other departments,

the most strategic HR functions will also be driven by

an experienced, motivational senior leader who reports

to the CEO. Their teams will have structure, so that

administrative duties are dealt with by a dedicated

team, enabling other members of the HR function to

be involved with strategic business discussions and to

act as true business partners to the business leaders.

As agreed by the guests at The HR World Debate,

perhaps the most important factor that differentiates

a transformational HR department is that the leaders

will have “solid business acumen and agility” and a

“thorough knowledge of how their organisation works

at all levels”.

3. Quinn, Susan. From Reactive to Proactive: High Impact Strategic HR. Web: Bookboon.com, 2013. Page 13.

4. Quinn, Susan. ibid. Page 11.

09

HR departments are increasingly being told by business

leaders that they need to be more strategic in order to

become true business partners. However, as highlighted

by Gillian Fox during The HR World Debate, both parties

tend to stumble when it comes to understanding how they

should go about implementing the concept successfully

in light of new demands on organisations (developments

in digital media, the changing demographic of the

working population and the convergence of different

technologies, to name but a few).

With the findings of a Hay Group study suggesting that

HR will look radically different by 2030, both business

leaders and HR professionals are now wondering what

it is exactly that HR teams need to change in order

to become more ‘strategic’5. The HR sector has

been described as being ‘uniquely positioned to help

organisations predict and navigate the challenges

ahead’, yet the CIPD found that HR thought leadership

predominantly resides in a ‘very small number of

influential hands, while most of the rest of HR is still

operational and tactical in nature’6. So, how does ‘the

rest of HR’ begin to evolve their purpose within their

organisation? With the insights of the participants at The

HR World Debate and as a result of further research, we

have highlighted three key areas of HR leadership that

need to be addressed in order for them to be redefined.

A NEW BREED OF HR LEADERSHIP

How does ‘the rest of HR’ begin to evolve their purpose within their organisation?

5. Hay Group. On the Cusp of Change: The Future of HR. Hay Group: London, 2014. Page 11.

6. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 5.

10

Throughout the Debate, strong leadership was cited as

being crucial to the success of a strategic HR function

with “bold,” “innovative” and “knowledgeable” being

highlighted as some of the most essential qualities of any

successful HR leader’s personality. In support of this,

the CIPD in their report on Next Generation HR, similarly

found that a ‘new breed’ of HR leader is steadily emerging.

Calling them an Omega personality, they described

such leaders as being ‘Alpha personalities’ which have

arrived at ‘ego maturity’7. These individuals were found

to possess a ‘subtlety and sophistication’ in the way that

they encouraged more senior leaders to embrace new

ideas. Able to engage in difficult conversations, they were

not afraid of conflict or of challenging the status quo,

and fellow colleagues were most likely to describe them

as ‘transparent’, ‘insightful’ and ‘thought-provoking’8.

Out of all the strengths and characteristics used as

identifiers of a strong and inspirational HR leader during

the Debate, solid business acumen and the ability to

speak the “commercial language” were deemed the

most important. This led to the question: do HR leaders

need to have experience in other areas of the business

to succeed? Not necessarily; as illuminated by David

Mason, Global Chief Operating Officer Resourcing at

RBS, in order for them to contribute to driving a business

forward, HR must always be built on good people who

truly understand how their business works and who

can engage with other leaders across the company.

Matt Elliott, People Director at Virgin Money, noted

that “individuals who work in HR are business people;

there should be no differentiation between them and the

people who work in any other area of the business”.

Ultimately, solid business acumen can be gained just

as well in an HR department as any other; if this is not

the case, then there is a fault within the HR department

which must be resolved urgently.

BECOMING A LEADER OF CHANGE

HR must be built on people who can engage with other company leaders.

7. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 17.

8. CIPD. Next Generation HR. ibid. Page 19.

11

Being able to facilitate insightful conversations with

both business leaders and the general workforce is a

core skill of strategic HR departments, which must be

employed by senior members of the HR team at the

very least. As one guest stated during the HR Debate,

“the factor that differentiates HR from every other

function is that our business is people. If you aren’t

facilitating the right conversations between people in the

organisation, you won’t deliver on everything else. If you

have the right conversations with the right people at the

right time then you will be able to drive organisational

effectiveness”. This notion was also supported by Mel

Missen, Vice President of Human Resources at Acxiom,

who highlighted that “great managers will be talking to

their staff every day, not just when they feel they need

to tick a box; having managers who can do that makes

everyone’s job easier”.

