The development of a diagnostic tool for the assessment of competencies for human resource management professionals in South Africa

Abstract

Organisations worldwide are currently experiencing a complex and dynamic changing environment in which they must compete to remain sustainable. This highlights the need for the human resources (HR) function to be more proactive, progressive, and worthy of respect. Yet, empirical research on competence requirements for HR practitioners in the South African context has not been forthcoming. The few detailed empirical research studies conducted focused primarily on the roles and practices that HR practitioners should execute in South African organisations, without focusing on the underlying competencies needed to execute these roles effectively. The mam objective of this research was to develop a diagnostic tool for the assessment of competencies for HR professionals in the South African context. For the present study, HR officers and managers of various public and private organisations were chosen as the unit of analysis, as they are in the best position to act as informants on the competencies they desire in HR practitioners. The study employed purposive convenience sampling, whereby the respondents were chosen based on their availability to participate and their ability to provide the desired information. The sample size for this study vari~J according the different steps, as prescribed for scale development. The sample sizes were as follows: pilot study- N = 189, validation study- N = 483 and current application of HR competencies - N = 481. Data analyses were done with the aid of SPSS and EQS statistical software, and included descriptive statistics (i.e. means, standard deviations, skewness, kurtosis, and frequencies), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, reliability analyses, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and t-tests. From our document analyses, we concluded that HR management (HRM) can be considered a 'semi-profession.' Currently, professional HR bodies are limited in terms of independence, their contribution to society, their body of knowledge, and research. Furthermore, the professional bodies lack legal status and recognition by the wider public. HRM is thus an occupational group in South Africa that displays some characteristics of a profession, and is, therefore, in the process of professionalisation. For the pilot study, exploratory factor analyses resulted in three distinguishable competence dimensions for HR professionals: (1) Professional behaviour and leadership (with the factors of Leadership- and personal credibility, Organisational capability, Solution creation, Interpersonal communication, and Citizenship); (2) Service orientation and execution (with the factors of Talent management, HR governance, Analytics and measurement, and HR service delivery); and (3) Business intelligence (with the factors of Strategic contribution, HR business knowledge, and HR technology). All factors showed excellent reliabilities. In the validation study, exploratory factor analyses resulted in three distinguishable competence dimensions for HR professionals: (1) Professional behaviour and leadership (with the factors of Leadership- and personal credibility, solution creation, interpersonal communication, and Innovation); (2) Service orientation and execution (with the factors of Talent management, HR risk, HR metrics, and HR service delivery); and (3) Business intelligence (with the factors of Strategic impact, HR business knowledge, Business acumen, and HR technology). All factors showed acceptable construct equivalence fur the English and indigenous language groups. The results furthermore showed that significant differences exist between the respondents regarding the importance of HR competencies, based on the variables age, qualification, job level, and years of work experience. Younger-generation respondents with a higher level qualification viewed Leadership- and personal credibility, Solution creation, Interpersonal communication, and Innovation as more important than did those with a lower level qualification. Furthermore, respondents on management levels with more work experience regarded solution creation and implementation as more important, compared to operational groups and those with less work experience. Finally, the results showed that HR many competencies are poorly applied in both private- and public-sector workplaces. The application of talent management, HR metrics, HR business knowledge, and innovation was considered the poorest. Furthermore, the results also showed that white ethnic groups experienced a poorer application of all HRM competencies compared to the experience of the black African groups. This research makes impmiant theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions. From a theoretical perspective, this study adds to the limited empirical knowledge that exists on HRM competencies in the South African workplace. Moreover, this research also contributes to the clustering and refining of key HR competencies, to provide a more holistic and condensed approach to achieving HR professionalism. Methodologically, this research introduces a new and reliable HR competence measure that can be used to track the development of HR professionalism and competence in the workplace. Managers and HR professionals can therefore use this measurement as a basis to improve HR competencies and subsequent HR service delivery. Recommendations for practice and future research are made.