Topline and Bottom-line… or function of HR in outsourcing organization

How often are we saying: “those HRs are not helping me” or “this fXXXingly stupid new HR report drives me crazy” or “there is too much on my plate: happy people, happy customer, happy bosses...”.

That’s a usual staff. Outsourcing manager has all of these, and in disproportionally high manner. Someone may say that it is a challenge, someone more educated - that it is a cognitive dissonance. To sum up, that’s all bullshit and, we know, it is. The company wants the bottom-line (profit), it also wants a topline, sales, revenues, market share… this is what investors want. These contradicting demands crystalize somewhere around middleman (or, middle manager), who experience this cognitive dissonance. An advanced company realizes this, and it aims to help poor guy or girl, as much as it thinks it can… This is where an HR is supposed to step in, with its amiable and supportive function – “we will help you with the people problems: motivation, agitation, reinvigoration and rehabilitation”.

The reality is poor. Nobody knows your people as much as you do. HRs are, regularly, well uneducated and inexperienced to help you. They are also paid way below your regular middle engineer… so their illiteracy could be excused. You end up having unsatisfied people, bosses and customer with HR providing their gloomy “service” on top of this mess. The mess, which is, by the way, affecting your KPIs, bonus, family plans and your own professional ego.

Time to ask yourself a simple question. In the ideal world, what do I need? You know a lot about what your wants are. But, the question is very direct and uncompromising. WHAT DO YOU NEED TO ALLOW YOU PROFESSIONALLY PERFORM YOUR DELIVERY MANAGER’S FUNCTION IN AN OUTSOURCING ORGANIZATION?

Nobody asked you this. And, as a first reaction, you say: “Oh, gosh. I need to think…”

As a second thought passes thru your mind, you realize your need is very simple: “Let those people working on the project, be happy and never leave it”. As a third thought, it comes a really revolutionary one, “I need time to develop the business: client, relationship, expansion of service, some funny agile and follow-the-sun staff, try new delivery model, team layout etc. etc.” This is the TOP LINE. But… you never thought about it, right? And, you know why - you simply didn’t have the time, just straight uninterrupted 2 hours of work dedicated to a funny preso to help the client solve their problem. You were busy motivating people to do their job and fighting with HR to push back their stupid requests. Day after day, week after week, year after year … until a shiny start-up embraces you for a sexy half a year of really funny staff.

The reality is poor. Start-ups end up in 2 states: investors (see above) or dissolution.

Enough being said, and the context is set. TOP LINE is in the top interest of a delivery manager, and the bottom line is apparently is NOT. Stop the cognitive dissonance, you really don’t need to “motivate” the people, you just want them to perform their duties up to the top line. Your KPIs is the top-line, which are: 1) your commitment to maintain and expand the business, 2) the happy customer and 3) the state-of-the-art delivery process, driving the customers and engineers crazy, satisfying theirs and yours egos, and helping all these conglomerate to earn their wages, bonuses and extra vacation days. Fair enough! If you do so, you do a significant half of the company targets – the topline.

Ok, nice picture but where is the bottom-line? ( “ha-ha… ups… so, where is the money?”, Knocking on Heaven's Door ). Folks, this is HR. Keep steady but, how do you think HR can follow the Adam’s Equity Theory, or Expectancy Theory of Motivation, or 4 Types of BMod Reinforcement, or, simply, satisfy Herzberg’s 2-Factor Model of Hygienes and Motivators without having the authority to develop competence, own the compensation and other fringe benefits, and maintain career development plans for your buddies? BTW, is not this fair as well? Everybody is doing their job. Your job is the customer, HRs' job is the people. Your job is the topline, HRs are truly dedicated to the bottom-line.

For the sake of the post, enough is being said. The concept is here, and consequences are spatial. Deriving the interface between Delivery and HR (or, correct to say, Human Resource Cost Managers) is up to yours and your bosses' imagination, education and common sense judgment.

A sample is on the surface though. You are ready to start an INFORMATICA project, and, if you assume the people are there, you commit that you hit the topline. Fair. HRs estimate the training costs, hiring costs, labor market and organizational capacity of doing so, and come up with the COSTS. If they are committed but failed to fill the competency gap, they have underperformed on their KPIs. If your customer's opportunity didn’t materialize, you failed your KPIs due to the risks you haven’t estimated properly. In a glorious world, everything is vice versa but the idea of responsibility distribution is all the way the same. Everybody is doing their job: you earn revenue, HR justify and maintain the expense.