BOOK CHAPTERS

The RBL White Paper Series

Chapter 1:
Next Generation HR
HR from the Outside-In
DAVE ULRICH, JON YOUNGER, WAYNE BROCKBANK, AND MIKE ULRICH
Chapter 1: Next Generation HR
Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank, and Mike Ulrich

T
ell us about your business.” • Training from the outside in: When experts teach, del-
egates learn; when line managers teach, delegates act;
That’s how we like to start when we sit down to work
when external stakeholders teach, delegates act on the
with senior HR professionals. We find that it is a good
right things. So customers, suppliers, investors, and regula-
litmus test for assessing the current state of HR in a company.
tors are invited to help design the content of training to
Most replies start with discussing the latest challenges or make sure that what is taught meets external expectations.
innovations in HR practices (hiring people, training leaders, They also participate in training sessions as delegates who
building incentive compensation, doing HR analytics, and are co-learning with organization employees, and they pres-
so forth), relating to business leaders (having a voice at the ent materials either as a live case study or as visiting faculty.
table, getting buy-in), or managing the increased personal • Rewards from the outside in: Customers help determine
demands of the HR job (allocating time, staying upbeat in which employees are rewarded for their efforts. For ex-
the face of overwhelming demands). That is, HR profession- ample, an airline we often travel with allocates a portion of
als almost invariably define business as “HR business” and its bonus pool to its most frequent fliers, inviting them to
are inclined to talk about their current initiatives in leader- distribute bonus coupons worth varying degrees of value
ship training, recruiting, engagement, or rewards—the areas to deserving employees. By essentially allowing customers
where they focus their attention on the job. to control 2 percent of the airline’s bonus pool, company
These efforts are important, but they are not the business. leaders remind employees that the outside matters.
They are in support of the business. • Performance management from the outside in: Rather than
setting standards by HR doctrine, the department gives
The real business is external: the context and setting in
key customers the opportunity to assess its performance
which the business operates, the expectations of key stake-
review standards and tell the company if those standards
holders (customers, investors, communities, partners, employ-
are consistent with their expectations. When external
ees, and so forth), and the strategies that give a company a
stakeholders participate in assessing performance review
unique competitive advantage. If HR professionals are truly
standards, leadership 360-degree reviews may be shifted
to contribute to business performance, then their mindset
to 720-degree reviews that include customers and other
must center on the goals of the business. They must take that
external stakeholders.
outside reality and bring it into everything they do, practicing
• Leadership from the outside in: HR helps the company
their craft with an eye to the business as a whole and not just
focus on developing a leadership brand, where external
their own department.
customer expectations translate to internal leadership be-
Focusing on the business of the business enables HR profes- haviors. We found that a large portion of the top companies
sionals to add meaningful and sustainable value. When they for leadership involved customers in defining competen-
start and ground their work with the business, HR profession- cies for their leaders.
als think and behave from the outside in. • Communication from the outside in: HR makes sure that
Working from the outside in shifts the emphasis in a number messages presented to employees are also shared with
of subtle but important ways: customers and investors, and vice versa.
• Placement and promotion from the outside in: Customer • Culture from the outside in: We like to define culture as the
expectations set the standards for bringing new hires into identity of the
the organization and for promoting people into higher organization in the mind of key customers, made real to every
ranks. The new maxim is: Rather than be the employer of employee every day. This is a far cry from the inside-out ap-
choice, we want to be the employer of choice of employees proach that focuses on how a company thinks and acts, as
our customers want to work with. embedded in norms, values, expectations, and behaviors.

