A presentation for Triway, an organization that brings in Chinese government employees to learn about US practices.

1. Dr. Greg Chartier

2.  Dr. Greg Chartier, SPHR, GPHR
 The Office of Gregory J Chartier
 Pace University
 New York Medical College
 PhD, MBA
 greg@hrinfo4u.com
 www.Twitter.com/thehrguru
 www.linkedin.com/in/gregchartier
HRinfo4u.com 11/9/2014 2

3.  Typically, the issues with the Business Partner
Model focus on the knowledge and ability of
the HR person.
 What we need to focus on is what the HR
professional becomes through the use of
their knowledge and ability.
 This means that we need to have different
competencies than before.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 3

4.  It has become clear that a shift has occurred in
what an HR professional wants and needs to
know.
 A decade ago we were a clamor over “getting a
seat at the table.” Now, we are at the table and
need to know what to do now that we’re there.
 Being at the table poses new challenges in terms
of language and logic.
 Example: what does customer mean? Who is our
customer? Is our customer the same as the
customer of our agencies?
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 4

5.  Being a BP requires different skills and
knowledge.
 In the past, we dealt with admin issues like policy
setting and administration.
 Today, the BP requires us to connect our work
directly to the business and if we don’t already
possess the appropriate skills, we need to
acquire them.
 If we do develop these skills, we will add
significant value to financial and customer
results.
 When we are business partners, business success
follows.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 5

6.  Some 20% of HR professionals will not be able
to adopt the full BP model. Some will not
want to make the shift for personal reasons.
We need to find other roles for them.
 Some may want to be business partners but
do not know how to proceed. That’s why
understanding the framework, the logic, the
knowledge and the skills necessary for them
to grow into a BP is essential for success of
the model.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 6

7.  The Business Partner model identifies 6
“domains” or competencies that the
successful person needs to possess; ways in
which HR people need to act:
◦ Credible Activist
◦ Culture & Change Stewart
◦ Talent Manager/Organization Designer
◦ Strategy Architect
◦ Operational Executor
◦ Business Ally
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 7

8. Talent
Manager/
Organizational
Designer
Culture and
Change
Steward
Strategy
Architect
Operational
Executor
Business Ally
Credible
Activist
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 8
Peopl
e Business

9.  Bordered by people and business arrows, the
competencies are arranged so that Credible
Activist is the crux, the primary competency.
 Moving up the people arrow, we identify HR
fundamentals, the basis systems and processes
related to people.
 Moving up the business arrow, we must start
with Business 101, being business literate, able
to talk knowledgably about the business.
 Connecting these two arrows is the role of
Culture & Change Steward. When we turn
business requirements into employee behaviors
we create enduring cultures.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 9

10.  We play a unique role in the organization, at
the intersection of people and business
issues.
 We serve the organization’s people,
communicating with concern, care and
compassion.
 We also must be attuned to the business
needs; client expectations and the strategies
we use to serve them.
 If we serve one side, but not the other, we will
fail.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 10

11.  The BP is both credible (respected, admired,
listened to) and active (offers a point of view,
takes a position, challenges assumptions).
 It’s “HR with an attitude!”
 If we are credible but not an activist, we are
admired but have little impact.
 Activists who have no credibility have ideas
that no one implements.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 11

12.  1st stop up the people chain.
 Policies need to be drafted, adapted and
implemented.
 Employees need to have administrative needs
met.
 We use technology, shared services and
outsourcing to execute flawlessly to ensure
credibility.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 12

13.  Talent management focuses on competency
requirements and how individual employees
enter, move up, across or out of the
organization.
 Organizational design focuses on how we embed
capabilities, like collaboration, into the
structures, processes and policies that shape how
the organization works.
 Talent without structure cannot be sustained; a
good structure will not deliver results without
talented individuals with the right competencies.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 13

14.  The organization succeeds by setting goals
and objectives and responding to external
threats and opportunities.
 We contribute to the success of the business
by knowing the social context or setting in
which we operate.
 We also have a good understanding of the
parts of the business (finance, operations,
etc.), what they must accomplish and how
they work together.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 14

15.  We have a part of the vision of what success
looks like.
 We also pay attention to trends and how they
could impact the business, forecasting
potential obstacles and facilitating the
process of clarity.
 We also help to link the internal organization
with the external customer expectations. This
link helps employees to understand how their
behavior affects the customer.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 15

16.  As steward, we respect the past culture and
help to shape the new culture.
 We coach employees and managers on how
their actions reflect and drive culture.
 We include cultural norms in our policies and
practices and processes.
 We facilitate change by:
◦ Help make cultural change happen
◦ Develop disciplines to make changes happen
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 16

17.  Tony Blair, “a player, not a spectator.”
 High performers are players, not spectators.
 They don’t need to be asked to take a seat,
they are already seated.
 Three areas that make up the domain of the
Credible Activist:
◦ Defining the Credible Activist domain and factors
◦ Some insights and further questions
◦ Illustrations and examples
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 17

18.  Credible activists are respected and proactive.
Credible individuals who are not activists may
be respected but have little impact. Activists
who are not credible have good ideas but no
one listens to them.
Less Credible More Credible
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 18
More Activist Risk of being seen as
impetuous, arrogant or
uninformed.
Opportunity to have an impact.
Less Activist Risk of being seen as a
marginal or poor performer.
Risk of being seen as
irrelevant, not having anything
to say, resting on past laurels,
or not knowing the business.