What does an insightful conversation involve? The way

conversations are handled and articulated is the key,

as opposed to the actual content of the discussion.

Good HR leaders should be able to challenge

entrenched beliefs and methodologies with a ‘real

lightness of touch’9. Organisational knowledge and

emotional intelligence will allow leaders to take control

of conversations, to shape discussions and to mould

opinions. Furthermore, the CIPD found that successful

HR practitioners will often display humility when dealing

with assertive leaders and, as a result, their strategy

tends to ‘explore and stimulate’ rather than ‘challenge

or browbeat’10 to get things done.

INSIGHTFUL CONVERSATIONS

9. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 18.

10. CIPD. Next Generation HR – ibid.

11. Quinn, Susan. From Reactive to Proactive: High Impact Strategic HR. Web: Bookboon.com, 2013. Page 14.

12. CIPD. Next Generation HR. ibid. Page 17.

In her study on reactive and proactive HR, Susan Quinn

found that the most strategic HR practitioners held a

fundamentally different philosophy toward their work

than their more transaction-orientated peers. Complete

trust in employees and a belief that they want to excel in

their jobs ensures that HR’s motivation is to implement

mechanisms that will ‘allow the employees to develop,

grow and contribute in the best way possible’11.

Research conducted by the CIPD further supports this

idea; they found that HR leaders who were providing

breakthrough insight to their business also had a ‘strong

underlying sense of purpose and a connection to some

fundamental values such as truth, respect or safety

that act as an innate moral compass’12. Keeping these

values at the core of how they make decisions for the

HR department will ensure that HR leaders’ focus looks

beyond short term issues and reaches to building a

sustainable business model.

It’s important to note that in order to truly revolutionise

the HR sector, leadership should comprise all three of the

qualities mentioned so far (inspirational leadership, the

ability to hold insightful conversations and championing

a ‘future-proof’ philosophy). While at present this will

seem an idealistic concept to many businesses, it is

possible. As Gillian Fox highlighted during the Debate,

“the issue is not that it’s impossible to find, to become,

or to develop a revolutionary HR leader because it’s not;

the problem is that so far, business leaders have rarely

– if ever – been exposed to five-star HR leadership and

so, to all effects and purposes, they are not aware that

it even exists. Our job is to show them, bit by bit, what

great HR can really do”.

A FUTURE-PROOF PHILOSOPHY

12

£

In order to achieve balance HR professionals need to keep it simple. HR professionals can over-complicate everything instead of concentrating on what will really make a difference.

13. CIPD. The Changing HR Function: The Key Questions. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2006. Page 7.

14. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 10.

13

When discussing the implementation of strategic HR,

business leaders often question how the transactional

obligations should be dealt with. Of course, they cannot

simply be brushed under the carpet; administrative

duties such as organising the payroll are a vital part

of the business and will continue to be, however, it’s

important to be aware that a balance must be achieved

between the transactional and strategic sides of HR. It

has become all too easy for businesses to focus their HR

on administrative tasks, which has led to them fading

into the background. As suggested by a Debate guest,

HR departments have a tendency to over-complicate

administrative tasks, which is where they fall short.

Therefore, in order to achieve balance “we need to

keep it simple… As HR professionals we do ourselves

a disservice because we over-complicate everything

and then get caught up in that instead of concentrating

on what will really make a difference”. As suggested

by the CIPD in The Changing HR Function, in order to

reduce the ineffectiveness of HR’s processes, some

‘process-engineering’ must be implemented. This will

include ‘cutting out duplication of tasks, exiting from

those tasks where HR does not add value, streamlining

processing by reducing hand-offs and transferring work

to others better placed to do it’13. This will lead to the

development of a more ‘process-light, insight-heavy’

HR strategy14.

