HR is the heart and conscience of every organization

There can be no success either in business or in government if and when people are not properly chosen, empowered, inspired and motivated to deliver excellent results. The essential person or unit who shall make sure that every organization has the right people at the right time for the right job is HR.

We cannot manage any business nor administer any government unit without people. Whether in business or in government, employees are the ones who are expected to implement decisions, deal with end-users, produce and deliver products and services and create impact on the lives of the constituencies, whether customers and consumers in the private sectors or citizens in the case of government. Thus people leadership is crucial to the success or failure of any business company or government agency. When business is good and people are producing excellent results, give credit to HR. They are the ones who ARMED (attract, retain, motivate, empower and deploy) the right people.

All business firms are created to make money. Businessmen risk their financial assets to manufacture, sell and distribute products or services in order to make a big return on investment. In government, top executives are mandated to lead and manage agencies and departments or local government units in order to produce results. Thus, the men and women on top are results-oriented. In making huge decisions, they often hurt people. That is why every CEO and COO needs a person or a unit who shall make sure that human feelings are being considered in decision-making, that the dignity of employees are protected and there is constant motivation for excellence. HR is both the heart and the conscience of every organization, whether private or government.

There are four Es in the word Excellence and HR is called upon to make sure that in making decisions about, of and for people, these are all complied with. The first 'E' is for effectiveness. Every employee must produce results according to well-defined purposes called KRAs or Key Results Areas and his or her performance is regularly tracked, monitored, assessed, rewarded or corrected based on well-defined and understood KPIs or Key Performance Indicators. The second E is for efficiency, which measures the use of resources including time, authority, budget and other resources. Therefore, every member of the company's teams must be able to leverage on all resources entrusted in order to produce expected results, according to predetermined quality and quantity.

HR also makes sure that the third 'E' is attained: ethics, adherence to the norms of rectitude and propriety, respect for and compliance with law and company policies, upholding human dignity and decency in the workplace and harmony among people. The last 'E' is empowerment, enabling employees with more skills and knowledge and ennobling their lives and career with positive and developmental values and principles, and enhancing the capability of people in the organization. These are the missions of HR in four areas: Talent Acquisition, which is brining outstanding talents into the organization; Total Rewards which is rewarding performance; Learning and Development which includes a continuing molding of character and competence and lastly, Organizational Justice, formerly called employee relations.

From October 12 to 14, some 5,000 HR professionals are meeting in Manila under the auspices of PMAP, the premier HR organization in the country. I shall be there in the lobby of Sofitel for 3 days, signing the books which I authored and which  the HR managers and gurus have acquired. I was the 2014 National President of this organization and today it is being led by a lady Ellen Fullido of Manila Broadcasting Company.