The state of the Human Resources profession in 2003: an interview with Dave Ulrich.

Rich Vosburgh (RV): Dave, you have been such a terrific friend of The Human Resource Planning Society that we appreciate your taking the time to do this interview before taking your three-year sabbatical from the University of Michigan. I also understand you have been reviewing some of your current thinking with a group of professionals whom you hold in high regard.

Dave Ulrich (DU): Yes, Rich, I have been giving this some thought, almost as a "teaser" before I leave on sabbatical. I presented some of this thinking at the SHRM conference in mid-2002. I am grateful for the input provided to me by Wayne Brockbank, Ralph Christensen, Bob Eichinger, Paul McKinnon, and Norm Smallwood ... people whom I admire greatly and am privileged to consider friends.

RV: I understand you have eight challenges and seven indicators of progress that kind of counteract the challenges. So how would you answer the question: "What is the state of our profession?"

DU: I am clearly one voice of many, but as an interested and informed eyewitness of the HR profession for the past 20 years, I would like to offer a few observations. The challenges ahead are great, but the opportunities have never been greater. Let me start with eight challenges I believe we face as a profession. Challenges may be framed as what we need to pay attention to.

First, we need to let go and move forward. We in HR continue to be our own worst enemy. We keep seeking respect rather than acting as if we had respect. Respect comes from within the profession, not from the validation of line managers, customers, employees, or any other group who sanctifies our work. We need to find internal, not external, validation for the work we do. We need the self-confidence of a successful athlete, musician, author, or leader. We need to do what we think is best and right because we know it is based on theory, research, and best practice, not looking to or depending on others for validation of what we do.

RV: Sounds like you want to counteract what we sometimes see as a functional inferiority complex.

DU: Absolutely. Our forward-looking self-confidence must be rooted, however, in value created for others. Our standards should always be to define and deliver exceptional value to employees, customers, and investors. Our self-confidence should come because we strive for the best, because we acknowledge our shortcomings, and because we are committed to learning what is required to make progress.

RV: So internal confidence along with an external-customer-serving focus?

DU: Yes, and by so doing, we create value for others because of our confidence in ourselves: Our purpose should be to have impact, not merely to be heard. When we give up our need for control, we gain influence. When we set high standards, our self-image is one of excellence and competence. When we remove from our lexicon and actions any feelings of being second-class, any vestiges of the HR profession as the dumping ground, and any images of HR as anything less than the best of the breed, we are able to let go, move forward, and have impact.

RV: OK, and the second challenge for the profession?

DU: We need to use what we have. The science, research, and best practices are now sufficient for any skilled HR professional to become the ever-lauded partner in running the business. It's there for the taking. Unfortunately, too often those of us in the HR field either don't know and/or don't deploy well-researched findings and practices from the past (e.g., Maslow, Drucker, Argyris) or present (e.g., competency work and its rich and rigorous theory and database). While we need new findings and new science, even more we need solid aligned implementation of what we already know. Too many in the HR profession are blissfully unaware of the classics that never change.

RV: Should we be content with simply mastering what has gone before us?

DU: I'd say that first, we should learn and implement what we already know and probably won't ever change. There is always the need for listening skills to ensure we are picking the right facts. Then, you have earned the right to look for new insights. The problem is that people come into our field and believe we are based solely on common sense when in fact we are based on solid theory and research for over 50 years. Those of us in the profession need to know the research, be advocates for it, and use it in our work. Then, when we extend the body of knowledge, we make even more progress.

RV: And the third challenge for our profession?

DU: We need new models and theories that push us forward. This is almost paradoxical to what I just said about using tested research. We need to keep pushing new intellectual agendas at a macro HR profession level, and within each of the HR practice domains. At the macro level, we have tried to shift a focus from HR practices to organization capabilities as a way to define deliverables from HR. Within the HR practice areas, we need a constant stream of innovation about competencies, recruiting, talent flow, training and development, performance management, communication, organization design, physical facilities, and others. I worry that we are not pushing ourselves hard enough to learn and cumulatively move the profession forward.

RY: One great statement is that there is nothing so applied as a great theory. Models can help explain complex things in a simple way. What do you think about the "HR toolkit" approaches?

DU: Well said. This should be a profession of ideas first, tools second. Great ideas will lead to great tools, but focusing on tools without great ideas may inhibit the full impact of what we can potentially offer. Let's not jump to panaceas, quick fixes, or tools for today's needs, but let us be a font of good ideas that will then lead to new behaviors.

RV: The fourth challenge for the profession is what?

DU: We need to align more of what we do with external stakeholders. Some of this has occurred when HR practices are connected to customers and some is occurring when we are connecting our work to investors. More here is necessary. We may still tend to focus too much internally and see what is happening inside a firm versus externally, and seeing how what we do inside adds value outside.

RV: This reminds me of some excellent employee-value-chain and linkage research that shows the connections between leadership talent, employee commitment, customer satisfaction, and financial outcomes. Is that what you had in mind?

DU: Yes. We need to continue the work of value chain management and seeing how our work within a firm connects to desired results outside a firm. We should keep pressing what Norm Smallwood and I call the "so that" query in all that we do. We need to keep asking the "so that" question, for example: benefits so that...; action learning so that ...; physical facilities so that...

RV: This reminds me of great advice my major professor, Herb Meyer, gave me 25 years ago: It is not enough to just present data, but you must also answer the "so what" question! I understand the fifth challenge for the profession really strikes close to home.

DU: We need to do better succession planning for our own profession. We need a deeper bench for top and near-top positions. Senior HR positions for the overall function or for key roles like chief learning officer go open for too long because the talent pool is not where it should be. The bar is being raised faster than the talent pool is rising. Bench depth also occurs at all HR levels. Building top bench will require a more consistent sense of what leadership in the field looks like. Too often top HR leaders end up as independent cowboys doing their own thing with little consistency or learning across companies. Building top bench will filter throughout the profession.

RV: In addition to organizational leaders, don't we also need a continued focus on next-generation thought leaders in the academic world?

DU: Absolutely. We need to keep nurturing and investing in the next generation of HR thought leaders. The field has exploded in the past decade in the level of attention and number of ideas. Hopefully, this curve will not flatten, but will continue to grow as the profession attracts some of the best and brightest beginning their careers. We need to make sure that those who are the most talented come our way.

RV: When you talk about thought leaders, in what areas do you see the need?

DU: Some of these thought leaders will be generalists who are gifted at organizational diagnosis, at amassing resources to solve organizational problems, and at consulting with client line managers to deliver value. Some of these thought leaders will be specialists who develop deep expertise in their chosen topic area, create menus of choices from which leaders make choices for their specific business requirement, and who share knowledge across organizational units. Equally important, the next generation of HR professionals needs to find the whole more than the sum of the parts. Generalists, specialists, and HRIS technicians are on one team, bringing their own unique skills, but collaborating seamlessly to deliver value.

RV: Sounds like it is time for more senior people to mentor and grow some more junior people.