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 1

Our message of HR from the outside in is simple to say but million monthly users of Facebook, or the 3 billion searches a
not easy to do. Outside-in HR is based on the premise that day on Google show that technology now enables ubiquitous
the business of HR is the business. This logic goes beyond the information and global relationships.
current state of the HR profession, where the focus is on con-
Omnipresent information outside a company changes behav-
necting strategy to HR.
ior inside a company. After a disappointing experience at a
We have been active participants in helping HR professionals well-respected restaurant, for instance, we wrote a negative
turn strategy into results. We now believe that rather than a review and posted it on one of the many blog sites. Within
mirror in which HR practices are reflected, business strategy hours, the owner and manager of the restaurant contacted us
should be regarded as a window through which HR profes- to apologize and invite us to revisit the restaurant so we could
sionals observe, interpret, and translate external conditions update our public review.
and stakeholder expectations into internal actions.
When informed HR professionals tell us about their busi-
So in this book, as in our conversations, we reply to, “Tell us ness, they often have a relatively long list of general trends
about the business” with a quick synopsis of business condi- that affect them. Unfortunately, such lists may be skewed by
tions followed by implications for HR. personal experience, overemphasizing some points and miss-
ing others. We have found it helpful to organize and prioritize
“A word to the wise: If you are not creating, making, or selling our
these contextual trends into six categories:
products, you had better have a good reason for being here.”
1. Society: Personal lifestyles are changing with respect to
—Senior executive of PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay unit families, urbanization, ethics, religion, and expectations of
well-being.
THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS 2. Technology: New devices and concepts enable access
The bar has been raised for HR; HR must create and deliver and transparency not only through information but also in
value in real business terms. relationships, and they can destroy whole industries while
bringing new ones to life.
If people are asked to name a business, most could quickly
3. Economics: Economic cycles shape consumer and govern-
name a famous company (such as Google) or a local establish-
ment confidence; freer flow of capital across economic
ment (such as a restaurant). But naming and understanding a
boundaries leads to more granular, or precise, thinking about
business are different things. The appreciation of how a busi-
investments and risk taking and gives rise to some industries.
ness operates requires a three-tiered approach. First, under-
4. Politics: Regulatory shifts change the expectations of govern-
stand the context in which the business functions, including
ment in corporate and personal lives; political unrest often
general societal pressures that encourage or discourage it
signals a loss of confidence in government institutions.
(such as the increased interest in and access to knowledge
5. Environment: The earth’s resources that provide energy for
enabled by rapid technology change that drives Google’s phe-
growth are limited and need to be managed responsibly; in
nomenal growth). Second, understand the specific stakehold-
addition, social responsibility shapes how people behave.
ers who shape and sustain the business, including customers,
6. Demographics: Changing birthrates, education, and income
investors, regulators, competitors, partners, and employees.
levels affect employee and consumer behavior.
Third, understand the business strategy to uniquely position
the business to serve stakeholders, respond to general condi- Each of these trends is magnified as it interacts with the oth-
tions, and build a unique competitive advantage. ers on the global stage. For example, China’s one-child policy
led to more males than females in the population. Decades
Business Context
later, as these males move into their twenties, many without
Everyone experiences the changing context or general drivers
prospects for marriage, they are primed for political and social
of business, sometimes without being consciously aware of
unrest. So the Chinese government invests in and invites
those changes. The abstract concept of globally connected
Western companies to do business in China to maintain full
economies becomes fiercely concrete when Greece, for
employment and distract these otherwise volatile citizens.
example, has an economic crisis, and the distress reverber-
This leads to an imbalance of trade and political implications
ates around the world, increasing the cost of fuel in London,
in Western countries.
Sydney, and New York. The “Arab Spring of 2011,”1 where
citizens began redefining political institutions, indicates a Effective HR professionals are aware of and sensitive to these
concern with the status quo and a reform mentality. The 30 external conditions, which determine how their organizations
million people online at Skype at any given moment, the 900 position themselves for the future. When HR professionals

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 2

have a way to organize and address external business condi- specific stakeholders. Written or implicit contracts with these
tions, their fear of an uncertain future turns to confidence be- stakeholders establish expectations of what the organiza-
cause they can define, anticipate, and manage their responses tion gives to and gets from each stakeholder. Mapping key
to them. stakeholders and their expectations turns general business
conditions into specific expectations that the business can
Business Stakeholders
choose to respond to.
Within the general business context, organizations have

Figure 1.1 Key Stakeholders and the Value They Expect

Market Value Reputational Value

• Financial performance Communities • Social responsibility
Investors
• Intangibles & Regulators • Regulatory oversight
• Risk • Cultural awareness

Customer Share
Stakeholder Collaborative Value
Customers
Value Partners
• Target customers • Partnerships
• Customer intimacy • Outsourcing

Employee Value
through Productivity Strategic Value
Line
• Competence Employees • Shaping strategy
• Commitment
Managers • Creating organization traction
• Contribution

