How Would You Grade Your Company?

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July 12, 2007 - By Roger Sommer, SPHR

That was the question asked of human resource professionals who visited OI Partners at the 2007 SHRM Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas. At previous SHRM conferences, visitors to the OI Partners booth graded their companies on how well they are faring in five key HR areas of greatest importance to them:  Talent Recruitment, Talent Retention, Leadership Development/Succession Planning, Compensation/Benefits Costs and the Aging Workforce.

This year, participants were asked to assign a letter grade, just like in school, to designate how well their respective organizations are performing with these five functions. Grades assigned ranged from "A" to "F."

Following are the results from the "Report Card:"

Talent Recruitment:	B
Talent Retention:	B
Leadership Development/Succession Planning: (8.5% of graders gave their organizations an F in this area)	C
Compensation/Benefits Costs	B
Aging Workforce (defined as knowledge transfer from those retiring to those remaining):	C

These are average grades with some companies receiving an A for the way they are handling these issues, and others demonstrating lots of room for improvement. Fortunately, OI Partners firms are equipped to help organizations improve their grade point averages. Simply ask for some tutoring...

Roger Sommer, SPHR, is vice president of client relations for OI Partners (Los Angeles). Roger has more than 25 years' experience in all facets of human resources. He earned a Masters of Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and teaches graduate level HR courses for Chapman University. He can be reached at (310) 441-8393 or rsommer@oipartners.net.