19.  It’s no longer enough for us to be trusted and
well-liked; we must stick our necks out once
and awhile, take risks, push our colleagues to
consider important business issues related to
people.
◦ Deliver results with integrity
◦ Share information
◦ Build relationships of trust
◦ Do HR with an attitude
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 19

20.  Integrity:
◦ It reflects an internal consistency in our actions
◦ Operating in a principled way
◦ Taking action that is consistent with company
values
◦ How we approach a task speaks to our insight into
the organization, its culture, your commitment to
the business and your own professionalism
◦ Delivering results with integrity is more about who
you are than what you do
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 20

21.  Delivering the right results in the right way will
mean something different for us at different
points in our career. With that being said, there
are some commonalities:
◦ Focus on meeting pre-negotiated or pre-stated
commitments
◦ Strive to be error free
◦ Ask important questions that frame complex ideas in
useful ways
◦ Achieve results without violating moral principles or
compromising values
◦ Take responsibility for our actions and their
consequences
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 21

22.  Communications is the two way transmission
of information. Credible Activists are good
communicators; we listen and we have
something important to say.
 Our influence is magnified by good
communications because it supplements trust
and risk taking.
 When we are able to articulately and
persuasively communicate ideas to others, we
gain and maintain our credibility.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 22

23.  Relationship building is crucial to BP success.
 Because we deal with the human side of
business, we must have good interpersonal
skills.
 We also must be able to diagnose and help
solve interpersonal problems.
 We can summarize this skill by calling it
“good chemistry.”
◦ Core values are shared
◦ Common interests are discovered and explored
◦ We are empathetic and decompress tense issues.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 23

24.  If we are going to sit at the table, we need to play
and participate, not just be an interested
observer.
 Having a strong, informed opinion and speaking
up, when necessary, we are seen as a Strategy
Architect.
◦ Confront a manager’s inappropriate behavior
◦ Provide recommendations that the leader does not want
to hear
◦ Not afraid of conflict
◦ Provide candid observations
◦ Don’t wait for problems to find you
◦ Take appropriate risks
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 24

25.  They get the right things done the right way
 They seek and accept responsibility for their
actions
 They know the business and have a point of
view about how they can help the business
people prosper
 They do HR with an attitude
 The invest in relationships and relationship
skills
 They communicate frequently and powerfully
 They take appropriate risks
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 25

26.  Of the 4 factors we reviewed, Delivering
Results with Integrity and Doing HR with an
Attitude are the 2 that will have the greatest
impact in this domain.
 In addition, understanding how to get things
done the right way, having the nerve to
express opinions and taking appropriate risks
will have a sizeable impact on your perceived
performance.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 26

27.  Delivering Results with Integrity
◦ Create HR measures that track output of HR and the
means of generating that output
◦ Ensure that line management understands and
accepts HR standards; include feedback from
internal clients and make improvements when
necessary
◦ Examine HR practices from the standpoint of
unanticipated consequences. Do our practices
encourage the wrong behavior?
◦ Focus on ethical behavior within the organization
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 27

28.  Sharing Information
◦ Have some of your written material critiqued by a
writing coach or English instructor from a local
college
◦ Arrange to speak at an in-house training session.
Ask for speaker evaluations and feedback
◦ When listening to other speakers, take notes about
their content, the message and their techniques.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 28

29.  Building Relationships of Trust
◦ Get feedback from your colleagues about your
interpersonal skills. Don’t be defensive. Translate
feedback into action
◦ Avoid using the “I” word for an entire day
◦ Defuse an interpersonal problem between
colleagues that is causing a productivity or
performance problem
◦ Practice the Styles Method
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 29

30.  Doing HR with an Attitude
◦ Honestly evaluate your willingness to express
opinions and ideas in staff meetings. If you have a
tendency to be quiet or hesitant, make a goal to
remedy the situation
◦ Find something that is within your power to fix and
fix it.
Dr. Greg Chartier 11/9/2014 30

31.  Get a notebook that can be a permanent
record keeper and use it regularly
 Books to read
◦ South-Ernest Shackleton
◦ The Goal-Eliyahu Goldratt
◦ Leading Change-John Kotter
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