Week 2 Learning Log

Post 1:

This week I completed a Capacity Audit for the sales department of Hanna Instruments, where I am currently employed. Capacity audits or capacity builder are tools that HR professionals use to evaluate as well as build an organization (Ulrich, 2012, pg. 109). Capacity audits determine what is needed and where the focus should be for improvement (Ulrich, 2012, pg. 109). Below is my capacity audit that I filled out from completing exercise 5.1 (Ulrich, 2012, pg. 117):

After completing my Capability Audit, I found the three most critical areas are Talent, Shared Mindset and Accountability.

Use of SHRM Connect:

As an HR professional, it is important to asses a business and determine which areas need help or improvement in order to develop the organization as a whole. Completing a Capability Audit is one effective method in doing so. For this week’s SHRM discussion question, I am asking the SHRM connect community which of the three areas (Talent, Shared Mindset or Accountability) they feel should be addressed with regard to improving first, and why?

External Resources Explored:

Ulrich, D (2012) HR from the Outside In: Six competencies for the future of human resources. United States: McGraw Hill books. Pg. 92, 110, 109 and 117.

I used this resource to complete my Capacity builder audit, define capacity building, as well as learn about the factors of being a credible activist.

New England College of Business and Finance. Week 2 Lecture 1: The Credible Activist Competency. HRM501 Strategic Human Resources Management. (Video) Retrieved from: https://necb.instructure.com/courses/2845738/pages/week-2-lecture-1-the-credible-activist-competency?module_item_id=54671994

I used this resource to further investigate the context of what it means to be a credible activist along with the real world application of this concept.

Pennington, R. (2020). Building Trust as a Manager. SHRM. Retrieved from: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/people-managers/pages/building-trust-as-a-manager.aspx

This article talked about different methods of how an HR manager will go out of their way to build and establish trust within their organization.

Erickson, T.J., and Gratton, L. (2007). What it means to work here. Harvard Business Review. March 2007. P104-112.

This article talked about signature experience, and its’ importance for a business to establish their story as well as individuality and real-life examples from well know companies.

Meinert, D. (2013). Culture Drives Employment Brand. SHRM. Retrieved from: https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/Pages/Culture-Drives-Employment-Brand.aspx (Links to an external site.)

This article talked about company brands or signature experiences and how they are determined. This article also mentioned how to attract the right prospective employees using techniques that support the company brand. 

New England College of Business and Finance. Week 2 Lecture2: Capability Builder Competence. HRM501 Strategic Human Resources Management. (Video) Retrieved from: https://necb.instructure.com/courses/2845738/pages/week-2-lecture-2-capability-builder-competency?module_item_id=54671997

This article talked about the importance of recognizing the capabilities within an organization in order to determine areas in need of improvement to build a business. It also mentioned the importance or recognizing the strengths of the firm, and how they play a key part in recognizing the existing capabilities of the organization.

Jenkins, R. (2017). The Rise and Impact of the Employee Experience. Inc.com. Retrieved from: https://www.inc.com/ryan-jenkins/the-growing-relevance-and-importance-of-employee-e.html

This article talked about the effect of an organization’s experience, and how the experience provided effects its employees.