Member Article

Awbery develops unique development tool for senior HRs

A unique professional framework programme for senior HR practitioners has been developed by East Midlands-based specialist leadership and management development company Awbery.

The result of 18-months in-depth and ground-breaking research involving the UK’s most respected and senior ambassadors and practitioners within the world of HR, from senior HR professionals and commentators, to leading experts from academia, Awbery’s new IC2 development programme represents a ‘new breed’ in HR leadership capabilities development tools.

By pinpointing the skills the next generation of HR professionals need to influence the business agenda, IC2 will ensure the profession is ‘ready for tomorrow’s global landscape’, as Awbery’s Strategic HR specialist, Jane Rawden, explains:

“The research into the HR profession today, its barriers, and challenges, pinpointed the skills the next generation of HR professionals need to effectively influence the business agenda, to ensure HR realises its potential and full ROI. I see it is vital for the profession that its ambassadors – senior practitioners – have the opportunity to emerge leaner, meaner, fitter and relevant for HR in tomorrow’s global business landscape, and IC2 is set to support them in achieving this.”

Jane, who works with numerous private and public sector organisations across the UK, has already developed a unique range of HR solutions that form part of a portfolio of strategic and practical HR applications and advice delivered by Awbery.

IC2 is the latest, but most personal, of these HR development programmes, as Jane explains: “My desire is to give something back to the profession that has been at the heart of my own professional development and career for over 15 years, to devise a way that would help to address the many barriers experienced by myself and my HR peers, and at the same time support the evolution of HR so that it becomes embedded in every organisation’s business strategies. Above all, I wanted the tools with which to give HR professionals space and time to think about their role.

“Experienced HR professionals know that their skill and contribution is about more than legal compliance, policies and employee incentives. The future for HR and HR professionals holds many changes and challenges. By understanding the impact of the changing business landscape, including the use of digital technology and associated networks and professional activities, a bespoke HR strategy and action plan can be developed that is relevant for each and every organisation.

“IC2 is a HR leadership capabilities framework, which enables the examination and identification of the fundamental impact and consequences of decision making in the context of four key drivers – each identified through the research – Commercial Judgement, Cultural Leverage, Collaborative Relationships, and Politics,” explains Jane.

“It identifies the personal capabilities a HR person would need to develop to be effective and efficient, ensuring that HR professionals will be equipped with the skills to be resilient, tenacious, courageous and agile as a HR leader.”

Amongst the HR specialists Jane spoke to as part of her research were Professor Paul Sparrow, author of ‘Do we need HR: repositioning people management for success’, and Perry Timms, HR facilitator and coach, TEDx / International speaker on the future of work, who said: “I share Jane’s passion to enhance the impact professional people and organisational development can have in business. Anything that gives HR practitioners more competence and confidence will help improve work and working lives for us all, and I look forward to seeing the impact this programme will have.”

The key discoveries of the research, unearthed why and how the thinking on the impact and consequences of decision making in HR has to undergo an evolution. “IC2 is designed to help HR professionals, senior managers and CEOs in all organisations, to better understand why they need to embrace HR more effectively and embed it in and align it to their organisation’s business strategies.

“The IC2 programme has been created to address the findings highlighted through the research and tackle each of these issues,” says Jane, “by focusing on the knowledge and application of the four key drivers and the associated skills through discussion, embracing deep reflection and practical application back in the workplace. The programme is bespoke to each HR professional, identifying key performance measures to track the ROI from attendance on the programme.

“HR professionals need the commercial knowledge, language and tools to communicate and negotiate with their senior management team,” says Jane. “They in turn need to lend support to the benefits that a scoping HR strategy can deliver for a business, from its brand development, to its recruitment. In The IC2 programme, they now have the tools to achieve this.”

Founder and MD of Awbery, Dr Howard Awbery, adds: “In a unique step in the support available to senior HR professionals, IC2 tackles the most challenging and common barriers head on, to ensure the continued evolution of HR, enable its army of professionals to successfully embed HR in every organisation’s business strategies, and above all, to give them the tools to have space and time to think about their roles and working with the most senior management within their organisation to revolutionise HR’s impact on decision making in the workplace of tomorrow.”

Awbery is already developing bespoke in-house IC2 programmes for organisations’ resident HR teams, with an Open Programme for SMEs and smaller HR teams. For more information, visit: www.awberymanagement.co.uk, email: enquiries@awberymanagement.co.uk, or Tel: 01283 703828 or @AwberyTweet .

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Awbery .