Line managers are key to HR becoming more strategic

Carole Gaskell

Chief Executive & Founder
Full Potential Group

HR Directors will always struggle to become more strategic until they enable line managers to take real responsibility for spontaneous on-the-job coaching, performance management and people development.

HR Directors will always struggle to become more strategic until they enable line managers to take real responsibility for spontaneous on-the-job coaching, performance management and people development.

Our research has indicated that HR Directors want line managers to be handling at least 80% of day-to-day people management issues so that HR is involved only 20% of the time. However, HR is currently getting involved 46% of the time.
 
Alarmingly, however, only 2% of HR Directors felt that all their line managers were adequately skilled and supported to take responsibility for developing and challenging their people, providing regular and honest feedback and addressing difficult conversations.
 
Clearly, there is a need to address this. We know from working with a variety of different companies – both public and private sector – that HR can only truly become a strategic function if 'coaching down the line' is embedded within an organisation. This will ultimately result in a successful coaching culture becoming the norm.
 
There are three main reasons why organisations fail to embed 'coaching down the line':

• A lack of senior players role-modelling coaching has a critical impact on the speed and effectiveness of line managers fully embracing coaching as a way of being. Too many senior players continue to use a 'command and control' leadership approach; if they micro-manage, become aggressive/passive, avoid confrontation, lack strategic perspective, fail to listen, are weak at outlining expectations and are patchy in their delegation, they are undermining any coaching culture being embedded. HR professionals and coaches need to be more courageous in pointing out and putting a cost on limiting behaviours of senior management and supporting them to learn new tools and flex their leadership style.
• Many organisations miss a trick by failing to integrate any coaching into existing business processes. Identifying both 'hard' business objectives (sales, accountable profit, reductions in cost etc) and 'soft' behavioural measures (360° assessments, customer and employee surveys) is fundamental.
• Companies fail to measure and remunerate people on their coaching effectiveness. Linking coaching with leadership behaviours, competencies and KPIs, measuring effectiveness with 360° feedback and tracking progress during performance management conversations and with Personal Development Plans is key. Holding people accountable for HOW they manage and reflecting this in their remuneration and bonus packages as well as taking their behaviours into account during succession planning – are all powerful indicators that an empowering coaching leadership style is what is wanted and rewarded. Let’s be honest here – what you measure and reward is what you get.

If HR professionals are serious about securing their place at the strategy table – and we know they are – then they must be equally serious about ensuring that Line Managers are supported and skilled to take responsibility for developing their people to reach their full potential.