In Figure 1.1 we identify six types of stakeholders common to • Line managers expect to be able to both set and deliver on
most businesses and the expectations that an organization strategic goals.
will contract for. • Employees expect fair treatment and working conditions in
return for their contribution to their company.
Spelled out in more detail, these expectations can be sum-
marized as follows: A stakeholder map (similar to Figure 1.1, but spelled out in
• Customers expect products or services that meet or ex- terms specific to the organization) enables an HR professional
ceed their expectations, and they in return provide stable to translate general and generic business conditions into
revenue as measured in customer share. Investors expect expectations for specific targets. It also helps the HR profes-
present and future financial performance in return for in- sional recognize the interplay among and between the various
vestment capital, which shows up in market value. stakeholders. As a result of specific stakeholder expectations,
• Communities, including regulators, expect socially responsi- the HR professional can allocate resources to deliver measur-
ble and law-abiding companies that treat the earth and their able value to each stakeholder.
employees with respect in return for a favorable reputation.
Effective HR professionals tell us about their business by
• Partners collaborate along the supply chain to find ways
articulating specific stakeholder expectations, anticipating the
to leverage scarce resources for overall success for the com-
value of working with each stakeholder, and assessing stake-
pany and its partners.
holder progress. For example, we like to ask HR professionals

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 3

to name the company’s top five customers, investors, or part- • Focusing on simplifying: The ability to turn complexity into
ners and then explain why these stakeholders choose to deal an elegant and well-coordinated process that concentrates
with their company. Too often HR professionals shy away from attention on the critical few priorities.
such questions because they see their business exclusively as
Effective strategies focus attention on these sources of
traditional, administrative, and transactional HR work.
competitive uniqueness, as well as on any others that may be
Business Strategies identified. Once strategic choices are made, plans can become
Strategy characterizes how leaders make choices designed to more specific about actions, talent, and budgets. Through
enable a company to succeed in a changing business context strategic choices, leaders invest time and money that make
with specific stakeholders. Some strategic choices define an it possible to differentiate their company from competitors in
organization’s aspirations and lay out where the organization the minds of targeted stakeholders.
is headed and its unique identity (mission, vision, values). Other
HR Is Not Alone
strategic choices focus on specific stakeholders. This may mean
Because of context, stakeholder, and strategic shifts, many
targeting some customers more than others and developing
business support functions have been undergoing transfor-
channels to gain customer or market share. Strategic choices
mation. Finance, operations, information technology (IT), and
for investors may also segment investor types (such as value as
marketing are experiencing pressures that parallel those bear-
opposed to growth) and manage investor relations.
ing on HR. Each of these functions is becoming more outside
Strategic choices give businesses unique sources of competi- in by focusing more and adapting to contexts, stakeholders,
tive differentiation. Traditionally, strategic differentiators may and strategies. Managers in these areas are being asked to
include operational efficiency, product leadership, and customer manage traditional duties and respond to future expectations.
intimacy.2 More recently, strategic choices define unique ways The HR profession is shifting in similar ways, so it is useful to
that companies meet customer expectations. In recent years, take a look at other support functions.
competitive differentiation choices have come to include:
For example, the traditional role of finance as financial gate-
• Managing risk: The ability to identify and manage compli-
keeper remains but has been expanded to shape and chal-
ance, strategic, operational, and financial risks.3
lenge organizational strategies. McKinsey, the consulting firm,
• Global positioning: The ability to enter emerging markets
points out the increased expectations on finance functions
beyond the relatively well-established BRIC countries (Bra-
sketched in Table 1.1.4
zil, Russia, India, and China), a group that Goldman Sachs
identifies as N11, including Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Table 1.1. Views of the Finance Function

Philippines, Nigeria, Iran, Mexico, and Egypt. CEO View of Finance View
• Leveraging information: The ability to use information as a Finance of Finance
way to anticipate customer expectations and to do predic- Role (Percentile) (Percentile)

tive analytics to figure out how to prioritize leading indica- Active member of the
88% 40%
tors of business success. leadership team
• Managing a globally diverse workforce: The ability to attract Contributes to company
84 34
employees from around the world and to enable global performance
mobility in moving employees to the places where they will Ensures efficiency of
70 80
be able to contribute most effectively. finance organization
• Adapting or changing: The ability to respond quickly to Improves quality of
68 74
emerging business opportunities and threats. financial organization
• Building corporate social responsibility: The ability to build Challenges company
a reputation as a “green organization” that supports respon- 52 29
strategy
sibility for the planet, employees, and customers. Brings in a capital
• Collaborating or partnering across boundaries: The ability to 29 14
markets perspective
form alliances or partnerships both across functions inside
the organization and with customers, competitors, and
partners outside the organization.

