HR Competencies and the Relationship To

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MAY/JUNE 2006

Researchers in the field of strate-gic human resource management

have emphasized the view that

systems of human resource

(HR) practices may lead to higher firm

performance and be sources of sustained

competitive advantages (Wright, Dunford,

& Snell, 2001). Competing in todays

tumultuous global economy provides

additional challenges to the HR function

in creating the expected value to create

and sustain competitive advantages.

Brockbank, Ulrich, and Beatty (1999)

argue that for HR to be a profession, HRprofessionals must master the necessary

competencies, and that mastery of HR

knowledge comes from knowing the con-

cepts, language, logic, research, and

practices of HR. Furthermore, mastery of

abilities comes from being able to apply

the knowledge to specific business settings.

With growing emphasis being placed on

HR competencies as a means to increas-

ing HRs effectiveness, this research

study seeks to do several things:

Determine if competencies are predic-

tive of success in the HR profession.

Understand how competencies vary by

type of position within HR (entry level,

manager, director, and executives).

Determine if there is a relationshipbetween specific competencies and

particular responsibilities of HR pro-

fessionals.

Determine the relationship among

education, years of HR experience,

competencies, and compensation.

Competence of an individual is the know-

ledge, skills, abilities, or personality

characteristics that directly influence

ones performance (Becker, Huselid, &

Ulrich, 2001).

Literature Review

To sustain the transformation of the HR

function, HR professionals must develop

and demonstrate a new set of competen-

cies to fulfill their changing roles and

responsibilities (Yeung, Woolcock, &

Sullivan, 1996). In the widely cited

Michigans HR Competency Research

(Brockbank, Ulrich, & James, 1997),

the researchers identified five major com-

petencies expected of HR professionals:strategic contribution, personal credibil-

ity, HR delivery, business knowledge, and

HR technology. Becker et al. (2001) sug-

gested adding strategic HR performance

management as a sixth competency.

HR Competencies and

Their Relationship to

Organizational Practicesby Sunil J. Ramlall, PhD


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According to Becker et al. (2001), the strategic performance

management strategies are probably a little different and

support the notion that HR managers must think differently

about HR. The core dimensions of this competency are (1)

critical causal thinking, (2) understanding of the principles

of good measurement, (3) estimation of causal relationships,

and (4) communication of HR strategic performance results

to senior line managers. It is argued that with a stronger

competency in strategic performance management that an

HR professional would be better able to show correlation

and causal relationships between HR systems and financial

outcomes, customer value proposition, and even competi-

tive advantages.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the

University of Michigan Business School, and the Global

Consulting Alliance have since developed the HR

Competency Toolkit, which is in part designed to enable HR

professionals to assess and improve their HR skills

(Brockbank & Ulrich, 2004) and is now used by many HR

professionals across the world. According to SHRM, compe-

tencies have emerged that range from being a specializedand narrow application to being a leading method for diag-

nosing, framing, and improving most aspects of HR.

Furthermore, the research by Brockbank et al. (1999)

showed that HR activities positively impact business perfor-

mance (defined as the financial performance of the business

over the last three years compared to major competitors) by

approximately 10%. Strategic contribution accounts for

43% of HRs total impact on business performance, which is

almost twice the impact of any other domain. These are all

reasons why competencies are being discussed by academi-

cians and practitioners as ways of creating sustainable

competitive advantages.

Many other research findings have pointed to the relation-

ship of HR and HR competencies to increasing profitability

and creating competitive advantages. Competencies are needed

to enable an organization to achieve strategic, creative out-

comes and to maximize productivity.

In addition to traditional HR disciplines, the HR function is

now looked to for expertise in designing organizations and

organizational systems and for managing major changes to

increase competitiveness. Such outcomes require competency

in strategic contribution and ability to deliver HR services.

