Canadian HR Reporter

Choosing your Choosing your Choosing your FEATURES HR EDUCATION No easy answers when it comes to being an HR specialist or generalist By Andrea Garson i t's an issue every hr profes- sional must consider: do i want to be a specialist or generalist? And there are no easy answers. As the name implies, an HR spe- cialist possesses expertise in one or two specific functional dis- ciplines, most commonly com- pensation, benefi ts, training and development, recruiting and staff - ing, health and safety or HRIS. Al- ternatively, a generalist possesses broad knowledge of many func- tional disciplines. Two factors are important to consider — the requirements of the organization and individual career objectives. From an organization's per- spective, a team of HR specialists provides many benefi ts: •They possess subject matter expertise in all functional areas of HR, ensuring that programs and policies remain current and competitive to attract and retain great talent. •They have the ability to dive deep into key areas to solve rel- evant business challenges. For example, with a top-notch talent acquisition team, an organiza- tion can rely on their expertise to not only source and pre-screen candidates but also develop re- cruitment strategies, eff ectively use employer branding, develop standardized policies and pro- cedures for sourcing, selecting and screening, as well as develop the skills in hiring managers to make the best hiring decision. ey can bring science to the art of recruitment. • e HR team can focus on their core areas of interest or expertise and avoid the "Jack of all trades" perception a generalist approach can bring. • ey can narrow the scope of problem-solving when present- ed with business challenges be- cause the longer a person focuses on a specifi c area, the narrower his perspective becomes and he may have diffi culty providing so- lutions for vague or ambiguous people and business issues. On the other hand, HR general- ists also provide benefi ts: • ey possess broader business knowledge as they are in the trenches with employees and managers, understanding day- to-day business challenges. • ey are able to mitigate issues earlier as they can identify and address problems before a spe- cialist may be required. •They have the skills to adapt quickly to a changing environ- ment and multiple priorities. However, generalists may lack expertise in specialized areas for complex HR-related issues and may need to incur additional costs to seek specialized expertise to solve issues. For example, if an organization's sales force is failing to achieve its targets, it may need to consult a compensation spe- cialist to determine if the design of the compensation program is motivating the wrong behaviours to eff ectively sell their products or services. To be a truly eff ective gener- alist, it would be wise to spend a portion of your career develop- ment as a specialist. We typically know early in our careers what excites us and what we're good at. However, to be a truly valuable HR practitioner, having some areas of expertise as a generalist makes you that much more valuable. In my 22-year career, I was a generalist for 17 years but I did spend fi ve years specializing in various functions, including tal- ent acquisition, compensation and training and development. I was fortunate to have mentors and bosses who saw the value of focusing my talent on specific business challenges that forced me to get to know the business in much greater depth than I would have in a generalist capacity. Coming out of those roles, I knew without a doubt I was a gen- eralist at heart — but I was much better equipped with the knowl- edge and expertise to solve most business issues. Large organizations can off er HR employees a similar dual ca- reer path as they would have both specialized and generalist roles in the HR department. is allows a specialist to remain in his desired function and a generalist to part- ner with specialists when solving complex issues in the business. Many professions face the same question around specialization — law, medicine, engineering and fi - nance, to name a few. ese days, it's not possible to know every- thing about a chosen fi eld and the same applies to human resources. If you are an HR practitioner trying to decide which path to take, consider these questions: •Do you require a predictable environment or do you thrive on uncertainty? As a generalist, you will do multiple things in the course of any day — you may set out to work on a benefi ts presen- tation but end up addressing a serious employee relations issue with a manager. •Do you get bored easily? Spe- cialists spend most of their time working on similar projects. If you fi nd doing the same thing over and over is mundane, then a generalist role may be the bet- ter option as you will be wearing many hats throughout your day. •What is the current state of the economy? When businesses are thriving and talent is at a short- age, being a specialist in recruit- ing, for example, will almost guarantee you employment. If the economy is in a downturn, businesses will rely on generalists to do the work of specialists and outsource as required. •What is your passion? Where do you want to end up in your ca- reer? If your goal is to run an HR department, then the generalist path is the way to go. If you know one of the functions is what ex- cites and interests you, then be- ing a specialist is the answer. In today's environment, organi- zations are looking for HR practi- tioners who can see the forest for the trees, who can be big-picture thinkers who vary their perspec- tive based on the challenges in front of them. Breadth of per- spective will usually trump depth of knowledge when building and growing an HR team. Having a team of specialists could yield a less fl exible depart- ment that cannot adjust to com- peting demands. HR practitioners with strong analytical, people and reasoning skills — developed through broad generalist expe- riences — will be more attrac- tive than those focused on func- tion-specific skill development throughout their career. Too often, senior-level hiring managers promote their most successful specialist to run a spe- cific department, not realizing she lacks the leadership skills re- quired to be eff ective at managing — strong leaders require multiple skills that generally are not devel- oped in a specialist role. HR is no diff erent. Today's or- ganizations are looking for an HR business partner, a generalist who has a seat at the table, who un- derstands the business needs and develops and executes a people strategy to support that. is can only be found in a true generalist. at's not to say there isn't a place for the specialist, however, if an organization has to choose, in today's world, it will choose the generalist. Andrea Garson is vice-president of human resources at Cardinal Health Canada in Vaughan, Ont. She can be reached at (905) 417-2726 or andrea. garson@cardinalhealth.ca. Credit: Ollyy/Shutterstock

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