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 4

Likewise, over the past decade, a number of significant changes
have challenged the role and competencies required of opera-
tions. As a result, the new competencies of operations leaders
and professionals include the ones outlined in Table 1.2.5

Table 1.2. The Changing Role of the Operations Leader

Competency From To
Operations strategy Incremental improvement Set aggressive aspirations for operations;
explore, develop and implement breakaway
strategies
Talent development Develop outstanding operations Develop broader, transformative talent both for
professionals and leaders operations and for the larger organization; op-
erations as a talent incubator and accelerator
Focus on growth Manage production costs; drive Facilitate growth and innovation; learn from
cost efficiency and adapt best practices and across industries
Managing risk Ensure quality; anticipate potential Manage risk systematically, proactively, and
risks and take preventive action cost-effectively; ensure organizational agility
and flexibility in response to changing market
and competitive dynamics
Breaking down the silos Ensure excellent operational perfor- Contribute significantly to the alignment of
mance; communicate and coordi- operations, R&D, and commercial functions to
nate with other functional groups common goals and strategy

The role of information technology leaders and professionals Last, consider the role of marketer and chief marketing of-
has also undergone significant changes to focus more em- ficer. As David Court, a managing partner at McKinsey, puts
phatically on the key shifts outlined in Table 1.3.6 it, “Many chief marketers still have narrowly defined roles
that emphasize advertising, brand management and market
Table 1.3. The Shifting IT Role
research. They will have to spread their wings.”7
Current Future
According to Court, marketers need to develop competence in
Keeping the engine run- Shaping IT demand through
these areas:
ning cost-efficiently and participation in business
• Taking greater initiative as a strategy activist
reliably strategy
• Developing the skills to lead company-wide change in
Technical project man- Building capability
response to changing customer buying patterns
agement and execution
• Assuming accountability for the company’s external brand
Accountability for IT Educating management:
or profile as a whole; creating collaborative organizational
productivity helping the leadership team
relationships that align the organization’s overall message to
develop an informed view of
future requirements different stakeholders (customers, investors, communities)
• Building marketing capabilities throughout the organization
Serving business unit Thinking about the enterprise:
as a whole
needs helping business leaders lever-
age IT assets and investments • Identifying the critical touch points for a customer and man-
aging the complexity of a consistent customer experience
Providing technical Sharing accountability for
expert judgment the business implications • Providing insight and strategic recommendations based on
of technical decisions and evidence-based analysis
investments HR has been undergoing a similar transformation so that
Managing legacy systems Driving innovation effective HR professionals facilitate the creation and deploy-
Leading technical change Managing organizational ment of strategy. They help turn strategic choices into stories
change that resonate with key stakeholders. They turn the strategic

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 5

directions into actions by aligning HR practices and leader- cyclical events that will return to a former state—they are a
ship behaviors with the strategy. They also facilitate the new normal grounded on enormous disruptive and evolution-
processes of determining who participates in the creation of ary changes. Those who look backward for answers to future
strategy. Effective HR professionals tell us not only what the problems may be left behind.
strategy is but how it will be implemented.
Waves of HR Evolution
Business context, stakeholders, and strategies shift how HR
THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS: HR’S work is conceived and performed. In the past half-century or
NEW NORMAL AND ITS IMPLICATIONS so, the HR profession has been through three general waves
Effective HR professionals recognize, accept, and act on a (see Figure 1.2), and a fourth is emerging. Each wave follows a
new normal in business. When faced with “tell us about your similar curve through time with start-up, learning, growth, and
business,” they can respond by discussing global changes then stability.
in context, stakeholders, and strategies. These shifts are not