As cited in Patterson (2004), the following actions are being

taken by HR professionals in response to these respective

trends:

Increasing the use of technology to perform transac-

tional HR functions80%

Increasing HRs role in promoting corporate ethics

67%

Increasing investment in training for HR staff57%

Building people management or human capital compo-

nents into key business transactions (change management,

mergers, and acquisitions)54%

Encouraging certification for HR professionals54%

Measuring human capital52%

Increasing use of specialized HR practitioners31%

Increasing HR outsourcing21%

Decreasing HR outsourcing10%

Decreasing use of specialized HR practitioners9%

The increasingly global nature of competition requires that

firms use all their available resources to survive and suc-

ceed. Wright, McMahan, McCormick, and Sherman (1998)

concluded that this phenomena has resulted in an empha-

sis on the alignment of all functional activities of a firm

(e.g., finance, marketing, operations, etc.) toward the

achievement of strategic objectives. One consequence of

this trend is that many have called for a new strategic role

for the HR function.

This role entails two major aspects. First, the HR executive

should provide input into the firms strategy to ensure thatthe firm has the human resource capabilities to implement

the strategy. Second, the HR function needs to ensure that

the HR programs and practices are in place to effectively

implement the strategy. Given this requirement, it is quite

obvious that HR professionals must be fully competent in

strategy development, implementation, and evaluation.

An approach within the strategic perspective on human

resources management (HRM) pertains to how the overall

set of HRM practices is generally associated with firm per-

formance and competitive advantage (Ferris, Hochwarter,

Buckley, Harrell-Cook, & Frink, 1999). Central here is the

resource-based perspective (Barney, 1991) such that, collec-tively, a firms human resources are believed to have

implications for firm performance and provide a unique

source of competitive advantage that is difficult to replicate

(Wright, McMahan, & McWilliams, 1994).

In another study, business knowledge, customer orientation,

effective communication, credibility and integrity, and sys-

temic perspective were identified as competencies

corresponding to structures and needs in organizations

(Yeung et al., 1996).

A competency model can serve as an integrative framework

for an organizations entire HR system. It can help align theHR system vertically with the organizations strategic objec-

tives or horizontally with other HR functions to ensure

harmony and consistency across the many facets of HR

activities that impact human performance (Rothwell &

Wellins, 2004). Moreover, taking talent management exper-

tise forward is central to the future success of the entire HR

profession (Boudreau & Ramstad, 2003). The authors reiterate

that the HR profession can evolve into a true decision science

Performance Improvement Volume 45 Number 5 33


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34 www.ispi.org MAY/JUNE 2006

of talent and aspire to the level of influence of disciplines

such as finance and marketing.

With the shifting role of HR, organizations must establish

new covenants with customers, manage disruptive technolo-

gies, create new forms of engagements with employees, and

face the scrutiny of investors who determine a firms market

value by assessing its intangibles, not just its present or past

earnings (Ulrich & Beatty, 2001). Tied to the changing

demands of the HR professions are the new competencies

enabling HR to be effective in driving firm performance and

creating sustainable competitive advantages.

Methodology

The study used a cross-sectional design collecting data at

one point in time versus a longitudinal research where data

are collected from a sample at different points in time to

study changes or continuity in the samples characteristics

(Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996). The target population was HR pro-

fessionals in the upper Midwest region of the United States.

HR professionals for the purpose of this study include indi-viduals who practice in the field of HRM and who hold

full-time exempt positions.

Survey Design

Based on theories, concepts, and frameworks discussed in

the literature review, the author designed a survey as the

primary means of data collection for the study.

The instrument was compiled to include multiple sec-

tions. The first section sought information on the

participants position classification (job title), industry,

years employed in HR, years in current position, and high-est educational attainment. The second section of the

survey had the participant identifying the competencies,

skills, and attributes HR professionals should possess and

the competencies the participants employers emphasize

in various employment practices. Compensation informa-

tion was also included in this section. The third section of

the survey listed 12 specific strategies and activities

(Becker & Huselid, 1998; Brockbank et al., 1999;

Giannantonio & Hurley, 2002). A scale of 15 was used to

indicate the level of competence needed in ones job and,

second, the level of the employees competence for the

specific HR activity; 1 represented least competent and 5

represented highest level of competence.

