Commentary
'Make a difference that makes the difference!'
It is argued that many people in an organisation can make a difference. However, few are those who make the difference.
The difference lies in the extent to which the difference is made. If a person in a team is excelling in performance, then that person is making a difference in the collective output.
However, if this same person is not only excelling within the team but his attitude is also positively influencing the team members' attitude and behaviour towards each other and towards work in the whole organisation, then one can say that this person is definitely making the difference.
Leadership and relationships play a key role in making the difference. People choose people with whom they feel confident, and feel good, who they can trust, with whom they can be open, who inspire them, motivate and appreciate them, who share information with them, provide feedback on their work, involve them.
Are HR professionals inspiring all such positive emotions and more in their people? If so, they surely make the difference in their organisation as they are positively influencing, or rather, leading the behaviour of their people.
Recent research revealed that the most important contributor to the feeling of employee engagement, empowerment and satisfaction is the relationship they have with their organisation's leaders. This in turn affects bottom line results on productivity and profit.
The lust for learning is another ingredient for HR practitioners to make the difference. Open minds and a curiosity to learn allow them to work and remain 'childlike'. Always finding better ways to improve is the journey to their success, and this has a great positive chemistry for their mind, body and soul. It inspires positive thinking for more creativity, which is paramount to gain a competitive advantage.
The 21st century, with its huge economies, a global job market, an aging workforce and new technologies, requires leaders who are responsible for good governance and legal compliance. Thus, the HR professional should be alert to operational risks and bad behaviour.
To make the difference they should make a paradigm shift from a reactive administrative approach to a proactive risk management approach. They need to develop business acumen and be capable to forecast challenges and risks that their organisation might face.
Therefore, they should work with all their business partners, namely in finance, operations and R&D, which are other major pillars of the organisation, to be able to manage together any risks that the present century will pose to them.
The edge of HR should move further out to understand how people are behaving, especially during crises, ensuring at all times good management practices and compliance with the financial, social and environmental demands of legislation. The difference to their organisation is made when they take the 'risk' to address bad behaviour that does not comply with such demands.
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