The HR 'Executive Mini-MBA'

Course overview

The pressure is now on all HR functions. Outsourcing and consulting contracts are eating into the traditional security that HR enjoyed. It is not enough to just deliver good transactional services. In today’s environment if you are not adding value it is not long before someone starts asking challenging questions about the value-added by HR.

Business leaders want more from their HR professionals. They are seeking a more proactive and challenging role that forces managers to think about how they are leveraging people and the organisation for business success. New business requirements demand new business contribution or input – focused HR skills and competences.

This programme will provide all the necessary insights and information to make the transition.

Aligning people to strategy, creating the right culture and developing future organisation capabilities are critical. The way we reward and manage our people, how we reduce costs and improve productivity, how we organise ourselves and manage the enterprise – these are some of the strategic questions that senior HR people need to be addressing.

Who should attend?

This unique programme has been expressly designed to give busy and experienced HR professionals the chance to take stock, to pause and reflect on the way they contribute to the success of the organisation and refine their skills to make a real difference.

The programme provides a unique forum for HR professionals to learn more about vital elements of the business model and link them to the role of HR in today’s world. You will also have the opportunity to share your own experiences and challenges with fellow HR professionals in a relaxed and confidential environment.

If you want to develop your business acumen, your strategic management skills and be a high performance HR professional then this intensive programme is for you.

What this programme will do for you?

Current research and anecdotal evidence suggests that many HR professionals still have some way to go when it comes to contributing to the real business agenda. To become a truly effective high value-added business
partner, HR needs to get closer to the business context and understand some of the classic challenges. This specially designed MBA style programme aims to combine both a strong business content – looking at strategy, finance and marketing – with a highly focused HR content. The programme is designed to challenge and provoke by reviewing the real effectiveness of many classic HR processes. It will use core elements of a business agenda and illustrate how to drive linkages to HR’s services.

What are the benefits of attending this unique programme?

By attending this programme you will:

• Develop a wider business understanding how HR can contribute to the business agenda
• Consider your current modus operandi against some of the leading edge developments in HR
• Question the role and contribution of the HR function against a number of key principles
• Compare the way you operate with the practice of other HR managers from different organisations
• Examine the issues involved in migrating the HR function from an administrative unit to a strategic business partner relationship

What this programme will do for your organisation?

This programme will equip HR professionals with the vital components necessary to move to a high valued-added business partner or change-agent role. Our faculty and programme methodology will challenge participants to fundamentally review their current operating style and consider some re-positioning strategies.

Style of working

We will utilise our highly successful and proven ‘Executive MBA’ methodology to ensure the best use of time and balance participants’ experience with expert input. These sessions have been designed to give you an opportunity to how current practitioners have managed key products. The aim is to develop a small network of HR contacts within the context of the busy programme agenda. By definition, we will be focusing on a more strategic agenda so we will be examining policy issues and applications rather than detailed tactical implementation issues. At the same time we will be utilising the experience of senior HR practitioners and providing real insights into their current business and HR challenges.

Please note that during the programme specific sessions may extend or shorten based on the group discussions and needs.

Programme

MODULE 1-Mastering Strategy and Strategic HR Thinking

In this module you will explore the elements of strategic thinking and the key tools that are employed within HR. During the module you will examine and analyse how strategic planning tools can be applied with the HR function to link and integrate the people side of business performance with the overall business strategy.

PROGRAMME INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Classic notions of business strategy

• What is strategy and strategic thinking?
• A guide to deliberate and emergent strategies
• Examining notions of core competence and competitive advantage
• Reviewing classic strategic challenges
• Classic matrix models – BCG, GE

Linking business strategy and the people side of business performance

• A case for business and people management coherence
• Avoiding the classic traps – Confusing a people management strategy with what the HR function does
• Corporate case studies
• Reviewing the current challenges facing the HR function
• Addressing the people management value chain
• Addressing the line ownership challenge
• From HRM to business partner and change agent
• Adopting a client centred approach
• Assessing how HR contributes in your organisation today
• Comparing practice on core activities with other participants
• HR – A cost or value-added perspective?
• Human capital as competitive advantage – Intellectual capital measures
• Comparing how current practices anticipate future demands
• What’s happening in my business? – Group discussions

MODULE 2-Strategic Finance and Commercial Skills for HR-Your Role as a ‘Business Person’

This module is designed to help you understand the language of business finance and to know what questions to ask your financial colleagues. It will provide you with a clear understanding of the key aspects of financial and commercial management from an operational perspective, show how HR links with the finance function and enable you to gain a deeper understanding of the key financial indicators that are useful within HR.

