Human capital management may be a unique organizational function in
that it consists of many sometimes independently managed processes. There’s
recruiting, screening, interviewing, orientation, training, development,
benefits, compensation and so on. The question, therefore, arises, what
is the best practice to keep them supportive of each other?
The answer is horizontal alignment. That is, organizations must find
a way to focus all of these, diverse, human capital processes on the same
set of performance expectations.
How can I assess my human capital function’s horizontal
alignment? There is a simple technique for assessing horizontal
alignment. First, review an organization’s existing recruiting literature,
want ads, postings, etc. for the behaviors implied as requirements for
any particular job. Next, for the same job, analyze the screening and
interviewing documents for the same purpose. Do so with any orientation
material, training documentation, and development approaches. Look at
the job description and annual appraisal forms.
List the behaviors gleaned from each analysis in a column headed by
its source and ask, what do these behaviors have to do with each other?
If they are consistent and coherent, congratulations! But, if like most
organizations, your processes are Balkanized: independent and potentially
hostile to each other, you’ve got work to do.
Where do I start to create horizontal alignment? Horizontal
alignment starts with Vertical Alignment (Vertical Alignment is dealt
with separately. See, Human Capital Strategy, Vertical Alignment.) That
is, identify a set of management competencies which support the overall
organizational strategy. Then, build all human capital management process
around those competencies and their related behaviors. (Competency and
Behaviors System are dealt with separately.)
What does horizontal alignment look like? Once the
strategic competencies are identified, human capital processes can be
imbued with these strategy supporting behaviors. In other words, organizations’
recruiting, selection, training, evaluation and compensation processes
can be built to find, support and develop these behaviors. As a result,
for example, the key competencies and behaviors for any job would be included
in the position description. The same behaviors would be the basis for
employment interviews. Likewise, they would be the basis for annual appraisals
for that position.
STARway Service uses a statistically studied competency and behavior
system, prioritized to an organization’s unique strategy, to create
employment selection, employee assessment processes and position descriptions.
To find out more, please send an e-mail to contact@starwayservice.com.
