外文文献翻译原文及译文（节选重点翻译）人力资源战略与变革外文文献翻译中英文文献出处：Handbook of Human Resources Management, 2015, pp 1-18 译文字数：5800多字英文Human Resources Strategy and Change: Competence Development in aChanged EnvironmentMichiel BergAbstractBuilding competence in a changing environment is a journey. It is a journey where it is essential to have communicated and envisaged a picture of the destination. The details of this envisaged picture will look different probably upon "arrival" at the end of the journey. However, communicating the destination is essential. It helps employees to understand what the direction is. It helps employees and managers to use existing competencies along the way. Moving ahead very often demonstrates unexpected strengths in colleagues one has not been aware of. Moving ahead with a plan can also show the team their current level of competence and the desired state of competence. Explaining and talking about these differences may often prove not to be that easy and clear for many involved.A changing environment shows also weaknesses of current practices, processes, and services. It requires strong managerial skills to keep discussions having a focus on the future and preventing these discussions to turn into complaint sessions of past events. Human Resources practices and processes are executed in a triangle of employees, managers, andHuman Resources. Therefore, building competence requires strong and dedicated involvement from these three groups of participants. Competence building is most effective when learning happens during day-to-day work events and the collective and individual learning has a meaning: something "tangible" will be achieved and recognized.Keywords: Competence building, Change management, Human resource management, Process analysis, Change program, HR processes IntroductionThis case study is about a response by the Human Resources Department of a major financial institute in the Czech Republic to the changing world of customer behavior, customer service, financial market crises with its impact on the country's economy, and social and welfare systems. The financial institution (hereinafter, bank) has been established almost 200 years ago and is for decades the major retail bank in the Czech Republic. The mission of the bank has been — and still is — "to help individuals and companies build a financial future fbr them.,^ The bank has for decades played an enormous role in the development of the social infrastructure that enables individuals and companies to take charge of their own future. This balance between social and individual CQ company responsibility is an exciting challenge for the bank.Two years after the financial crisis in 2008, the bank has seen itself confronted with a society where companies notice severe drops in their revenues. Across Europe governments and companies cut back theirspending. The decrease in revenues put pressure on wages for employees and reorganizations led to higher unemployment rates. This in turn led to lower tax income for governments and higher expenditures for keeping a certain level of social welfare.In the banking industry, competition has been increasing. eBanks gain a strong market presence in certain market segments. Contrary to regular retail banks, eBanks provide their services to customers primarily through the Internet and mobile technology; eBanks typically do not have an extensive network of branches. Consequently, these eBanks deploy a customer service infrastructure at a significantly lower cost level (due to, e.g., no expensive buildings to maintain and no staff needed for these branches) than the traditional retail banks can achieve. The traditional retail banks see themselves with no other choice than:Investing in the retail branch infrastructure (buildings, more modern customer desks)Investing in new hardware and software technologies (e.g., online banking) while having to maintain a high level of data security in relatively "old" technologiesDecreasing the price levels and at the same time increasing the customer service levels putting profit margins under pressureWhat Was the Problem/Challenge?Questions for the management team of the bank — The Board of Directors of the bank understands competitive measures are required. Formonths in a row, reports on declining customer satisfaction, on declining market shares, and pressures on product and service margins land at the desks of the Board. The overall complexity of the environment asks for deliberate actions. One of the objectives is to build upon the competitive advantages of the bank and improve in relative weak business areas. Another factor further complicates the daunting task. In 2010 a first wave of strong regulatory requirements makes a way through the banking industry (McKinsey 2010) such as:Requirements to significantly improve capital and liquidity situation in a short period of time. An estimated amount of 60 % of currently outstanding Tier 1 capital is required to be added in just 8-9 years.Expected drop in return on equity (ROE) for an average bank by 4 % on ROE levels that have already been under pressure in retail banks.When the results of the analysis are presented to the Board of Directors, the respective line managers are requested to prepare action plans on a business unit level that provide an adequate response to the aforementioned categories.The Human Resources Director discusses the strategic assignment from the Board of Directors with the HR management team. They agree to be in the group of first movers within the bank. One of the reasons why the Human Resources Director wants to be a front-runner is the identification of an extra dimension for Human Resources. The Human Resources Department needs not only to change itself; the department hasas well the chance to support other business units in going through a change process.What Was Our Plan on Solving the Problem or Mastering the Challenge?Situation in the Human Resources Department — The Human Resources Director notices that the Human Resources teams are good in execution of processes. There is a good atmosphere in the department. The internal customers are reasonably satisfied with the Human Resources services that are being provided. However, the Human Resources teams (recruitment, training and development, compensation and labor law) execute services that the business has demanded in past years. Some line managers have started with designing their own Human Resources services and solutions to respond to the changes in the business environment. Often the Human Resources Department is aware of such solutions months after these services have been deployed by the business. In the retail business line, even an own Human Resources department has been created executing recruitment for key positions and designing special training programs. In short, Human Resources is not considered a strong partner for business challenges but rather a department who makes sure the basic needs are