Putting HR in rotation: experts say rotation programs are the best way to gain a broad view of the business, yet HR often leaves itself out of the loop - Cover Story - human resource professionals should become strategic business partners

HR Magazine, March, 2003 by Robert J. Grossman

Condino meets with Ryan monthly, attends her operations staff meetings and tackles assigned "homework," such as meeting one-on-one with Ryan's finance officer. "I'm a people person, but I need to understand the financial side of health care to do my job better," Condino says.

And she's gaining appreciation of the big picture. "I'm thinking more globally, learning how my part fits into the whole strategic plan," she says. She hopes to move up the HR ladder but finds the challenges of line management intriguing too.

"My heart is in HR, but who knows what may open up?" she says. "Right now, I'm finding managing a gift shop that generates $1 million in annual revenues an interesting challenge."

* General Electric. At GE, which offers a rotation program for HR entry-level staffers, about 150 participants do three eight-month rotations. The goal is to hire talented people who can become senior HR leaders in the company. Candidates, average age 26, usually have some prior work experience and a graduate degree--either an MBA or a master's in labor and industrial relations.

The program enjoys a living legacy of senior executives like Susan Peters, who passed through in 1979. Peters currently serves as vice president for executive development, where she oversees the growth of GE's top 600 executives.

The program offers tremendous opportunities to participants, says Peters. "The big attraction is the variety they get in the first few years," she says. "They see different businesses and different functions. You might start in labor relations, and then go to compensation, then to staffing, then benefits."

About a decade ago, GE added a cross-functional rotation to the mix, and it has become a key component of the program's success. "You have to go on the audit staff or become a marketing person for one rotation," Peters says. "We've learned that the HR function has to have good connectivity with the business operations and it improves the credibility of the individual later on.

Originally, some participants were unhappy with the program. "It takes people out of their comfort zone, which is good," Peters says. Now, she says the problem is not grousing but losing talent to the line after the rotation.

Forming Partnerships

Employers that lack the time or resources to implement formal rotation programs can opt instead for informal partnerships with other functions. Such programs require less of an investment in time and other resources and still may pay dividends in terms of helping HR professionals acquire the tools to become a viable business partner.

* St. John Health. St. John Health is a Michigan health system that covers nine hospitals, including Condino's St. John Hospital and Medical Center. The rotation program for the St. John Health headquarters office, in Warren, Mich., was born when two organizational effectiveness (QE) staffers asked to partner with line managers in an effort to better understand how hospitals work.

Mary Nabor, corporate director for organizational effectiveness, saw the OE staffers' interest as an opportunity to get HR more involved. She put together a pilot program exclusively for HR, setting up mentoring relationships between the OE staffers and line managers. The pairings enable the participants to develop new relationships and gain knowledge of operations.