The HR Manager – an underrated executive, "Dienas Bizness"
Riga, Latvia – The HR Managers of most large companies do not participate in the work of the board. This role is seen as that of an administrator, not a partner of the management team.
Evita Lune, Partner and Country Manager for Latvia, discusses new research conducted in Latvia by the BA School of Business and Finance, and Riga Technical University Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management.
21% of the largest Latvian companies (each with more than 200 employees) participated in the research. The BA School of Business and Finance cooperated with the Riga Technical University in a unique project which examined trends and tendencies in human resource management across Latvia’s largest companies. One of the main findings of this research was that HR Managers in Latvia could potentially invest in and contribute to business operations to a significantly greater degree.
70% of the HR Managers involved in the research did not participate in the work of the Board. According to the researchers, this clearly shows that in Latvia, the HR Manager has more of an operational and administrative role, and is not seen as a member and partner of the management team.
"A powerful HR Manager in a top management team can make a significant contribution and have a long-term positive effect on business results. If the HR Manager of a large company only has an administrative role, this could indicate one of two situations – perhaps the HR Manager is not sufficiently interested or qualified to participate in the decision-making processes at the top, or perhaps the company is neglecting the potential of its managers and employees while it concentrates on processes, technologies and other factors affecting business.”
As a practical step to improve the situation in large companies in Latvia, Ms. Lune recommends implementing a rotation scheme for high-level management positions. For example, the sales, finance and production managers could try their hands in the HR Manager’s role, breaking down corporate stereotypes and bringing fresh perspectives to the board.
Evita Lune joined Pedersen & Partners in 2005; she is Partner, the Country Manager for Latvia and Head of the Retail Practice group. As Partner Ms. Lune also takes on regional oversight, and through completing numerous senior level assignments Ms. Lune has established strong cooperation with clients in Poland, the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia and CIS across such sectors as: Consumer Goods, Retail, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing and the Professional Services sectors. Her previous experience includes three years with the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga as the Executive MBA Program Director and six years with Shell in international regional marketing management functions in Riga, Budapest and Brussels.