While high-level human resources professionals have been involved in performance management, this hasn't been the case for lower-level HR positions, such as the HR generalist, says Jay Jamrog, senior vice president of research of Institute for Corporate Productivity. The HR generalist role has typically been one of an order taker with more administrative duties. For example, when a new position is necessary, the HR generalist begins recruitment.
But for a company to improve on its corporate goals, even the HR generalist should transition into the performance adviser role, meaning they directly work with line managers and help them increase the performance of their employees, Jamrog says. With their in-depth involvement regarding talent management, this also helps ensue HR is bringing in high-quality talent when recruitment is open because they have a higher understanding of what that manager needs from his or her employees.
"At that level, HR is not usually helping managers drive performance," Jamrog says. "Their job should go way beyond that of tactical administration. They need to help managers embed strategic reports into the business-planning process and actually define the critical talent segments. The manager is responsible for the development of people, and HR as a performance adviser is there to help them do a better job."
Recommended For You
For an HR generalist to become a more effective performance adviser, a company should consider placing that employee into a profit and loss role for a period of time, Jamrog says. By doing so, the HR generalist gains a more intimate understanding of how the business works and turns a profit, and this helps that HR generalist better identify talent needs.
"They better understand how the company operates and how it makes money, and that's a key component," Jamrog says. "It's not about business acumen; it's about how the business works and how they make money. You can't learn that from reading a book or taking a class. It's customized development for HR people. Then, when they are working with line managers to help develop talent, they have the confidence and the credibility to ask those big questions about the future of the business."
Of course, to move into this role as performance adviser, HR needs the support of senior leadership; however, there is a perception gap among senior leadership regarding what impact HR has made on the business, Jamrog says. To battle this perception gap, HR should be more proactive and market how it benefits the organization as a whole.
HR generalists can prove their worth by focusing on delivering evidence-based metrics to senior leadership that speaks to HR's effectiveness, Jamrog says. Instead, many HR professionals are focused on organization efficiency measure, but that does little to show the value of HR. Some of these evidence-based metrics include gauging the quality of hire, productivity, the quality of movement and the quality of attrition.
"More and more companies are moving toward evidenced-based HR," Jamrog says. "They are looking at more predictive metrics, and those now play a big role in HR today."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