As a way to determine the construct validity of the instru-

ment and to enhance its effectiveness, a pilot study of the

survey was conducted on a stratified sample of 12 HR pro-

fessionals including senior executives, HR managers, and

HR generalists. Respondents were asked to review the

instrument and provide feedback on the utility of the ques-

tions, recommend additional questions, eliminate questions,

and determine if the questions were able to collect the

appropriate data needed to fulfill the purpose of the study.

Items that were consistently identified by the focus group

were included in the final survey.

Sample

The target population for the study was HR professionals in

the upper Midwest United States belonging to professional HR

associations. Surveys were sent to 224 HR professionals at 66

different companies. The 66 companies were selected through

stratified random sampling as a means to ensure population

validity. The 66 companies represented Fortune 500 compa-

nies, other large and medium-sized companies in retail,

banking and finance, state and city government, agriculture,

education, manufacturing, and transportation industries.

According to Bracht and Glass (1968), one of the criteria for

judging experiments is population validity, which is the

extent to which the results of an experiment can be general-

ized from the sample that participated to the population.

Stratified random sampling ensured that companies wererandomly chosen but included samples from multiple

industries, size of companies, and financial performance,

among other factors. The reason for taking a stratified sam-

ple is to have a more efficient sample than could be taken on

the basis of simple random sampling. Another benefit is the

assurance that the sample will accurately reflect the popu-

lation on the basis of the criterion used for stratification

(Zikmund, 2003).

Given that this study used correlational and causal-compar-

ative research among other statistical tools, it was

imperative to include at least 30 companies in the research.

Using statistical power analysis, 224 employees from 66companies were selected, enabling higher levels of reliabil-

ity, validity, and generalizability. The sample included vice

presidents of HR, HR directors, HR managers, HR general-

ists, and HR specialists. The sample only included exempt

level HR professionals.

Reliability Test

To determine the reliability of the data collected, the author

used Cronbachs alpha to test the responses received. The

quest was to determine the proportion of the variability in

the responses that was the result of differences in the

respondents. The result was 0.668. Under the assumptionthat the item variances are all equal, this ratio simplifies to

the average interitem correlation, also resulting in standard-

ized item alpha of 0.662.

Although an alpha of at least 0.8 would have been preferred,

0.7 would be acceptable given the multidimensional nature

of the data, and, hence, a satisfactory measure of how well

the variables measure the respective constructs.


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Results

Responses were received from

108 of the 224 participants for a

response rate of 48%. There were

three surveys that were undeliver-

able. Of the 108 participants who

returned their surveys, approxi-

mately 18% were HR directors,

34% were HR managers, 25%

were HR generalists, 17% were

HR specialists, and 6.5% were

vice presidents. Table 1 provides

the specific numbers of individu-

als by job category.

Years of Experience

The average number of years of experience for the overall

sample was 10.45 years. Not surprisingly, vice presidents

had the highest years of experience within HR. HR general-

ists and managers had relatively similar years of experience,with HR specialists showing more years within the HR pro-

fession, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Education

Of the 108 participants, 13 had a high school diploma/GED

as the highest educational attainment, 60 had a BA/BS

degree, and 35 had an MBA/MA/MS. Of the 19 HR direc-

tors, six possessed an advanced degree, eight had an

undergraduate degree, and five had a high school diploma

or equivalent as the highest educational attainment. Among

the vice presidents, six of the seven participants had earned

a graduate degree and one had an undergraduate as thehighest educational attainment. Among the HR generalists,

seven had an advanced degree, eighteen had an undergrad-

uate, and two had a high school diploma or equivalent as

the highest educational attainment (see Figure 2 and Table 2).

Relationship Between Specific Competencies and Success

in the HR Profession

For purposes of this study, it was assumed that a higher

level of compensation was correlated with relatively more

success in ones position. The exception may be in a union

environment, where pay

may be based in part on

longevity and not solely

on performance. Thus,

one of the dependent vari-

ables used in this study is

annual base compensation

as a measure of success in

ones position.