FINDING THE BALANCE;REACTIVE VS PROACTIVE HR

Complete trust in employees and a belief that they want to do their best in their jobs ensures that HR’s motivation is to implement mechanisms that will ‘allow the employees to develop, grow and contribute in the best way possible’.

The most successful HR departments will pick a structure and consistently tailor and adapt it to meet the changing needs of their organisation.

14

It is becoming increasingly important for HR Departments

to recognise that they need to implement some level of

structure in order to be truly strategic. Traditionally, HR

teams have predominantly fallen into two categories;

there are those who comprise a single team of

generalists, specialists and administration combined,

or there are those who adopt an approach such as

The Ulrich Model where they incorporate centres of

excellence and shared services.

Perhaps surprisingly, the model chosen should not be

the focus of strategic HR. First and foremost it must

be established that no one model is going to work for

every business. Models and strategies that have found

tremendous success in some companies will not work

for every business, therefore HR leaders should take

a flexible and pragmatic approach to organising their

team. In the endeavour to balance both the reactive

and proactive areas within the department, HR leaders

should look to provide clarity on the roles that everyone

in the team holds. To assist HR with this procedure,

David Ulrich, founder of The Ulrich Model, produced a

list of roles which can act as a framework when shaping

the HR department.

The roles include:

Employee Advocate – ensuring employer-employee

relationships are of reciprocal value

Functional Expert – designing and delivering HR

practices

Human Capital Developer – building future

workforce

Strategic Partner – helping line managers reach

their goals

HR Leader – credible to own function and others

As was the case with The Ulrich Model, which was

proposed eight years prior to this framework, it should

not be taken as a definitive guide to creating a successful

HR team. Rather, the ideas it explores should be used

to provide inspiration which can be built into a model

and methodology that works for a business depending

on its individual requirements. As the CIPD found in

their paper The Changing HR Function, HR leaders

‘expressed a certain frustration with what they saw as a

fixation with one particular model. They argued that HR’s

structure should reflect the business it is in and what the

business customers want’15. Moreover, as suggested

by Gillian Fox and numerous Debate participants, the

most successful HR departments will pick a structure

and consistently tailor and adapt it to meet the changing

needs of their organisation.

15. CIPD. The Changing HR Function: The Key Questions. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2006. Page 5.

15

Businesses’ views of what constitutes best practice in HR are constantly fluctuating, yet The Ulrich Model

(also known as the ‘three-legged’ model) has resiliently withstood the test of time. The model, named after the

American academic David Ulrich, refers to an organisational structure that is designed to articulate how modern

HR management can be segmented into three key areas: shared HR services, HR centres of excellence and HR

business partners. As described by the CIPD in their factsheet on HR Business Partnering, the three key elements

of the model are:

Shared Services – A single (often relatively large) unit that handles routine, ‘transactional’ services across the

business such as recruitment administration, payroll and absence monitoring with a view to providing low-cost,

effective HR administration.

Centres of Excellence – Usually small teams of HR professionals who have specialist knowledge of cutting-

edge HR solutions. Their role is to deliver competitive business advantage via HR innovations in areas such as

reward, learning, engagement and talent management.

HR Business Partners – Senior HR professionals who work closely with business leaders, usually embedded

in a particular business unit, to influence the overall business strategy.

Since its official introduction in 1997, The Ulrich Model has been surrounded by considerable and continual debate

regarding its pros and cons. While its clear benefits include allowing HR functions to become more efficient and to

become strategic players within a business, many HR leaders remain sceptical that it is the right way forward. At

The HR World Debate, Orlagh Hunt, Group HR Director at AIB, highlighted one problem with The Ulrich Model in

that it has a tendency to compartmentalise areas of HR. The trick for a great HR function is to be able to collaborate

effectively across all areas; this increases the chances of designing the best solutions and allows the function to

look truly joined up to customers. Similarly, a number of guests commented that the model can create silos within

the HR function and that there is some overlap between the three segments. For example, a centre of excellence’s

role is to deal with complex employee related issues, however, business partners often face very challenging

employee relations’ issues too.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT; THE ULRICH MODEL

16

Despite the challenges it presents, it is apparent that implementation of The Ulrich Model continues to increase.

