ABSTRACT
HR managers must cajole and persuade, with, at times, the implicit backing of senior management. The consequence of these deficiencies is to make Human Resource (HR) less effective in the area where it most wants to be effective. Delivering good administration, professional support and advice should not be a problem; HR is well experienced and becoming increasingly well recognized for the quality of its input. A Kaisen consulting survey found that HR lacked the 'power' or 'confidence' to challenge the 'presenting problem'. The suspicion is that resistance to change comes from a combination of understandable self-protection with an over-inflated view of the uniqueness of HR, but also from a deeper suspicion of the new business model. One financial services organization admitted to having no formal career management processes in place for HR shared services. Should the shared service centre be offshored, it is hard to imagine internal transfers to HR posts outside the shared services centre.