The average annual salary for HR directors in this study was

$95,395. HR generalists had an average salary of $74,075; HR

specialists averaged $55,178; and, as expected, HR vice pres-

idents averaged significantly higher at $162,857. Table 3

provides the descriptive statistics for the compensation data.

Based on the findings of Brockbank et al. (1997), the fre-

quency of participants citing knowledge of the business,

strategic contribution, personal credibility, HR delivery, HR

technology, andas added by Becker et al. (2001)mea-

surement as competencies HR professionals should possess

to effectively function as strategic business partners were

listed as some as the core competencies of HR professionals.


Table 1. Participants by Job Category.

Table 2. Overall Educational Attainment.

Figure 1. Years of Experience by Job Category.


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As Table 4 shows, the participants of the study did not allagree that the listed competencies were seen as critical to

success in the HR profession. The results showed that

knowledge of the business, HR delivery, and strategic con-

tribution were viewed as the most important competencies.

Quite surprising, especially given the emphasis on ethical

standards and emphasis on gaining respect in organizations,

personal credibility was cited with relatively low frequency

compared to the other measures.

When asked if they understand the business in which they

worked, 57.4% of the respondents stated a level of 4 on a scale

of 15, with 5 being the highest level of expertise. Another

18.5% stated that they had a perfect understanding of the busi-ness, and 24.1% evaluated themselves at either 1 or 2. More

than 80% indicated a 4 or 5 level of expertise in delivering HR

services, with similar results for managing change.

Only 6.5% of the respondents felt that

they had an extremely high level of exper-

tise in strategic contribution. A majority of

the respondents (74.8%) indicated an

average level of expertise in this area.

More than 80% indicated a relatively low

level of expertise in measuring HRs efforts

and showing how HR contributes to the

overall bottom line of the organization.

It has been frequently recommended by

many scholars that HR professionals

should understand the different perspec-

tives of a business and be able to converse

using accounting, marketing, and other

functional areas terminology. More than

70% of the participants perceived them-

selves to have a high level of expertise in

these functional areas and in staying

abreast with HR research findings; how-

ever, approximately 30% were reading

professional and academic journals and magazines on afairly regular basis. This finding supports previous studies

citing significant gaps between HR self-perception and per-

ceptions from scholars and organizational executives. For

example, Wright, McMahan, Snell, and Gerhart found that

line executives seem to view HR as being best at providing

basic HR services but are not quite as impressed with HRs

effectiveness in contributing to the business (2001).

Based on the regression analyses with annual base compensa-

tion as the dependent variable and predictors as HR

measurement, knowledge of the business, HR technology, per-

sonal credibility, strategic contribution, and HR delivery, one

can infer that there is a direct relationship between anemployees annual compensation and the above-listed compe-

tencies. Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 provide a graphic display of the

results of the respective regression analyses. As the results indi-

Figure 2. Summary of Education.

Table 4. Frequency of Self-Identified Core Competencies.

Table 3. Descriptive StatisticsCompensation.


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cate, the higher the level of ones expertise in

the respective competencies, the higher the

annual compensation.

Competencies of Various HR Position

Classifications

As identified in Table 5, participants identi-

fied their ability to deliver HR services,

technical competencies in HR, ability tomanage change, self-assessment of knowl-

edge of the business, and ability to manage

an organizations culture as the highest

ranked competencies. In contrast, HR profes-

sionals did not report high expertise in

accounting concepts, marketing strategies,

strategic contribution, or HR metrics and did

not report spending a lot of time reading

journals or staying abreast with recent HR

research findings.

As described in Figure 6, vice presidents listed all of the

core competencies at 100%, except personal credibility; two

of the seven did not list in their respective responses com-

petencies necessary to effectively serve as strategic business

partners and players in organizations. In this study, HR

directors viewed HR delivery as the most important compe-

tency to possess. Almost 74% cited HR delivery as a

necessary competence. Only 37% of the HR directors

viewed measurement as an important competence.

