The Role of Strategic Hr in Organizations Competing for Talent

1. Introduction:

Globalisation has been defined as the integration of the various national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology (Wikipedia 2010). The advent of globalization has caused the evolution of the environment in which business is conducted, with survival in the new global business market calling for improved productivity and increased competition. Due to the market becoming worldwide, companies in various industries have to upgrade their products and use technology skillfully in order to face increased competition.

"Through strategic planning and leadership, HR professionals must participate with their senior management peers to ensure their company's vision becomes reality."

Michael R. Losey (Institute of Management Service, 2000).

Senior management globally has come to the realization that the role of the human resources (HR) function has changed from business units previously excluded from participating actively in the in business decisions for most of its existence to business units whom are now required to play an active role in the fight to succeed and remain competitive (Brewster, Carey, Grobler, Holland & Warnich 2009). HR is now required to play a more strategic role in the organizations in which they serve and directly contribute to the financial wellbeing of an organization. This has not been more eloquently stated then by Ulrich, Losey & Lake (2000) one of the though leaders in the field of HR in the book "Tomorrow's HR Management" when they remarked:

"It has become increasingly clear that human resources (HR) in the future must operate strategically – not as the current ‘partner in business', but as a business in itself. There are a number of critical reasons to move in this direction, not least of which is that it may be the only way HR can take control of its own future."

Mouton (2010) states that a key challenge for 2010 will be to align the HR function to effectively harness the growth opportunities that will arise from the global economies moving from recession to recovery. One of the areas in which HR has increasingly been challenged to focus on is strategic resourcing. Strategic resourcing can be defined as the process of acquiring and retaining the people with the right mix of leadership, technical and business acumen that will steer their organizations into the future amidst an ever evolving and challenging business environment (Poisat 2010). With the advent of the technological advances that brought about globalization, organizations have found that they are not only competing for the top talent against competitors in their own countries, but vying for the best talent against organizations that are based