HR must take the initiative

Following on from my previous post, I notice that Douglas Ready warns (from research of 40 companies worldwide) that ‘a large proportion of the HR professionals said that they were worried that the progress made in leadership development and talent management … might be wiped out as a result of excessive short-term thinking and non-strategic cost cutting‘.

He too is concerned that this is evidence that many senior executives still see talent management and leadership development as activities for ‘good times only’. He also is concerned that HR is not playing the role it should – or could – to champion the business case for ongoing leadership development for the future.

HR of course is closely involved in delivering HR services to the business. And indeed, these services are always stretched at times of change and restructuring. But just as leadership generally needs to manage the short term and the long term, so too HR Directors need to step up to the mark and deliver their equally essential mission of delivering appropriate talent for the business both today and tomorrow.