In my recent posts I have already covered Management as well as Shareholder as HR’s clients. Today I would like to talk about external customers of the company as HR’s clients. Again, one is probably asking “Why are external customers client’s of HR?” – well, probably all of us agree that those customers do not receive any direct HR services. They are not paid (payroll), they are not part of any works council negotiations nor are they part of any succession planning. But still, HR should pay close attention to customers. So, why is that?!
Well, a company can only be successful when its customer’s needs are met. These needs are met through a combination of a companies non-people (machines, for example) and people resources (skills, ideas, services, etc.). Depending on the product/ service a company is offering, people resources have a higher or lower influence on quality. For example in pure service companies, people resources are the only impact on quality of service. Having said that, who has the most possibilities to shape, motivate, train the people resources? – HR has! Of course that does not mean that HR is the one being responsible for the employees. This still stays with the leadership/ management. But all non administrative HR processes are designed to influence the performance of employees in certain ways. – best in ways that enable employees to better serve customer needs.
And in order to enable HR to do that, HR needs to understand what customers are looking for when they receive a service or a product from the company. Only if HR understands this, HR is able to shape HR tools and processes in a way that influence employees to better serve the customer. And this is where external customers are (indirect) clients of HR.
In my consulting career I have not seen many HR professionals that understand what customers expect from their employer/ company. Today’s HR is (although these thoughts are not new, but hovering through Human Resources since 1995 at least) still only inward focused. In the best case HR understand the products of a company, understand how the business runs. But I haven’t seen any HR department that has asked marketing or sales for a presentation to better understand the companies’ customers. This is something HR really needs to work on. And it is that easy – start in your own company, approach marketing or sales. These colleagues know what customers expect from your company/ employer. Additionally, just do some research on your own – go out to the point of sale and understand why customers are buying your companies’ product or service and not the competition. Take this knowledge and apply it to each and every Talent Management tool. Use it in business discussions and when shaping the strategic agenda. Start today!
Chief HR Officer 