Daniel Weinfurter, CEO of rapidly growing HRO/RPO Capital H, recently discussed the value of human capital to today's succesful companies with The Houston Chronicle. Here are the five questions asked of him by L.M. Sixel of The Houston Chronicle along these lines.
Q: What is the most significant trend in human resources today?
A: I'd say it's the realization, finally, that the people, regardless of the business you are in, end up being the only sustainable competitive advantage. So you better get the people part of your business right. People have always talked about product, strategy and technology, and those are important. But all of those and others are dependent on the people to get them right.
Q: Executives are fond of saying, "Our people are our most important asset." Do CEOs really believe that, or is it just lip service to the politically correct thing to say?
A: I think most CEOs on an intellectual level would agree that people are their most important asset. The actual behavior, though, varies widely. To really gauge a CEO's belief that people matter, you have to look at what they do in more difficult times.
It's easy to have a positive approach when everything is going well, but what happens when business conditions become more difficult or the business situation changes, and does the CEO really place the right level of importance to staying connected with the people to execute the strategy?
Companies can spend hours and hours analyzing the numbers, but nowhere near as much time is spent analyzing the capabilities of the management team, the culture and the softer aspects that ultimately drive the success of a business.
Q: What's on the mind these days of the human resources manager?
A: The human resources manager wants to be viewed as wanting to help drive the strategy of the business and how they help in that role. It's no longer strictly concerned with benefits, retirement and compliance.
Q: Why don't most human resources executives have a place at the board table?
A: I'd say that many do, and the trend is increasingly moving in that direction. Their ability to really get a seat at the table is largely based on demonstrating what they do impacts the results of the business — putting an organizational structure in place with the right people to execute the strategy of the business.
Just managing health care costs doesn't cut it, even though it's an important activity.
Q: Why do people change jobs? Is it money, a lack of challenge or something else?
A: There are two to three primary reasons. More often than not, people quit their boss, not the company or the job.
Second would be the nature of the work is no longer interesting or challenging. Third, they don't believe in the vision or the integrity or the values of senior management.
Well down the list is pay, even though it's often cited as the primary cause. That's because it's objective and easy to explain. But in our view it's not a root cause.
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