According to a survey on HR’s outlook conducted by the CIPD in 2012, 28% of participants revealed that they

work in a three-legged structure, compared to 22% of those surveyed in 201016. In addition, nearly 40% of survey

participants at large organisations described their HR structure as being a three-legged model which includes

business partners, specialists and shared services. Among small and medium-sized organisations (less than 250

employees), a “single HR team with generalists, specialists and administration altogether” was the most common

structure17. The survey also found that public sector organisations were significantly more likely to adopt The Ulrich

Model than private sector companies18.

While many HR leaders debate how The Ulrich Model should be interpreted and utilised, there are numerous

companies who have implemented the model as a foundation upon which they can build and tailor their own HR

structure. As Kate Banks, Group HR Director at Brightside Group and The HR World guest suggested, “ultimately

business leaders simply want an HR model that works for their business. They are not interested in this model or

that model, as long as it is flexible and suits the business”. This sentiment was also reflected by the findings of the

CIPD survey, which concluded that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work; while The Ulrich Model is useful (as

an HR professional), you must adapt it to your circumstances19.

Ulrich himself has supported the notion that business models should not be taken as definitive templates and that

they cannot be applied to all businesses in the same way. In an interview with Personnel Today he responded to

critics of The Ulrich Model stating that “poor implementation and lack of understanding had let the model down”

before going on to suggest that “many practitioners have rushed into implementing the model without properly

considering whether it met the needs of the business first”.

17

16. Swift, Gail. Human Resource Service Delivery. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2012. Page 9.

17. Swift, Gail. ibid. Page 9.

18. Swift, Gail. ibid. Page 3.

19. Taylor, Stephen/Woodhams, Carol. Managing People And Organisations. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2012. Page 10.

18

The most successful organisations had HR leaders who were working closely with both stakeholders and line managers to coach and challenge those individuals.

19

Debate: “as a Senior HR leader, if you aren’t confident

enough or strong enough to say your piece and get your

point across then, ultimately, you shouldn’t be in that

role”.

Further research conducted by Income Data Services

(IDS) also found that working closely with line managers

to gain their support is important. They found that many

of the organisations surveyed had ‘devoted considerable

time and resources to making the business case for the

transformation and getting all the stakeholder groups

on board. In some cases that meant involving line

managers in the design of the transformed HR function,

while in others extensive consultations with HR staff,

users of their services and senior managers were used

to achieve stakeholder buy-in’21.

This notion also found support in the results from the

CIPD’s study Next Generation HR. However, in addition

to finding that the most successful organisations

had HR leaders who were working closely with both

stakeholders and line managers, they also found that

HR played a key role in coaching and challenging those

individuals, particularly where they were not ‘behaving

in a way that creates the right environment inside the

organisation’22. They concluded that in order for HR

departments to play a successful and strategic role in the

business, it is important that ‘mutual respect, challenge

and partnership between HR and the business exist at

all levels’23 of an organisation.

Throughout the Debate it became clear that even if an

HR department meets all of the criteria we have listed in

this whitepaper so far, it will remain difficult for them to

achieve success if they don’t have the support or buy-in

of the businesses’ stakeholders. Achieving this can often

be one of the most difficult challenges an HR leader will

have to overcome when they begin to instigate change

in the HR department, however, it is an essential part of

ensuring future sustainable success for the business.

As the CIPD noted in their report on Next Generation

HR, ‘where a CEO has a broader expectation of what

HR’s contribution could be – and this is matched by an

HR leader who can step up and offer more than the sum

of the activities that have always been done – it creates

a real enabler to repositioning the function’20.

Throughout our research we found that numerous HRD’s

had refrained from embarking on introducing significant

changes until they were under new management.