• The finance function – A functional view
  • Identifying the links between strategy, business planning and financial control in a demand driven commercial environment

• The link with the HR function
• The business finance cycle and how we account for it
• Exploring the key information in financial statements and
  • The annual report
  • What’s important?
  • What does it mean?
  • How can it be used?
  • Where do labour costs recapture?
  • Where is the HR cost?
  • Investigating capital structure and the links with operational gearing

• The vital aspect of cash flow – The one fact in all the data
• Traditional analysis of company accounts
• Using financial ratios as a measure of performance
• Analysing the numbers
• Examining the financial indicators
  • Examining labour productivity and performance measures
  • Qualitative and quantitative decisions
  • Budgeting for HR functions
  • Economic value added
  • Can we evaluate training events? – Participant profiling ideas
  • Profit planning

• Profit improvement – through staff appreciation of the role they play and the financial consequences of their actions!

MODULE 3-Strategic Marketing of HR Services in the Organisation

This module will examine how HR can successfully market it’s services to the rest of the organisation; how to position itself; identify the product and define the client and the client needs; how to apply some of the classic marketing strategies and techniques to raise the profile of HR within the organisation.

The context for HR in today’s organization

• HR in transition – The new style and approach
• Where am I – Business partner? Change agent? Administrator? Service provider?
• Reviewing our current approach – Identifying our internal customers/clients
• Establishing the service and product needs
• The critical issues for business partner and change agent role
• Comparing practice on core activities with other participants
• Concluding HR assessment and gap analysis

CASE STUDY: Managing Strategic development across the organisation
Presented by Mike Staunton, Executive Development and Succession Planning Director, VT Group Plc

MODULE 4-Strategic Change Management and HR as a ‘Business Partner’

The final module has been designed to develop your skills and expertise to understand and implement the strategic change effectively within your organisation. As with all the modules you will be encouraged to work in groups to consider your own organisation and share your analysis with colleagues.

HR as a business partner managing organisational and business change

• HR as an agent for change – Moving to organisational development
• What really goes on in change projects
  • Understanding the linkages of culture, organisation, people and systems

• Recognising the key tasks and psychology involved
• Classic HR interventions – Mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, systems implementations
• Reviewing past and current classic challenges
• Real life case study analysis and discussion
• Identifying the key success factors in organisational change
• Using organisational tools to identify the issues and communicate effectively
• Apply SWOT, 7S’s, COPS, Force Field Analysis etc
• Managing the politics and commitment issues – Managing stakeholders and stakeholder analysis
• Selling HR initiatives – Highlighting the options

Action planning

• Programme review – What have I learnt?
• HR capability and skill set review
• Personal action planning and discussion
• Group review and discussion
• Actions for HR team and community on return

The expert faculty

Programme Director

Mark Thomas is an international business consultant, author and speaker specialising in human resource management, business planning, managing change and executive development. Prior to becoming a Senior Partner with Performance Dynamics Management Consultants he worked for several years with Price Waterhouse in London where he advised on the business and organisational change issues arising out of strategic reviews in both private and public sector organisations.

As well as exploring the links between strategy and execution Mark also has a very strong expertise in helping HR function’s re-define their roles. He has been very active in advising and assisting HR functions refocus their operations and services. For several years he was Programme Leader for Management Centre Europe’s Strategic Human Resource Management Programme. He regularly conducts programmes and initiatives that assist HR functions in making the transition to a business partner and change agent role. He is a visiting faculty member at the Tias Business School in Holland and also lectures at the Suez Corporate University.

Mark’s global consulting experience has included major multi-national corporations such as: Motorola, Barclays Capital, ECB, Reuters, Alliance Pharmacy, Pfizer, Cisco, Sony, Coca Cola, Unilever, Nestle, Philip Morris, Sara Lee, Shell, Schroders, Alcatel, NCR and Autodesk. Mark’s early career was spent in corporate management and his experience included a range of executive roles with the US, NCR Corporation and UK Unigate Group; where he was involved in all aspects of HR and organisation development.