fulfilled: timely and accurate run of the payroll, mass recruitment for the retail branch network (searching, selecting, and assessing candidates), and planning and organizing trainings.The focus on execution has led to fragmentation of HumanResources services — services which are being provided in isolation. The recruitment team focuses on delivering as fast as possible candidates for job vacancies. The compensation team delivers compensation data, benefits, and market benchmarks. The training and development team runs a "training factory.,, The teams act very much independent from each other, although they have regular meetings to provide each other an update on what has happened and what is next.An analysis of the work activities shows that the Human Resources department spends about 62 % of its time on administrative, operational, and transactional Human Resources services. Examples of these transactional and administrative Human Resources services are: The Human Resources Director proposes a plan of action to the team which is guided by an external consultant team. The plan is cut into three main phases. The end of each phase does not automatically trigger the next phase. Several requirements are critically assessed and an approval for entering the next phase is to be provided by the Board of Directors.The first priority is to stabilize key processes and services such as recruitment, payroll, and training logistics. The team sees itself confronted with an organization in change, and for the Human Resources Director, it is important that during the change program of the Human Resources Department, certain levels of services are maintained. A situation where the business will start complaining about the basics in Human Resources services will further complicate the very challengingassignment. Like the other teams in the bank, the Human Resources team needs to make a change in a changing environment.In a second phase, the Human Resources Director focuses on providing a strategic but limited list of Human Resources priorities. It is better to deliver a few projects excellently than having many projects in a never-ending process. Focus on a few projects also allows for having a continuous stream of quick wins and periodically the celebration of a major achievement. In this phase a clear split between a team working on setting the framework for (strategic) Human Resources direction based on the bank's strategic choices and a team working on the execution of Human Resources practices (e.g., staffing, performance feedback, personal experience, and career management and learning). The latter team shows and highlights what "happens" in the bank and what managers effectively do (Randall and Schuler 2007).In the third phase, the Human Resources Director sees a continuation of phase two based on efficient and effective processes and a continuous delivery on agreed strategic priority items. The third phase has a focus on putting Human Resources as a strategic partner for the business from a people perspective. As a strategic partner, HR can continuously support the development of people, advice and coach line managers in people management skills, and adapt together with the business to Human Resources services — instead of adapting Human Resources services based on Human Resources expertise.There is another component in the change program the Human Resources Director realizes that requires full attention. The whole change program will have a major impact on the job roles, skills, and competencies of the Human Resources employees. The Human Resources Director decides to use the change model of John P. Kotter (1996). She wants the employees to realize what it means to build new and strengthen competence in an environment where change is ubiquitous.What Was the Real Outcome?Staffing for competence building — The selection process is considered a critical step in the competence building for the Human Resources services delivery model. The selection process focuses on identifying the current level of competencies of the candidates and the potential these candidates have. Each candidate (both internal and external) for a Human Resources business partner job position goes first through a whole-day assessment center. Those candidates that pass the assessment center are put through interviews with a senior line manager and with a member of the Board of Directors. Each Human Resources business partner gets a personal development plan that is based on the feedback gathered throughout the selection process. The personal development plan focuses on behaviors and soft skills such as communication, negotiations, giving presentations, team cooperation, conducting constructive conversations, and interviews. The personal development plan is based on the 70-20-10 concept in learning:Seventy percent from challenging job assignmentsTwenty percent from colleagues, peers, and superiorsTen percent from formal learning courses (online, class room)A first assignment the Human Resources business partners (HRBPs) get is to introduce themselves to the respective business divisions and together with the business develop a working agenda with concrete objectives and action steps. This working agenda is discussed with an assigned mentor from the business line. The personal development plan is prioritized based on the working agenda. Important in the competence building is the exposure to situations where the HRBP uses the competencies and experience gained so far. Deliberately a decision is made to have the HRBP deal with all Human Resources and personnel matters concerning the employees and line managers. The Human Resources Director remains responsible for the Board of Directors. The HRBPs are exposed to challenges such as negotiating employment contracts with line managers, preparing a reorganization plan for the business divisions, and achieving buy-in for implementing new or changed Human Resources services and processes in the business divisions. Exposure to and responsibility in these situations provides a learning situation when these situations are continuously evaluated. Such continuous evaluation is possible when all parties involved treat each other with respect, is honest and constructive, and is open to receive feedback. After a couple of months, a difference in competencedevelopment between the HRBPs is observed. One of the factors that led to this difference has been the acceptance of the feedback received and the willingness to actively work with the feedback. Another factor that is noticed is whether the line managers accept feedback from HRBPs on what they actually do in day-to-day business.A similar approach to selecting HRBPs is used for recruiting employees for the Center of Competence. Candidates go through a whole-day assessment center where they are asked to demonstrate skills in strategic Human Resources analysis, bringing concepts and practices from international human resource