Fortunately, they had found themselves in a situation

where new CEO’s embraced and fully understood

the concept of strategic HR and subsequently they

were able to support and drive HR’s initiatives from

the top down. However, this will not be the case for

all HR leaders; it is more likely that at some point they

will have to gradually persuade and demonstrate to

stakeholders how strategic HR will help them. This

is where it becomes clear just how important a part

strong leadership will play in the success of HR in the

future. As Mel Missen succinctly pointed out during the

THE SECRET TO FUTURE-PROOF HR

20. CIPD. Next Generation HR – Time for Change. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2010. Page 20.

21. IDS. The Three-Legged Model of HR. London: Thomson Reuters, 2013. Web.

22. CIPD. ibid.

23. CIPD. ibid.

20

We will all too often adopt a well-used methodology, belief or practice despite instinctively knowing that it is wrong, typically because we are afraid of the mistakes that will be made by trying something new.

21

to be flexible with your approach and not to be afraid

of trying something new. After all, HR is about people

and we should encourage the type of innovation that

is brought about by basic human behaviour. Ultimately,

we should not be afraid to make mistakes. While they

are almost always regrettable, mistakes can provide

you with wonderful opportunities to learn and improve.

If the fear of making a mistake inhibits the desire to

create something more successful, people will end up

doing nothing; as Einstein succinctly put it, ‘a person

who never made a mistake never tried anything new’.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this

white paper. We would like to hear your thoughts and

experiences on the issues discussed, so please join in

the debate:

Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #RSGdebate

Comment on the Debate by heading to

www.thehrworld.co.uk

If you would like to find out more about the services

RSG and its associated companies provide, please

contact Mike Beesley at mike.beesley@rsg-plc.com. If

you are interested in taking part in future RSG round

table debates, either as a lead speaker or a participant,

please email caroline.beer@thehrworld.co.uk

In life we will all too often adopt a well-used methodology,

belief or practice despite instinctively knowing that it is

wrong, typically because we are afraid of the mistakes

that will invariably be made by trying something new.

Unfortunately, I fear that this attitude often perpetuates

the use of poor strategy or compounds failing

practices. For example, on a number of occasions I

have found myself advising HR Departments on their

talent management strategy and suggesting a bespoke

solution that will help them to reach their business

goals. However, they have often been ignored in favour

of more ‘traditional’ strategies, or because they did

not meet current organisational practices; it’s a shame

because I would have loved to have known what

unexpected, positive results could have been achieved

if the formulaic approach had been abandoned.

Following The HR World Debate, it would seem that the

most important factor that differentiates transformational

HR from its transactional counterpart is leadership.

Solid business acumen and agility will, without doubt,

allow individuals to gain the trust and support of

their senior management teams and the buy-in of

stakeholders, which is crucial if they are to accomplish

a truly strategic business partnership. It seems to me

that in order to be a great strategist you should certainly

learn from past experiences and consider established

theories, however, it is equally important (if not more so)

CONCLUSIONBY MIKE BEESLEY, CEO, RSG

22

GUEST PROFILES

Gillian Fox, Global Director of Talent and OE, RB (Reckitt Benckiser)Gillian works as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and their

teams and is known as a real deliverer, with good instinct and

intuition. As a highly commercial HR Director, Gillian holds

15 years experience in different sectors and organisations,

including Manufacturing, Financial Services and Professional

Services, covering client groups ranging in size from 1000-

16,000 staff. HR, M&A, strategic organisation design

and change management are counted amongst Gillian’s

specialities.

Orlagh Hunt, Group HR Director, AIB (Allied Irish Bank)Orlagh is a highly accomplished and progressive Group HR

Director who has worked in a number of industry sectors

including Retail, FMCG and Financial Services. In her current

role she is transforming the organisation to help it reach its

goals through a focus on great people leadership, employee

engagement and strategy alignment. Previously, as the

youngest female HR Director working for a FTSE 100 company,

she revolutionized the culture of RSA – one of the world’s

leading insurers. Under her leadership, the firm achieved

world-class levels of engagement and reached number 6 in

the Times Top 100 best companies to work for – all in just

three years. Orlagh’s particular strengths are in employee

engagement, capability building and talent management.

David Mason, Global Chief Operating Officer Resourcing, Royal Bank of Scotland Listed as one of the Top 20 Most Innovative Resourcing

Leaders in Resourcing Magazine, David has gained a wealth

of experience in various roles as Director and Head of

Resourcing at reputable companies including AXA, CH2M Hill

and Royal Bank of Scotland. In his current role at RBS, David’s

responsibilities include delivering large volume recruitment,

senior executive recruitment across multiple countries, talent

management and workforce planning. David has achieved

particular success in developing strategic approaches,

leading resourcing teams and implementing change focused

on commercial objectives.

