People

Boom or Bust?

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It may seem that the concepts of HR Supply and HR Demand come from an almost clinical approach.  This is most evident when we look at these concepts through a human capital lens and try to apply formulas to predict the ebb and flow of human resources supply and demand.

Words Boom and Bust on opposite ends of a balance
Source: Mark Carrel/Shutterstock

Predicting the patterns of potential employee movements are not isolated exercises – They are all connected and part of bigger picture circumstances.

For example, the overall economic situation in Alberta provides us with an excellent opportunity to consider how individual employees will be impacted by the changing economy.

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As we read in this article, Alberta was once the province offering an abundance of HR demand. There were lots of jobs and lots of opportunity.  Now, Alberta is the province facing the very real impact of too much HR supply – Increasingly fewer jobs and much less opportunity.  HR’s role will be critical in determining how this oversupply will be managed and, most importantly, how the individual employee will be impacted as a result.

We cannot forget that any HR supply and demand analysis is about people.  Analysis and formulaic approaches help us with planning predictions; however, we must remember that the implementation of these plans will have an impact on our fellow humans as we all move into a challenging and unpredictable future.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What types of compensation strategies would lessen the need for layoffs in Alberta?
  2. If you had to accept a wage reduction in order to have your work colleagues keep their jobs, what would you do?
  3. Identify three critical steps that the HR professional should be taking when considering staffing reductions due to economic indicators.
  4. What would be the biggest challenge for you when preparing an HR plan that includes staffing reductions?

Why Wouldn’t Anybody Love HR?

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Oh, let us count the ways!  Some common negative HR mantras include; “HR is only about the people”, “HR is afraid of the numbers”, “HR doesn’t understand the numbers”.

Man holding small heart in hands
Source: wk1003mike/Shutterstock

If these negative mantras prevail, HR Professionals will not be perceived as credible business leaders.

This brief article re-iterates the critical importance of why HR Professionals must fully understand the businesses in which they are engaged. By living and understanding the businesses needs and goals, the HR Professional is able to bring the human element into the numbers equation – that’s right, HR needs to bring the human element into the business numbers, not the other way around.

It is HR’s role to provide the link between organizational profits and its people.

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The more we are able to live and speak in the language of the business, the more imperative the role of HR becomes to the leaders influencing the business.

Why is it HR’s job to influence those who influence the organization? Because, when the mantel of HR Professional is assumed, also, is the responsibility for all of the humans in the organization.

Let’s not be tentative about HR’s role in running the business.   HR is not just a business partner, they are business leaders.  Rather than keeping up the myth that HR has to find a seat at the numbers driven corporate business table, it will be time for the organizational units to start earning a place at the HR driven corporate business table.

As HR Professionals, we need to ask ourselves the following questions:

  • Am I speaking the language of the business so that I am understood?
  • How am I presenting my knowledge of the business in my everyday practice?
  • Do I understand who my organizational Human Resources customers are?
  • Where is the evidence that what we do in Human Resources shows a clear path to the appropriate business function?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is the perception that, Human Resources is just about the people, still prevalent?
  2. What will I bring to the business table to enhance the quality of work-life for all employees?
  3. What is my understanding of organizational business units?
  4. What was the perception of the HR department in places where I have worked previously?
  5. How do I, as an HR professional, want to be perceived by employees and organizational business leaders?