When it comes to organizational practices we seem to live in a copy cat world. Human Resource is one such domain where similar sounding (Yes resoundingly the apt word can only be sounding...) practices abound across the organizations. There is strong tendency to look at what others are doing, emulate them, follow what they do and think that we would achieve success. So if you take a dozen processes in an organization you would find they resonate across different organizations in the industry. However there are two things to keep in mind. First is about “contextualization” and second is about “Substantive composition”
Contextualization is about understanding the scope and context in which the process, the tool or the framework you have adopted or implemented. Take for example that most companies have a performance management system. How much is it contextualized. What does performance mean in the industry. Do you need a separate framework for sales versus the consultants, or will incentives work. How much should you bank on deferred compensation.
Second one is about substantive composition. How you implement in your specific organization is more of a cultural thing. They way your people do performance discussions, the reliance of managers in career development framework, the coaching tendency of your managerial staff and other leaders, the way rewards and recognition is valued when delivered all of these are cultural.
I can give my whole process manual for performance management in my organization to a competitor but sadly it can never be implemented the way it was done in my organization. It can be copied but it can't be implemented for the same outcomes. Our HR practices and systems are not 'freely mobile' for implementation outcomes and if they were so then every industry entity say (in IT for example) would have implemented the same kind of processes (yes they do have similar looking one's) and would have reaped similar benefits. But this is far from true as seen over past 2 decades.
In conclusion remember....
"It is not the form that your HR systems and processes take that makes the difference and lets them stand apart --rather it is the substance behind the form that the systems and processes take makes them so".
I can give my whole process manual for performance management in my organization to a competitor but sadly it can never be implemented the way it was done in my organization. It can be copied but it can't be implemented for the same outcomes. Our HR practices and systems are not 'freely mobile' for implementation outcomes and if they were so then every industry entity say (in IT for example) would have implemented the same kind of processes (yes they do have similar looking one's) and would have reaped similar benefits. But this is far from true as seen over past 2 decades.
In conclusion remember....
"It is not the form that your HR systems and processes take that makes the difference and lets them stand apart --rather it is the substance behind the form that the systems and processes take makes them so".
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