Michelle de Jesus, Head of HR Operations, QBEMichelle is an experienced HR professional within the Financial

Services sector, including HBOS and QBE. In her current

role, Michelle is leading the HR Operations team across

European Operations at QBE to meet customer and business

requirements and deliver the HR strategy across a range

of HR operational areas, including Reward, Recruitment,

HR Shared Services and Payroll. Michelle has previously

managed HR Business Partner teams across UK and Europe

and is currently also responsible for leading and delivering HR

change, through a global transformation programme that is

underway at QBE.

23

Matt Elliott, People Director, Virgin MoneyMatt joined Virgin Money in June 2011. As People Director

he is responsible for the development of capability and talent

to enable Virgin Money to meet its growth ambitions. Matt

is responsible for all matters relating to people management.

Previous to this role, Matt spent 10 years at RBS in various

roles before moving to BP latterly as North Africa Vice

President of HR.

Lesley Cox, Executive Coach & Independent Consultant Lesley’s career spans some 30 years in both industry

and consultancy. She has worked in a range of HR, Talent

Management and Capability Building roles in Marks and

Spencer, GlaxoSmithKline, ICI and Diageo. Her industry

career was very international, including having spent 3 years

as the Regional HR Director for Diageo Asia Pacific based

in Singapore. Since 2004, she has operated as a freelance

consultant specialising in the facilitation of a wide range of

senior team events, including executive team effectiveness

and leadership development. She also works in the area

of organisational effectiveness, focusing in particular on

the cultural aspects of major change agendas. She runs a

successful executive coaching practice.

Jyoti Parmar, Interim HR Director, Towergate InsuranceJyoti is a senior HR and Business Change professional with

considerable organisational, process and cultural change

management expertise resulting in a history of successful

performance at both strategic and operational levels. Prior to

her current role as Interim HRD at Towergate, Jyoti has held

senior HR roles at Lastminute.com, Airwave, BAA – Heathrow

Express and Kellogg Company.

Kate Banks, Group HR Director, Brightside Group PlcKate is a highly experienced senior HR professional with a

proven track record in developing and implementing people

strategies in different environments and situations that drive

business performance. She has tangible experience in cultural

transformations, mergers & acquisitions (including TUPE) and

Organisational Design, and has previously held senior HR

roles at AXA, Invensys Rail and ING Direct UK.

Mel Missen, Vice President - Human Resources, AcxiomWith a wealth of experience in creating HR functions and

integrating businesses on a global scale (Asia, North America,

Middle East, Europe and Australia, to name but a few), Mel’s

career progression has taken him from Head of HR at Nat West

- Retail in 1996, to International HR Director at CIT, through

to his current role as Vice President of International Human

Resources at Acxiom. He counts Change Management,

International Resourcing, Talent Management and successful

Employee Engagement amongst his specialities.

David Chang, Head of Organisation Development, Royal London GroupSince graduating with a Masters Degree in Psychology at the

University of South Australia, David has brought his knowledge

and expertise to a number of organisations including Human

Factors International and Direct Line Group before joining

Royal London Group in August of last year. David specialises

in Occupational Psychology, Executive Coaching and

Organisational Development.

24

CONTACT RSG

E info@rsg-plc.com

W www.rsg-plc.com

LondonT 0207 469 0970

37 Lombard Street

Plough Court

London

EC3V 9BQ

EdinburghT 0131 301 5350

93-95 Hanover Street

Edinburgh

EH2 1DJ

CardiffT 02920 329152

15th Floor

Brunel House

2 Fitzalan Road

Cardiff

CF24 0EB

Bristol T 0117 907 7571

Clifton Down House

54a Whiteladies Road

Clifton, Bristol

BS8 2NH

ManchesterT 0161 618 1030

Pall Mall Court

61-67 King Street

Manchester

M2 4PD

CONTACT THE HR WORLD

E info@thehrworld.co.uk

W www.thehrworld.co.uk

T 07772 136 284

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