Figure 1.2: Evolution of HR Work in Waves

Wave 4: HR Outside In
HR EVOLUTION

Wave 3: HR Strategy

Wave 2: HR Practices

Wave 1: HR Administration

TIME

Wave 1 emphasized the administrative work of HR, where HR tine, it is time to move to other priorities. For example, Mercer
personnel focused on terms and conditions of work, delivery has studied HR practices in the region known as EMEA (Eu-
of HR services, and regulatory compliance. HR was predomi- rope, Mid East, and Africa) and found that although most HR
nantly what we would describe as an “administrative and departments there are moving beyond the administrative role,
transactional utility.” So long as HR consistently and cost-effi- 16 percent still have no current interest in changing that role.8
ciently delivered the basics—employees were paid, pensions HR effectiveness in wave 1 is doing more with less, and HR
were administered, attendance was monitored, and employees credibility comes from flawless administration of transactions.
were recruited—HR was seen as doing its job.
Wave 2 emphasized the design of innovative HR practices
Wave 1 HR roles tended to be filled by people who did an in sourcing, compensation or rewards, learning, communica-
excellent job of administration. This by no means implies that tion, and so forth. For example, General Electric executives
HR didn’t also make other important contributions—training recognized that their future well-being was deeply influenced
employees, auditing employee satisfaction and engagement, by how quickly and well the company could develop leaders
supporting talent planning. But the central tendency for these at all levels able to support international and business unit
HR departments—the primary accountability—was adminis- growth. This led to the establishment of Crotonville, now the
trative and transactional. The transaction and administrative Jack Welch Leadership Center, a large campus outside New
work of HR continues today, but it is done differently through York City focused on developing the next generation of key
outsourcing and technology solutions. HR administration functional managers and general managers. Faculty includes
must continue to be done well, but when work becomes rou- external experts, internal HR and organizational development

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 6

staff, and senior executives of the company—starting with CEO HR must still be done well, we would rather look forward to a
Jeff Immelt. Similar innovations have occurred in rewards, com- new normal for HR.
munication, succession planning, and other HR practice areas.
Wave 4 uses HR practices to derive and respond to external
While each of these HR practice areas innovated in terms of
business conditions. As discussed, we call this wave “HR
what and how things were done, they also were interacted with
from the outside in.” Outside-in HR goes beyond strategy to
each other to provide a consistent approach to HR. HR effective-
align its work with business contexts and stakeholders. We
ness in wave 2 is from innovating and integrating HR practices,
acknowledge that the three earlier waves represent HR work
and HR credibility derives from delivering best practices.
that still has to be done well—HR administration must be
Wave 3 has focused on the connection of individual and flawless; HR practices must be innovative and integrated; and
integrated HR practices with business success through HR must turn strategic aspirations into HR actions. But rather
strategic HR. For the last 15 to 20 years, HR has worked to link than rely on these waves, we see future-facing HR professionals
its work to the strategy or purposes of a business. This work looking outside their organizations to customers, investors, and
has expanded HR practices from the primary focus on talent communities to define successful HR. Earlier, we gave examples
to include contribution to culture and leadership. Given a of the implications for talent, culture, and leadership. HR ef-
business’s strategy, HR professionals would be charged with fectiveness will show up in customer share, investor confidence,
assessing and improving talent, culture, and leadership to and community reputation, and HR credibility will be drawn
accomplish the strategy. In this wave, HR professionals turned from those outside the company as well as from those inside.
strategies into HR priorities to deliver on strategic promises.
For HR to deliver the standards of the first three waves and the
To master strategic HR work, HR transformation occurred to
promises of the fourth (outside in), we believe that HR must
upgrade HR professionals and to redesign HR departments.
learn to master six paradoxes. Paradoxes mean that HR people
HR effectiveness in wave 3 creates a line of sight between
and departments are effective only when they can simultane-
business strategy and HR actions, and HR credibility comes
ously deliver multiple outcomes. Instead of moving from one
from being at the table to engage in strategic conversations.
outcome to another, HR has to do both. In Figure 1.3, we list the
The worldwide economic crisis, globalization, technological paradoxes that will set the criteria for HR going forward.
innovations, and other changes in recent years have chal-
These paradoxes may be described in detail as follows:
lenged the future of HR. Some HR leaders want to look back
• Outside and inside: As we have discussed, a primary chal-
and reinforce HR administrative work by doing the basics
lenge for HR going forward is to turn external business
well, while others want to return to focusing on targeted HR
trends and stakeholder expectations into internal HR prac-
practices. Although we agree that the basics and practices of
tices and actions. This will require that HR professionals