For HR generalists, knowledge of the business was cited

most frequently (49%). Compared to the literature, this find-

ing shows a highly significant disparity for the

competencies HR generalists view as being significant toeffectively functioning as strategic business

partners. The results show that among the

HR generalists in the research sample, many

of the generalists said they were lagging in

their awareness or belief of the established

competencies ability to enhance their

performance as HR professionals and subse-

quently the performance of the HR function.

One of the encouraging results of the study is

that even though HR directors, managers,

generalists, and specialists may not report

that they possess all of the competencieswithin one particular classification, as an HR

function the core competencies are all

viewed as important and as a function HR

professionals possess the competencies iden-

tified by the literature to enhance firm

performance.

Activities HR Professionals Spend Time On and the Link

with Competencies

It is of critical importance to understand what activities HR

professionals are spending their time on and if these activi-

ties are value added. Ulrich (1998) stated that HR cannot

expand its role in an organization without the requisite

expertise. Becoming a strategic partner demands a degree of

knowledge about strategy, markets, and the economy. In

addition, Ulrich said, To meet the increased expectations

of their organizations, HR professionals must begin to act

professionally. He emphasizes that they must focus more

on the deliverables of their work and less on just getting

their work done.

Figure 4. Relationship Between Compensation and Ability to Manage Change.

Figure 3. Relationship Between Compensation and Ability to Deliver HR Success.



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Regardless of this profound advice and many echoing simi-

lar thoughts, HR departments in global organizations still

appear to be overwhelmingly preoccupied with transac-

tional issues, according to a survey from Price Waterhouses

Global Human Resource Solutions. Survey respondents say

that 59% of their energy is absorbed by administrative mat-

ters and only 6% is spent on strategic concerns

(McShulskis, 1998).

The results of this study suggest that, on average, HR pro-fessionals spend most of their time functioning as internal

consultants, on staffing activities, and on implementing

HR strategies. On the other spectrum, the least amount of

time is spent dealing with legal issues, labor relations,

and partnering with senior executives on strategy formu-

lation. Table 6 provides a complete list of the activities

where HR professional are spending their time and other

investments.

HR scholars have continually advised

that to be effective as strategic business

partners, HR professionals must be able

to partner with senior executives on

strategy formulation. So why arent

more HR professionals spending more

time on this critical activity? This study

did not specifically address this ques-

tion, but a comparison could be drawn

between competencies of performing

tasks where HR professionals are spend-

ing most of their time as compared to

competencies of performing tasks such

as strategy formulation.

The results showed that 6.5% of the

sample self-reported their level of

expertise on how to do strategic plan-

ning at a 5 on the scale. Given that

HR professionals are viewed or would

like to be viewed in such manner, it is

clear that much more emphasis has tobe put on developing

this competency. Another

32% indicated a level 4

expertise in strategic

contribution. So one

possible explanation

for their not spending

more efforts on strate-

gic contribution might

be the lack of expertise

to perform this core

task in organizations.

A Pearson correlation

of strategic contribution

and partnering with sen-

ior executives showed a value of 0.451 establishing a

relationship between these two factors. Although not an

extremely strong relationship, in a practitioner world, such infor-

mation proves extremely helpful in decision-making processes.

The Relationships among Education, Years of HR

Experience, Competencies, and Compensation

In trying to determine if there were any relationships among

multiple organizational issues, this research sought to determinethe impact of education and HR experience on salary, the rela-

tionship between education and core HR competencies, and the

relationship between HR experience and core HR competencies.

The regression equation (see Figure 7) basically shows that

with additional education and more years of experience in

HR, ones salary will increase. Although there is a relatively

lower R-sq, the p values are highly significant. A separate

Figure 5. Relationship Between Compensation and Expertise in Strategic Contribution.

Table 5. Descriptive Statistics: HR Competencies (Overall).


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sample of nine HR profes-

sionals was taken to test this

equation. Eight of the nine

employees salaries came

within $3,000 of the amount

calculated using the equa-

tion as compared to their

actual salaries.

In addition, correlations

were done among educa-

tion, salary, and each of the

respective HR competen-

cies used as measures in

this study. The results are

provided in Table 7.

