HRO, HR, outsourcing

Is HR Shrinking Faster Than Line Management Are Skilling Up?

Is HR Shrinking Faster Than Line Management Are Skilling Up?

By Rachel Anderson, Managing Consultant - Alsbridge Europe

The HR department is shrinking…outsourcing, shared services and HR transformation have all brought opportunities for better, more efficient service, but have eaten away at the traditional HR department.  Much of the work of the HR department has been devolved to line managers and employees – recruitment, job design, and performance management are all largely done in the line.  Employees enter their own timesheets, absence data and personal data changes directly into the HR system by means of self service interfaces.  The benefits of this are a closer relationship between line manager and employee, driving better performance; an increased effectiveness of managers, who now have a broader view, and of course a reduction in indirect costs and HR headcount.

But are employees and line managers truly embracing these changes at the same rate as the HR department is being eroded?  Are there gaps in service as HR ramps down but managers don’t skill up? Is HR being prevented from becoming a strategic partner because it is overwhelmed with the need to support the very processes it thought had been devolved?

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