Figure 1.3 Six Paradoxes Facing HR

Outside
Bu
c
gi

si
te

ne
ra

ss
St

Inside
e -
tiv is

Pe
tra min

op
Ad

le

HR
Professional
al
du
Pa

vi
st

di
In

Event
n a-
tio niz
Fu

a
t
ur

rg
e

Process

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 7

simultaneously understand and operate in the marketplace Faddish events create an emotional stir, but unless they are
and the workplace. HR professionals will likely spend time tied into sustainable processes, emotions turn to cynicism.
with customers, investors, and community leaders, and they Sustainability requires a long-term view, an integrated solu-
will turn those experiences into HR innovations. To ride this tion, and an ability to learn and evolve. To ride this paradox
paradox successfully is to be a strategic positioner who not successfully is to be an HR innovator and integrator who
only knows the business but can shape and position the weaves separate events into cohesive solutions.
business for success. • Future and past: As people age, they have more experi-
• Business and people: Traditionally, people went into HR ences to draw on that influence current choices, which can
because they “liked people.” In wave 3, when strategic HR be both useful and constraining. When HR professionals
principles became popular, HR professionals were asked rely on the past for their present choices, they fail to adapt.
to become more business literate. Balancing the tradeoffs When they ignore the past, they relive it. When they are
between people and business is not always easy. HR constantly preparing for the future, they may not have the
professionals who go to either extreme create problems. luxury of waiting for it. Balancing the past and the future
Overemphasis on people turns business enterprises into means learning principles from the past and then adapting
social agencies that may lose the ability to meet market those principles to future scenarios. It also means starting
requirements. Overemphasis on business drives results with a desired future state and then shaping present choic-
without attention to how they are generated. To ride this es to create this future. To ride this paradox successfully
paradox successfully is to be a credible activist who earns is to be an HR change champion who connects the past
personal credibility and also takes an active position on to the future and who anticipates and manages individual,
business performance. initiative, and institutional change.
• Organization and individual: In recent years some people • Strategic and administrative: When we ask non-HR col-
have suggested that HR rename itself to emphasize talent, leagues, “What does HR mean to you?” we often get
often called human capital, workforce, or people. We com- administration-centered responses: HR does my benefits;
pletely agree that individual abilities have a significant im- HR manages my pension; HR processes my payroll. These
pact on the success of a company. But we also believe that administrative actions do have to be flawlessly executed, on
the way people work together, and the culture of the orga- time, every time. But many of these routine HR actions are be-
nization, is equally if not more critical to an organization’s ing done through technology to save time and increase effi-
success. As often happens in sports, the teams with the ciency. HR also has to become strategic in adapting to future
superstars can lag behind teams with less individual talent business scenarios. To ride this paradox successfully involves
but with great teamwork. So we suggest that the paradox using technology to flawlessly process administrative work
is to manage the tensions between talent and teamwork, while generating information for more strategic work.
individual ability and organization capability, personal com-
petence and organizational culture, and so forth. HR profes- FINDING OUT HOW YOU’RE DOING
sionals should simultaneously assess and improve the flow
To be effective, HR professionals need to master the chal-
of people in an organization, but they should also facilitate
lenges of these six paradoxes, being able as individuals and
the creation and dissemination of an organization’s culture
departments to manage the competing expectations. Exercise
that encourages them to work together. People both shape
1.1 is designed to help you assess where your HR department
and are shaped by the culture. To ride this paradox success-
currently positions itself against these criteria. For example,
fully is to be a capability builder who can find the right mix
if your department is wholly involved in getting people
of personal and organization development actions.
hired, paid, and into the pension plan, it would be at “1” on
• Process and event: HR is not about an isolated activ-
the administrative-strategic scale; if it has outsourced all of
ity (a training, communication, staffing, or compensation
that kind of activity and focuses purely on the organization’s
program) but about processes that generate sustainable
long-term talent sourcing and training needs and setting its
and integrated solutions. Often HR professionals have
role in the community, it would be at “10” on that scale, Plot
focused on HR events. The field of HR has been plagued
the results on the diagram that follows the scale and you will
with panaceas, fads, and quick fixes. It’s too easy to be
have a profile and image of your current HR department. The
mesmerized by the newest new things, and visitors in
shape of Figure 1.4 shows how your HR department can focus
search of best practices examine a specific HR innovation
to manage the paradoxes that will enable response to the new
without considering connected and surrounding programs.
normal in HR.

