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Organizational Alignment: The Importance of Building HR Infrastructure
September 28, 2008

Companies seem to inherently value the role, presence and necessity of infrastructure when it comes to their technology, financial and other operational systems.  But human resources is a vital a system too, one that provides just as much support to a business as any other, if not more.  Yet often times HR gets overlooked because it’s considered “soft” which usually translates into “less important.”  Except, how can the very system upon which all others depend not be important? 

The problem is that organizations tend not to think about “the people” as a system unto themselves.  But they are.  And in order to get them to perform as effectively and efficiently as possible, a structure needs to be built that supports and facilitates the flow of work while connecting employees to the overall system as a whole.

The place to start is with job descriptions that clearly define roles and responsibilities.  This does not mean simply putting together a laundry list of tasks, for tasks alone lack context and do not make for a sufficient job description.  This is where we see most businesses fall down. 

So, in order to craft the best possible job descriptions, it’s important to first understand how each job fits into the larger organization and then figure out what results a particular job should produce for the business as well as what returns those results are expected to deliver.  Once you’ve learned to think about work in terms of results, rather than tasks, you will start to see what measurable markers are associated with them.  This way, you create the clarity necessary to give roles the appropriate meaning for employees and tie them directly to outcomes relevant to the business at the same time.

However, while it’s critical, it’s not enough to merely “quantify” jobs for employees because while defining results will help them understand “what” they need to do, it falls short on explaining “how.”  A good job description therefore, will also be clear about what attitudes and behaviors are expected in the course of carrying out whatever expectations are set forth.  Remember, the way your employees act is a reflection of your brand and company, which means that their reputations represent not only your internal culture, but also your company’s identity in the marketplace.

From there, in order to ensure that your efforts are not lost, you’ll need a proper performance evaluation system so that the right reinforcement tools are in place to either support or sanction the behaviors your company needs to be successful.  The key is to make sure that you link your criteria for measurement directly to job requirements as they are outlined in the descriptions.  This way you not only align your business initiatives with the actual work being done by your employees, but you evaluate past performance in a way that allows you to shape the future behaviors of your company.

And finally, the last piece in your HR infrastructure is compensation.  It again, should be used as a viable and valuable opportunity to reinforce or “deinforce” behaviors that either help or harm your business.  When job descriptions, performance evaluation and compensation are connected, you create an HR system that is straightforward, objective and unbiased because employee performance is defined, evaluated and rewarded in a fair, consistent and strategic way. 

Posted by Donna Flagg on September 28, 2008 | Comments (0)