Based on these correlations,

the ability to deliver HR

services had the most signif-

icant relationships with the

ability to manage changeand manage culture, the

ability to effectively partici-

pate in strategic contribution, and HR technical competence.

Experience positively related with compensation, knowledge

of the business, ability to deliver HR services, ability to man-

age change, ability to effectively participate in strategic

contribution, and HR technical competence.

The factors that most significantly related with strategic

contribution were HR technical competence, accounting

skills, marketing skills, and HR metrics. The ability to effec-

Table 6. Descriptive Statistics of HR Activities (Percentage of Time Spent on Particular Activities).

Figure 6. Identification of Core Competencies by Job Classification.

Figure 7. Regression Analysis: Salary versus Education, HR Experience.

The regression equation is

Salary = 4014 + 2880 Education + 2548 HR Experience

Predictor Coef SE Coef T P

Constant 4014 22834 0.18 0.861

Education 2880 1363 2.11 0.037

HR Experience 2547.9 419.9 6.07 0.000

S = 26010.8 R-Sq = 27.5% R-Sq(adj) = 26.1%


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tively manage change was most closely related with strate-

gic contribution, HR technical competence, marketing

skills, HR metrics, and reading academic and practitioner

journals. The factors that most significantly correlated with

the ability to manage culture were staying abreast with new

research and reading academic and practitioner journals.

Discussion

As cited in Lawler & Mohrman (2003), articles, books, and

studies have all argued that HR professionals need to become

more effective strategic business partners. Given that numerous

studies have shown a positive relationship between strategic

HRM and firm performance, this study sought to identify the

competencies that lead HR professionals to becoming effective

business partners and players in organizations.

In todays global economy, HR professionals are continuously

challenged to show how their function is creating value.

Much emphasis is being paid on the competencies necessary

to enable HR to be successful in helping create sustainable

competitive advantages. Over time, many have written andspoken of the importance of HR spending time on issues that

add value and less time on the transactional activities that are

not very value-added. The results of this study suggest that

there is still a significant amount of time being invested in the

traditional transactional activities rather than the transforma-

tional HR activities that have been proven to add more value

to the bottom line of the organization.

The results provide a reminder to HR professionals of

the value of graduate degrees, professional certification

through the Human Resource Certification Institute, and

other means of developing higher levels of HR technicalcompetence. Of additional importance are understand-

ing the benefits of accounting, marketing, and other

different functional areas to effectively develop and

implement HR strategies. Understanding the impact of the

competencies on the various organizational practices

could contribute to a more directed strategy in developing

expertise among HR professionals, leading to a more cred-

ible and effective function.

With a growing emphasis on HR metrics, the results of this

study suggest a lack of time and expertise on this strategy.

There is clearly a need for more emphasis on measuring

HRs contribution to the business strategy and the effective-

ness of the respective HR strategies. The findings of this

study support notions of Ramlall (2003) and Becker et al.

(2001), who emphatically stated the need for metrics as a

core component of the HR strategy.

Although there are many positive results for the HR profes-

sion in general from this study, there are clearly many areas

that seem to be lacking. To be a true strategic partner and

player, HR professionals and other executives of organiza-

tions have the opportunity to focus on developing the

critical competencies necessary to enhance HR effective-

ness and, hence, maximize shareholder value. As has been

established by the International Society for Performance

Improvement, one of the keys of strategic interventions is

to improve performance, guide the change management

process, and evaluate the results. Furthermore, the partner-

ship in strategies between HR and human performancetechnology (HPT) enforces the need to emphasize outcomes

that enhance organizational effectiveness, measure strate-

gies, and ensure that employees possess the necessary

competencies to improve performance at the individual,

process, and organizational levels. In the end, both HR and

HPT strategies are focused on adding value, and without

key measurements one is quite unlikely to determine the

value created.

Implications for Practice

Given that there is a growing need for HR and HPT profes-

sionals to provide significant input into the firms strategy,

the core competency of being able to contribute strategically

appears to be one that needs continual improvement. Ulrich

(1998) reiterated that strategic contribution accounts for a

significant portion of the total impact of HR on the business

performance. With a self-identified expertise mean of 3.2 for

strategic contribution, HR professionals in this study clearly

perceive gaps here.

