What human resource professional isn’t involved with change? HR work lies at the critical intersection of business and people. And that intersection is a very turbulent place these days.

The importance of a competency (defined as knowledge in action) is reflected in the following quote – “It’s not what you know that counts. It is what you do with what you know that makes a difference.” Over the years, HR professionals have developed core competencies in areas like benefits, compensation, labor relations, staffing, employee and organizational development, and diversity.

But those core competencies are no longer enough. The ability to guide change has become increasingly important for HR over the past decade. While change as a competency has begun to infuse the list in many HR Departments, it still has a long way to go.

The fifth round of the HR Competency Study was undertaken by the University of Michigan and RBL group in 2007. This is a global effort involving some 40,000 HR professionals in hundreds of companies located in North America, Latin America, Europe, China, Australia and India. The HR Competency Model they outline includes six competencies, one of which is Culture and Change Steward. They describe the change aspect as developing disciplines to make changes happen throughout the organization.

Why should HR be responsible for guiding change? Isn’t that the responsibility of the Project Office, the IT Department or the senior leaders?

To answer that question, you need to understand the critical difference between guiding change and owning change. Guiding change involves ensuring that the people who plan and implement change understand their roles and have the resources they need. Owning change involves the key leadership roles with the required power and authority to ensure everyone takes the changes seriously. This is the group that can hold the system accountable for success. The only changes that HR owns are the ones HR implements, such as new HR policies, processes and programs. For all other changes, HR must play the guide role.

HR professionals are ideally positioned to be excellent change guides. Here’s why:

HR has strong connections and ongoing obligations to every part of the organization.
HR has a natural inclination to consider people first in any changing situation. Changes rarely fail on paper. It is the people issues that cause most of the problems.
HR typically has a desire to improve situations and to make the organization a better place for everyone involved. That desire is essential when dealing with people and change.
HR is in a key position to see the complex connections and relationships within the whole organization. This systems view is essential when guiding change.
Perhaps most importantly, HR is always there. HR can be counted on to coach leaders and provide training and support where needed.

Below is a simple quiz outlining five disciplines HR Professionals can develop to ensure they have a strong change competency. The score (5 is high, 1 is low) is based on your understanding of how HR works in your organization:

1. Our HR Department guides change using an integrated model that incorporates strategy, change, transition, and communication disciplines.

5 4 3 2 1

2. HR uses a systems approach to work with the impact of all changes on all parts of the organization.

5 4 3 2 1

3. HR maintains strong, ongoing relationships with all senior leaders, project teams, local area supervisors and communication professionals who need to be involved with the changes.

5 4 3 2 1

4. HR uses a range of useful approaches including consulting relationships, coaching and helping skills, assessment tools, e-learning programs and training workshops to help build the leadership skills required by everyone.

5 4 3 2 1

5. A core group of qualified professionals on our HR team have a significant portion of their time dedicated to guiding change activities.

5 4 3 2 1

Add up your scores and multiply by 4 to get a % result.

Based on your result, does your HR Department add value when it comes to guiding change? If you were to have others take this quiz, what would their results indicate? If you think there is room for improvement, what are you going to do?

Developing a strong guiding change competency is a vital requirement for HR professionals today. With so much at stake, and the payoffs so great, it’s a competency worth investing in.

If you’re interested in finding out more ways you can help guide your organization through change, check out our e-course Guiding Change.

Chris Edgelow

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The Role of HR In Guiding Change