Survey Finds People, Often Overlooked, Critical to the Success of the Automotive Industry
7 August 2000
People Issues Such as Staffing, Training and Development and Employee Communications Cited as the Most Important Factors in a Company's Success
DEARBORN, Mich. - A survey, developed to determine how the human resources function fits into today's automotive companies, found that people issues, including recruiting and retaining qualified staff, training and development, employee communications and productivity growth are among the most important factors in a company's success.More than 400 respondents, representing top leaders at over 230 automotive and automotive-related companies in Europe, Asia and the United States, participated in the survey, which was conducted by Towers Perrin.
There was overwhelming agreement among the survey participants that human resources is a key component in the development and implementation of an organization's overall business strategy, with 86% of respondents indicating they agree or strongly agree.
However, less than half of the respondents indicated that HR strategy in their organizations is actually integrated with the overall business strategy, or understood and accepted by top management.
"Part of the challenge for many HR executives is being viewed as a full business partner within their organizations," states Linda Crawford, Towers Perrin's Detroit market manager. "Our survey found that HR's lack of credibility with line management, along with the perception by top management that HR is not strategic, are among the top barriers preventing the integration and acceptance of HR strategy.
"These findings pose an interesting challenge for today's human resources executives. First, they must find ways to delegate or offload the administrative tasks that consume much of their time so that greater focus can be placed on strategy. Secondly, they must build credibility with both line and senior management as a value added partner in developing the business," states Crawford.
While the vast majority of respondents considered pay (81%) and benefits (77%) important to job satisfaction, a surprising percentage also cited work environment (76%) and learning and development (71%) as being important to job satisfaction.
"Companies may wish to take note of this finding since learning and development was also cited as third in importance to ensuring the company's success behind recruitment and retention," advises Crawford.
The survey also found that, with the modest exception of the corporate intranet, technology is not being used effectively to support HR activities. Only 41% of those surveyed said that their companies were using electronic HR bulletins. Only 37% had an HR information Web site. And only 29% allowed on-line benefits enrollment.
"Companies can use technology to free up resources for more important tasks," says Crawford. "For example, by developing an on-line HR system, some administrative tasks can be automated, allowing the HR staff to focus on more strategic issues."
The survey findings will be discussed in more detail at the Management Briefing Seminar, August 7 - 12, 2000, for the auto industry, which is presented by the University of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT). Towers Perrin participates in the conference to discuss the human resource and people management issues that are becoming increasingly important in the auto industry. The firm partners with OSAT to present an annual conference, Connecting for Results: HR Issues at the Speed of Change, for the auto industry on human resource issues each March at the Dearborn Inn in Dearborn, Michigan.
Towers Perrin is one of the world's largest management and human resource consulting firms. It helps organizations improve performance and manage their investment in people, advising them on human resource strategy and management, organizational effectiveness, compensation, benefits and communications. The firm has more than 8,000 employees and 78 offices in 74 cities worldwide.
