How can the strategic human resource business partner(SHRBP) add value to the IT department - Essay Example

? How can the strategic human resource business partner (SHRBP) add value to the IT department Introduction The achievement of business aims is highly depended on the ability of firms to control effectively the activities of all their departments. However, the continuous increase of competition and the deterioration of the economic conditions in the global market have led to the need for the establishment of mechanisms which can ensure the success of business plans – either in the short or the long term. On the other hand, certain organizational sectors have increased demands; the IT department is such case. In accordance with Plant et al. the IT department (or else the management information systems (MIS) department) is ‘the functional area tasked with providing the business enterprise with the technology resources necessary to perform its functions effectively’ (Plant et al. 2007, p.214). Current paper aims to present the way in which the Strategic Human Resource Business Partner (SHRBP) can add value to the IT department and under which terms such task would be performed. Appropriate theories and models are used for justifying the role of SHRBP in the increase of value of IT department. 2. The role of strategic human resource business partner (SHRBP) in the increase of value of IT department Strategic HR management can intervene in organizational activities at all levels of organizational hierarchy – reference is made to the organization as a unit, not just to the HR functions and sub-functions (Deb 2006). Of course, the role of HR within the organizations needs to be respected (Raj, 2007). In accordance with Morton (1999) when acting as a business partner, HR is expected to perform a series of roles: ‘strategic partner, change agent, administrative expert and employee champion’ (Morton 1999, in Armstrong, 2000, p.141). Moreover, Robinson et al. (2005) noted that HR can respond to the needs of its traditional role (deciding on the employees’ positions and tasks) as also to the needs of its strategic role (meaning the development of initiatives for the increase of organizational profits through the improvement of employee performance). As for the strategic HR management, this can intervene drastically in all organizational strategies identifying organizational failures and suggesting appropriate measures; in case that SHR manager acts as a business partner, then his ability to intervene in organizational strategies – at all organizational levels – is significantly increased. The involvement of SHRBP in the organization’s IT department would have a series of effects in the department’s structure, activities and performance. More specifically, the role of SHRBP in IT department would refer to the following activities: a) development and improvement of relationships of employees in order to improve communication and cooperation across the department; in this way, the performance of employees of the specific department would be also increased, b) improvement of information sharing; IT department is strongly depended on the management of information; moreover, the role of this department is to ensure that the flow and storage of information across the organization will be of high quality, c) check and evaluation of IT systems but also of the skills of their administrators/ support staff; in other words, the managerial IT capability and the technical IT capability within the IT department need to be evaluated by the SHRBP, d) the cost of the IT systems used in the management of information across the organization should be also identified and evaluated – as of the balance between the investment made on these systems and the benefits from their performance – referring to the pay-back of the firm’s IT systems, e) the needs of the organization for outsourcing will be also identified and evaluated by the SHRBP; it needs to be made clear whether outsourcing can actually help towards the improvement of the management of information across the organization or whether the firm’s IT systems would be rather exclusively used; f) change of the traditional methods for selecting, recruiting and training employees; policies referring to the compensation and the rewarding of employees in the particular department would be also reviewed and updated – if necessary – in order to increase employee motivation and retention, for example existing compensation would be increased or additional benefits – monetary and non-monetary – would be provided to employees, g) introduction of mechanisms for checking periodically the performance of employees; for example, establishment of sub-department – within the IT department – which would be responsible for monitoring the performance of the department’s employees; a feedback could be also introduced as a tool for identifying failures in the operations of the particular department, h) introduction of measures for supporting health and safety; review and update of existing health and safety rules and practices; for example, establishment of training seminars on health and safety. The above suggestions are similar with those of Sobh et al. (2006) who noted that the involvement of SHRM in the management of a firm’s IT systems should focus on the following factors: a) operation factors (reference is made, for example, to the level at which IT systems actually support organizational performance), b) management factors (for example, at what level IT supports managers across the organization), c) technology factors (for example, whether the technology used is advanced or not), d) financial factors (for example, which is the cost saved by using the specific IT systems) and e) risk factors (for example, if the level of maturity of IT systems) (Sobh et al. 2006, p.266). 3. Conclusion The involvement of SHRBP in a firm’s IT department can help towards the increase of this department’s value – in the context described above; however, the level of contribution of SHRBP to the increase of value of the specific organizational department cannot be precisely estimated in advance; a clear understanding of the organizational structure and values is required (Schuler et al. 2007). On the other hand, it is necessary that the persons involved in the particular activity are able to develop complex tasks but also to take initiatives – where necessary – in order to prevent major failures or delays (Storey 2009). The SHRBP, as a mechanism for adding value in a firm’s IT department, should be appropriately updated and customized being based on both the traditional HR, which ‘can add value by adopting a control-and-audit role’ (Lawler et al. 2009, p.2), and the strategic HR, which can help the business to respond to the demands of a ‘large – scale strategic change’ (Lawler et al 2003, p.7). References Armstrong, M. (2000). Strategic human resource management: a guide to action. London: Kogan Page Publishers Deb, T. (2006). Strategic Approach to Human Resource Management. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors Lawler, E., Boudreau, J. (2009). Achieving excellence in human resources management: an assessment of human resource functions. California: Stanford University Press Lawler, E., Mohrman, S. (2003). Creating a strategic human resources organization: an assessment of trends and new directions. California: Stanford University Press Plant, R. Murrell, S. (2007). An executive's guide to information technology: principles, business models, and terminology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007 Raj, R. (2007). Corporate Planning and Strategic Human Resources Management. Maharashtra: Nirali Prakashan Robinson, D., Robinson, J. (2005). Strategic business partner: aligning people strategies with business goals. California: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Schuler, R., Jackson, S. (2007). Strategic human resource management. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Sobh, T., Elleithy, K. (2006). Advances in systems, computing sciences and software engineering: proceedings of SCSS 2005. New York: Springer Storey, J. (2009). The Routledge companion to strategic human resource management. Oxon: Taylor & Francis Read More