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 8

Exercise 1.1. Auditing Your HR Department on Six Paradoxes

To what extent does my HR department focus on:

Inside 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Outside
People 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Business
Individual 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Organization
Event 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Process
Past 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Future
Administrative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Strategic

Figure 1.4: Shape of HR Department Response to the New Normal in HR

Outside

Bu
c

10
gi

s
te

in
ra

es
St

10

10

s
1
Inside
1

1
e -
tiv is

Pe
tra min

op
Ad

le

HR
Professional
al
du
Pa

vi
st

di
In

Event
1

1
0
10

n a-
1
tio niz
Fu

10
tu

rg
re

Process

CONCLUSION: WHAT’S NEXT FOR HR? 2

See Treacy, M., and F. Wiersema (1997), Discipline of Mar-
ket Leaders, New York: Basic Books; and Porter, M. (1998),
As we continue our work in HR, we will keep asking HR pro-
Competitive Advantage, New York: Free Press.
fessionals to tell us about their business. Because of what we
report in this book, we hope that the answers will increasingly 3
The standard typology for risk management has been
include an informed and insightful discussion of business con- prepared by the Committee on Supervising Organizations
text, stakeholders, and strategy as well as an understanding (commonly known as COSO) of the Treadway Commission.
of the requirements for HR to deliver value. We also hope that 4
Chappuis, B., A. Kim, and P. Roche (2008), “Starting Up as
this work provides frameworks and tools to build specific HR
CFO,” McKinsey Quarterly.
competencies. We are optimistic and confident that when HR
professionals learn and adapt our research and ideas about
5
Keeling, D., and U. Schrader (2012), “Operations for the

HR from outside in, they will become even stronger contribu- Executive Suite,” McKinsey Report.

tors to business value. 6

Mark, D., and E. Monnoyer (2004), “Next Generation CIOs,”
McKinsey Quarterly.
REFERENCES 7
Court, D. (2007), “The Evolving Role of the CMO,” McKin-
1
[Link] sey Quarterly.
mar/22/middle-east -protest-interactive-timeline. 8
“HR Transformation in EMEA” (2010), Mercer Report.

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 9

About the Authors
DAVE ULRICH

Dave has consulted and done research with over half of the Fortune 200. Dave was the editor of the
Human Resource Management Journal 1990 to 1999, has served on the editorial board of four other
journals, is on the Board of Directors for Herman Miller, is a Fellow in the National Academy of Human
Resources, and is cofounder of the Michigan Human Resource Partnership

JON YOUNGER

Jon’s career has been a mix of consulting, executive management, and HR leadership. Prior to joining
The RBL Group, he was Chief Learning and Talent Officer of one of the largest U.S.-based financial
services organizations, responsible for the leadership development, corporate learning, staffing, perfor-
mance and talent management, and succession planning. He has also managed executive compensa-
tion and HR strategy.

WAYNE BROCKBANK

Dr. Brockbank is a Clinical Professor of Business at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Busi-
ness. At the Ross School of Business, Dr. Brockbank is the Director of the Center for Strategic HR Lead-
ership and the Faculty Director and Core Instructor of the Strategic Human Resource Planning Program,
the Human Resource Executive Program, and the Advanced Human Resource Executive Program.

MIKE ULRICH

Mike’s background is focused on research methods and statistical analysis. He holds both B.S. and M.S.
degrees in statistics with emphasis on business analysis. Mike has experience in a wide variety of sta-
tistical methods, including ANOVA, sample and survey design, structural equation modeling, Bayesian
hierarchical models, stochastic processes, and non-parametrics. He has worked on a variety of statisti-
cal projects from exit polling to the relationship between job performance and satisfaction.

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 10

Contact us for more information
about The RBL Group products
and services:
Phone 801.616.5600
Email rblmail@[Link]
Online [Link]
Mail 3521 N. University Ave., Suite 100
Provo, UT 84604

Copyright © The RBL Group

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or using any information storage or retrieval system, for any purpose without the
express written permission of The RBL Group.

Chapter 1: Next Generation HR | © The RBL Group 11