There is a major talent shortage of generalist HR Advisors and Senior HR Advisors in Auckland. It is hard to remember a time when this hasn’t, to some degree, been the case. As with many other professions in New Zealand, this can be partly attributed to Kiwis heading off overseas and leaving a gap at the intermediate level. We are also now hearing from a range of business that funds are finally being freed up for people-focussed initiatives, which is a huge relief following a number of very lean years. So perhaps candidates are staying put in their roles, enjoying the perks and interesting projects that become possible when cash flows more freely?
However we are wondering whether there might be another force at play creating extra pressure on the HR advisory candidate market.
There has been a trend towards businesses setting up the “centre of excellence” model whereby a range of specialist HR functions are created. These specialists will work in tandem with a team of HR Business Partners to deliver services to the business in a way that is quite different from how a team of HR generalists will function. The centre of excellence model is usually accompanied by an HR help-desk team who are responsible for fielding first line questions around things such as policy, employment contracts and leave. This model can work fantastically well for some business and in others it won’t be the answer. But we have been wondering whether this type of structure might actually be contributing to the shortage of intermediate HR talent.
Let’s say that a traditional HR structure might be made up of an HR Manager with a team comprised of Senior HR Advisors, HR Advisors, an HR Coordinator and perhaps an HR Administrator. The career progression through this organisation is clear. The more junior people in the team will be listening to how the more senior HR professionals handle issues, picking up on language used and learning from successes and failures in the team. As they gain experience in their roles, they’ll learn along the way how to use a coaching approach to working with managers, how to effectively partner with the business and how to find the balance between commercial drivers and the “best practice” HR approach. So this type of structure will usually mean companies grow their own talent, which is good for them and also good for the wider HR profession.
Let’s now take a look at the centre of excellence model. The people taking the calls through the HR helpdesk will be working hard every day providing what is usually fairly “black and white” advice based on the rules and regulations set down. They are probably surrounded by colleagues doing the same thing with the same remit. HR Business Partners tend to be based out in the business and are working at a high level and teams of Specialists will be working on their own projects and initiatives. So there tends to be a lack of day to day interaction between the junior members of the team and the seniors, which will likely lead to them missing out on being exposed to the way more senior HR colleagues manage situations.
With all of this at play, we have to wonder how then can this HR helpdesk team learn, grow and develop into HR Advisors who coach a manager through an issue or have that challenging conversation. They are not likely to experience the wide range of learnings on a day to day basis that an HR Coordinator in a traditional team will be exposed to. So perhaps the move to the centre of excellence model might just be reducing the amount of home-grown talent, putting further pressure on the intermediate HR candidate market.