Programme Presenters

George Fildes is Managing Director of Qualitas Consultancy which specialises in financial training and consultancy. With over twenty years experience in general management, George’s experience spans business management, logistics, customer operations and financial management. He has been involved with mature, turnaround and startup companies. His career has primarily focused on the automotive sector including organisations such as Lex Service Group, Volkswagen Group, and finally as Operations Director for VirginCars.com. In 2001 he established Qualitas Consultancy and has since developed a series of tailored business improvement programmes for his clients who include BBC, Exel, Thames Water, Portakabin, Calor Gas, Pfizer, Toshiba, 3M and HBOS.
George is a charted management accountant (FCMA) with a Cranfield MBA. He also has a Diploma in Marketing and is an accredited finance tutor for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and Derby University.

Nick Kelly is a highly experienced HR Director having previously held roles with JP Morgan, UBS, Barclays and Sedgewick and Marsh. He has been responsible for driving HR’s contribution across a range of complex business changes including mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and shifts in business redirection.

Mike Staunton is a practicing Learning and Development/HR Director with experience of leading strategic HR and change management initiatives across several large organisations including VT, Interbrew and Motorola. Mike has held a range of senior HR roles and is well versed in leveraging the people side of organisations to business performance.

Think Tank sessions

Think Tank Sessions

Each day the programme director will review the key learning points from each module, illustrate the HR and Business linkage and discuss them with the group. This provides an excellent opportunity for you to consider the key learning points in relation to your own organisation and examine them with other participants and the trainers. You will finish the course with an action planning session led by the programme director which will include a full review of the programme and an HR capability and skill set review. You will start to develop a strategy for action for yourself as an individual and your HR team to built on when you return to the office.

Case study

HR ‘Real-life’ Case Studies

The programme includes 2 case studies delivered by HR practitioners. These sessions have been designed to give you an opportunity to hear from current
practitioners how they have managed key projects. It will give you an insight into the challenges and pitfalls that have been faced within these organisations, lessons learnt and the tactics taken to overcome them. The key learning points will be drawn out and linked to the programme by the programme directors.

Past delegates’ comments

What past delegates have said….

Excellent course, well worth the time

Gill Winker, Associate Director of HR & Facilities, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Ltd

All course content was extremely useful

Yvonne Rogers, Head of Human Resources & Training, Protherics Plc

Mark and George’s style was spot on – I have never been so engaged with a learning experience before – it has been an absolute joy!!

George is exceptional at engaging and retaining the interest of a non-financial audience

Nothing was missing from the course – it has ticked all my boxes – I shall be recommending it to colleagues and external units

Chloe Braithwaite, Head of HR, UCAS – Universities & Colleges Admission

Excellent course

Lisa Johnston, HR Manager, CCEA

Fantastic four days – Well organised, fantastic speakers – really enjoyable and informative, good handouts and use of different learning material

Kate Beckham, HR Business Partner, Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd

Very well organised, excellent presenters

Jelena Milivojevic, HR Partner technology and support functions, Telenor doo

Excellent speakers, encouraged thinking on real issues

Joanne Irwin, HR Business Partner, Glasgow Caledonian University

You might also be interested in...

Delegates who attended this course also went on the following courses:

Client portfolio

Our client portfolio for this course includes the following companies:

Airbus UK	Glasgow Caledonian University	Protherics UK Ltd
Alcatel Lucent	Kingspan Ltd	Raytheon Systems Ltd
Anixter International Ltd	Kraft Foods UK Ltd	SembCorp Utilities HQ
Astellas Ireland Co Ltd	LG Philips Displays	Solvay Pharmaceuticals
CAS/Clinical Solutions	Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service	Sortex Ltd
CCEA	Linden Foods Ltd	Syner-Med PP Ltd
Cable&Wireless	Metroline Travel Ltd	T&F Informa Plc
Coca-Cola Africa	NHBC	Taylor & Francis
Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd	Nabarro	Tees Esk & Weir Valleys NHS Trust
Egmont UK Ltd	Newage AVK SEG	Telenor doo
Enterprise Ltd	Northern Trust	The Automation Partnership
Estee Lauder Companies	OGDCL	UCAS – Universities & Colleges Admission
Fleetguard/Cummins	Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC)	Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Ltd
Forthports Plc	Omega Performance Corporation
Fresenius Kabi Ltd	PC World Business