management to a realistic and pragmatic Human Resources service for the bank, and ability to lead functional teams without hierarchical responsibilities. The candidates that pass the assessment center have a further interview with the Head of the Competence Center and the Human Resources Director. Also, the employees in the Center of Competence get a personal development plan.Demonstrate competence through processes and services — The team is using the Human Resources process data gathered during the development of the business case which is one of the input materials for new or updated Human Resources processes and services. Another input the team uses is process design examples of companies that already have implemented the HR business delivery model based on competence centers, Human Resources business partners, and a centralized center for personnel services and administration. The team selects those companiesthat have such a model for several years in place. An observation that is made is that many of these processes and practices — those that are lying now on the table — actually work though there are some key differences in how the same processes (e.g., recruitment, performance management, compensation management) are practiced. During the redesign of the processes and services, the team keeps in mind the following saying: "best principles help in catching the right wave, not per se the best practices.,5Processes and data are part of the infrastructure of providing effectively Human Resources services as well as managers and employees practicing people management principles. Some of the processes rely on speed, observation ability, and high volumes (e.g., mass recruitment for the retail branch network). The payroll process relies on data accuracy, 4-eye principles, high volumes, and data input dependencies. An effective performance and development management process is characterized for example by regular and ongoing communication, respect, and ability to gain experience.The team discusses the principles for each of the processes with the business. A difficulty in designing many of these processes has been the gap between desired state, current state, and "what is actually possible to achieve.,5 Human Resources processes and services that support a desired state but cannot be executed or practiced miss their purpose. Often it happens that such processes and services are becoming a hygiene conflictbetween Human Resources and managers. The dirt is getting back on the table as a discussion between Human Resources and managers over and over again. What happens regularly then is that Human Resources and managers do not discuss the purpose anymore but instead focus on side details and on complaining toward each other. Also, other people and Human Resources topics are then often not discussed anymore as each conversation tends to start with complaints. Therefore, the team makes an effort to keep the redesign of the process as realistic as possible. Mature and stable processes are selected for a first redesign.The recruitment department faces the challenge of mass recruitment for the retail branch network and specific and nonstandard recruiting for open job positions for staff functions and senior management positions. One of the limiting factors in execution is that the assessment centers for selecting candidates for the retail branch network in ten different locations are dispersed over the entire country, whereas the recruitment team is centralized in the capital city. The team does have a mobile phone with basic functionality but lacks the software infrastructure and smartphone and laptop technology to work effectively while traveling to one of these assessment center locations. There is no possibility to invest significantly in software and hardware improvements to support the desired situation. Hence, the team identifies the restrictions in the work environment, the business needs of the management for recruiting services, and the labor market situation. The recruitment team makes thedifficult decision to keep three from the ten assessment center locations. The business reacts in first instance negatively as they fear they will lose access to possible good candidates. The result is that three bases for assessment centers are equipped that are easily to be reached by public transport and car. Further, based on demand two other locations are selected where ad hoc an assessment can be organized. Rather quick several benefits from this decision bear fruit, such as:Competence of logistics of materials and people (candidates, managers, recruiters) is less complex providing a boost in quality (documents are printed and available on the location, assessors are present, candidates are present on the date and location they are expected).Travel time for recruiters is significantly reduced leading to less overtime hours, better accessibility for candidates and managers, and more time for building an internal and external network. The ability to build and maintain a network is a critical technical competence for recruiters.Sufficient amount of candidates per location to allow for better connection between workforce planning and staffing (building a pipeline of candidates) leads to an improvement in the indicator time to fill a vacancy.The assessment center locations can also be used for trainings, which decrease the cost for the bank significantly.The training and development department consists of three teams. One team is responsible for the logistics and administration of all training events. A second team is responsible for coaching and design of trainings for staff functions. The third team executes the more soft-skill trainings for the retail branch network. The retail business also has a team for training and development. This team focuses more on training the hard skills such as product knowledge and software trainings. Retail branch employees provide feedback that sometimes conflicting information is provided leading to confusion. Also, there is an imminent conflict between these two training and development teams on who provides which kind of trainings and training services. During the workshop sessions on designing the processes and services in the area of training and development, the decision is made to merge the two training teams that serve the retail branch network. The new department is positioned under the Head of Retail Business Development with a functional dotted line to the Head of Learning and Leadership Development in the Human Resources Department. After a period of getting to know each other, these two teams notice that by combining their strengths, they are able to provide much more interactive learning situations than before. The new team has now the capacity to develop and offer a much more improved blended learning environment combining aspects of on-the-job learning with peer coaching and with technical product trainings during a class room session.。