From the results, other business subject matters such as

accounting and marketing have proven to be key contribu-

tors to strategic contribution. A high level of HR technical

competence is evident in higher levels of strategic contri-bution. This can frequently be obtained through formal HR

education, on-the-job training, or professional certifica-

tion. Regardless of the source, the data show a relatively

strong correlation between HR technical competence and

strategic contribution. HR and HPT professionals without

the relevant technical competence need to develop the

appropriate expertise to ensure HRs contribution to busi-

ness success.

Implications for Future Research

Given that this study was a cross-sectional research, it

would be beneficial for HR or HPT professionals to con-

duct longitudinal research examining the impact on

organizational practices and outcomes as competency lev-

els change. Another major opportunity for research is an

examination of the effectiveness of undergraduate and

graduate HR programs across the United States in developing

the competencies necessary for HR professionals to ade-

quately contribute to a firms success and in their

respective careers.



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HR Experience Education Salary Understands Bus.

Education -0.0600.537

Salary 0.494 0.146 0.000 0.133

Understands the Bus. 0.307 -0.063 0.3270.001 0.518 0.001

Delivers HR 0.438 -0.081 0.238 0.4040.000 0.402 0.013 0.000

Manages Change 0.341 -0.088 0.456 0.3640.000 0.367 0.000 0.000

Manages Culture 0.166 -0.064 0.140 0.3640.085 0.511 0.148 0.000

Strategic Contri. 0.302 0.056 0.437 0.2410.001 0.563 0.000 0.012

Technical Competence 0.345 -0.099 0.090 0.0690.000 0.308 0.354 0.480

OD Skills -0.057 0.119 0.089 0.1070.556 0.220 0.359 0.271

Accounting 0.247 -0.127 0.220 0.0670.010 0.190 0.022 0.492

Marketing 0.186 0.082 0.521 0.1650.054 0.399 0.000 0.087

Metrics 0.146 -0.039 0.132 -0.1460.132 0.686 0.172 0.132

Stays abreast w/res -0.131 -0.018 -0.076 -0.0990.178 0.852 0.434 0.308

Reads journals -0.054 0.057 0.095 0.2420.576 0.558 0.327 0.012

Delivers HR Manages Change Manages Culture Strategic Contrib.

Salary 0.494 0.146 0.000 0.133

Manages Change 0.279 0.003

Manages Culture 0.310 0.1980.001 0.040

Strategic Contri. 0.404 0.276 0.0770.000 0.004 0.428

Technical Competence 0.394 -0.212 0.041 0.2970.000 0.028 0.673 0.002

OD Skills -0.145 -0.253 -0.012 0.0670.135 0.008 0.902 0.488

Accounting 0.300 -0.045 0.077 0.3680.002 0.644 0.426 0.000

Marketing 0.099 0.286 0.178 0.1970.310 0.003 0.066 0.041

Metrics 0.010 -0.271 0.036 0.2190.914 0.005 0.711 0.023

Stays abreast w/res. 0.136 -0.291 0.334 0.1570.161 0.002 0.000 0.106

Reads journals 0.079 0.313 0.335 0.1350.418 0.001 0.000 0.165

Table 7. Correlations: HR Experience, Education, Salary, and Competencies.


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Conclusion

It is hoped that HR and HPT professionals will be able to

use the information from this research to enhance practices

in organizations, to enhance firm competitiveness; it is also

hoped that researchers will be able to build on this knowl-

edge base to create additional new knowledge on HR

competencies and the impact on firm performance.

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Table 7. Correlations: HR Experience, Education, Salary, and Competencies (continued).


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Sunil J. Ramlall, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of

Management at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He earned his PhD

from the University of Minnesota. His primary research interests include iden-

tifying and understanding HR competencies and the impact on individual and

firm performance, HR metrics, linkages between HR strategy and theimpact on firm performance, positive organizational behavior, employee

training and development, and HR technology. Sunil may be reached

at [email protected].



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