The RBL Review

We've uncovered a few Do's and Don'ts while watching HR departments go through the process of transformation. In Part 3 of our series on HR Transformation, Mark Nyman shares a few of his favorite tips that will help you make your HR Transformation a real success:

• Link HR Transformation efforts to the company's strategy and business model and to the needs of external customers
• Benchmark against organizations that share a similar business model
• Separate transactional HR work from transformational HR work
• Think about outputs not departments
• Remember that "Strategic Work" is not the same as "Level in the Organization"

Click the play button below to watch Mark Nyman explain each of these tips in detail.

Additional Resources

	Watch "HR Transformation (Part 2): Four Steps to HR Transformation" by Dave Ulrich.
	Watch "HR Transformation (Part 1): Making the case for HR Transformation" by Jon Younger.

We've worked with many HR departments as they go through the process of transformation. What we've discovered is a four-step model for really doing transformation well. Successful projects address these steps by answering four basic questions: Why - What - How - Who. In part two of our series on HR Transformation, Dave Ulrich discusses why each step is critical to the success of your HR Transformation project. (5 min)

Additional Resources

Watch "HR Transformation (Part 1):Making the case for HR Transformation" by Jon Younger.

Your firm has developed a leadership brand statement - a clear, simple statement of what you want your leaders to be known for, but how can you tell whether you and your fellow leaders at all levels are living up to it?

In this video segment, Norm Smallwood answers the questions: What is the secret to good assessment? What can we learn from those who do this well? And how do these general principles apply to assessment of leadership brand?.

Additional Resources

	The ideas in this video are explored in-depth in the recent book Leadership Brand by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood published by Harvard Business School Press.
	View Norm's video "Introduction to Leadership Brand"
	Learn how to create a statement of leadership brand

On behalf of everyone here at The RBL Group, I would like to sincerely congratulate our colleague Dave Ulrich, along with the outstanding consulting associates and members of the RBL Institute who were recently named HR Magazine's "Most Influential People in HR".

I must say that I was not surprised to read about the various recognitions -- Dave Ulrich of RBL and David Fairhurst of McDonalds Europe were recognized as "The Most Influential People in HR." Additionally, RBL Institute members Neil Roden (Royal Bank of Scotland), Duncan Brown  (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Stephen Kelly (BBC), and Madalyn Brooks (Procter & Gamble) were each named to the "Top 25 Practitioners" list. Finally, our dear associates Nick Holley (Henley Business School / RBL Consulting Partner) and Tony McCarthy (BA & CIPD) were recognized in the "Ones to Watch" category.

Click on the icon above to see the complete list from HR Magazine. Congratulations to all!

Tim Kapp, Editor
tkapp@rbl.net

How do we move HR from a platform of administration and operational support to a platform of organizational change and credible activism? That is the question answered in our new four-part series on HR Transformation. In part one, Jon Younger makes the case for HR Transformation. (4 min)

We refer to the connection between a firm's market brand and behavior of internal employees and organization processes as a firm's "Leadership Brand". Wal-Mart, for example, is known for "low cost" and should build a leadership brand emphasize behaviors that reduce costs (e.g. doing process re-engineering, contracting aggressively with suppliers, and managing to a budget). Marriott, on the other hand, is known for service and subsequently seeks consistent behavior among its leaders (knowing customers, listening to customer, responding to customers, and so forth.)

Building on last month's topic,"Making the Case for Leadership", Norm Smallwood discusses the value and process of developing a formal leadership brand statement.

Additional Resources

	The ideas in this video are explored in-depth in the recent book "Leadership Brand" by Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich published by Harvard Business Press.
	View norm's video "Introduction to Leadership Brand"

Some executives just don't get it. They may say they believe in leadership, but they don't act like it. When times are good, they invest in leadership and proclaim themselves good corporate citizens, but in rough times, leadership investments are one of the first budgets they cut. What they really need is to understand how an investment in leadership will help them reach their own goals and their company's strategies--and how lack of leadership inhibits growth and confidence and diminishes value.

Building on last month's topic, "Six Steps to Building Branded Leadership", Norm Smallwood explains why leadership matters, and how you can demonstrate the value that leadership brand creates.

Additional Resources

	The ideas in this video are explored in-depth in the recent book "Leadership Brand" by Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich published by Harvard Business Press.
	View norm's video "Introduction to Leadership Brand"

If you are a leader or an individual responsible for developing leadership in a company and your senior leaders "get it" - they not only say leadership matters, they invest personal and corporate resources to make it happen - our online assessment will confirm the work you have done. But if you're dealing with a commitment to leadership that is only a thin veneer, you can use the arguments in this assessment to help build the case for investing in Leadership.

CLICK HERE, or on the graphic above, to take the online assessment now.

Additional Resources

	The Leadership Business Case Audit was first published in the recent book "Leadership Brand" by Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich published by Harvard Business Press.
	View norm's video "Making the Case for Leadership"

What are your leaders known for? Wal-Mart's brand - "everyday low prices" - is a household phrase. It's no coincidence, then, that Wal-Mart's leaders are known for relentlessly managing the company's costs. Or take Apple, Inc. - known for innovation and sleek design. Similarly, Apple's leaders are recognized for creative thinking that produces leading-edge products and services.

In this short video, Norm Smallwood discusses the six crucial steps for building branded leadership in your organization.

Additional Resources

	The ideas in this video are explored in-depth in the recent book "Leadership Brand" by Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich published by Harvard Business Press.
	View norm's video "Introduction to Leadership Brand"

"The the 21st Century HR Organization" - Part 2
By Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank

In Part 1 of this article "Are Your HR and Business Structures Aligned?", authors Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, and Wayne Brockbank described how to structurally align the HR organization with the organization structure of the business.

This month the authors take an in-depth look at the dominant Diversified/Allied business model, laying out the five roles and responsibilities of HR that respond to this organization model: service centers, corporate, centers of expertise, embedded HR, and operational HR. This summary lays out the duties of each role, the relationship among these roles, and suggestions for implementing this new HR structure.

	Download Part 2 in our series "Building the 21st Century HR Organization" in .PDF format.
	Download Part 1 in our series "Building the 21st Century HR Organization" in .PDF format.

Additional Resources

	Many of the ideas in this article are discussed in How Leaders Build Value.