What is David Ulrich Human Resource Model ?

Nothing is permanent but change, and the world of human resources has not been immune to this. Now, the role of human resources has also changed massively, and they are not just seen as recruiters but also as strategic partners that add value to the company’s brand image.

One reason for this change is new theories developed in recent years. The David Ulrich Human Resource Model is one such framework used widely in corporate organizations. It was developed by Dave Ulrich, a renowned HR professor and consultant. According to this model, roles and responsibilities can be divided into four parts.

Strategic Partner

The first pillar of the David Ulrich Human Resource Model states that recruiters are strategic partners to leadership. The model sees recruiters as partners in leadership, helping them make strategic decisions that shape business strategy and drive organizational growth and profits.

The responsibilities of HR under this are as follows:

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Align HR Strategy with Business Goals

The Human Resources Department must engage in workforce planning, manage hiring, and create recruitment practices that align with the company’s business goal. In addition, recruiters need to work closely with the company’s executives to draft policies to improve the company’s performance.

Workforce Planning & Talent Management

The hiring frequency is not similar year-round, so recruiters need to plan accordingly. Recruiters need to identify talent that may potentially become future employees. In addition, they also need to develop leadership programs by analyzing market trends that will allow them to have a clear plan of succession.

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Driving Organizational Change

Every industry is prone to companies going through mergers, splits, and restructuring. On top of that, there is always a chance of disruption happening in the industry. Thus, recruiters need to have a clear set of policies to prepare for such an occasion. In addition, they also need to devise strategies to make employees more resilient and adaptive.

Using Data & Analytics 

Data is said to be the new oil, and even recruiters need to harness it when making policies. These data should be collected and categorized into metrics measuring employee performance, retention, and engagement, such as Output per Employee, Task Completion Rate, and Error Rate.

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Change Agent

Nothing is permanent but change. And this is what the second pillar of the David Ulrich Human Resource Model states. According to the model, a recruiter has to make a company adapt to changes in the industry owing to new trends. They act as agents of change, helping both the leadership and the employees navigate through changes in the industry.

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Managing Organizational Change

A company could either be going through restructuring, mergers and splits. So, the recruiter here has to act as facilitators helping the company go through these changes. A change in the workplace causes cultural shifts, new policies. It is the job of the recruiters to ensure these policies are smoothly implemented and the employees are also made aware about them.

Building a Culture of Adaptability

Action and adaptability create opportunity. This is also true for companies. In the real world, there are bound to be several situations where a company or its employees have to adapt. However, this adaptability can only come when employees continuously learn and innovate. Recruiters can guide employees with tools and learning opportunities to better themselves.

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Overcoming Employee Resistance 

People resist changes, and this is the case when the organization undergoes restructuring, mergers, splits, or acquisitions. The new policies may cause the employees to feel alienated and become resistant to these changes. This is where recruiters need to be effective communicators by listening to and resolving all the concerns of the employees.

Driving Leadership Development

Changes in the workplace usually come with a change in leadership. And since they have a lot of power in their hands to drastically change the work environment of an organization. Recruiters need to conduct regular leadership programs to train future leaders who could step u[p when the opportunity comes. These leaders should be trained in every aspect of corporate qualities, such as leadership, communication, critical thinking, adaptability, and resilience.

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Employee Champion

The third pillar of the David Ulrich Human Resource Model is called the Employee Champion. As the name suggests, this pillar is focused on the employees’ well-being, care, engagement, and development in the organization. Recruiters have to become interlocutor between the employees and the management. Research has indicated that a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated performs at their best.

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Employee Advocacy

The first thing a recruiter has to do is become an advocate for the rights of the employees. They have to ensure that all the employees’ concerns, criticism, or feedback reach the management level and that they are made partners in the decision-making process.

In a situation where a conflict does arise, the recruiter has to act as mediator, ensuring all measures are taken to resolve the dispute quickly. Doing so promotes a positive work environment, allowing employees to feel relaxed and work at their maximum efficiency.

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Workplace Engagement & Morale

A motivated workforce is a great sign that the company is going in the right direction. Thus, the recruiter has to continuously ensure that the employees have job satisfaction.  This can be done by conducting continuous employee surveys focusing on concerns. The feedback that is collected must be analyzed to find any loopholes in the system.

Lastly, there needs to be special programs that must be recognized and awarded. This will motivate the employees to further bring their best work to the table.

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Employee Well-being & Support

Recruiters should encourage pro-employee initiatives such as work-life balance, mental health, and stress management. Some ways to do this to encourage wellness programs, hybrid working models, and health insurance benefits. The company has to also conduct sensitization training for managers to ensure that employees feel supported if they are going through any personal emergencies or professional challenges. 

Talent Development & Growth

Change is the only constant which is why companies should always encourage their employees to upskill and improve. This can be done through training programs, learning opportunities (LinkedIn Learning, Udemy) and mentorship. Employees who excel in these opportunities should also be awarded with hikes or promotions or both. Doing so, will motivate all the other employees to do the same.

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Administrative Expert

The final pillar of the David Ulrich Human Resource Model is the Administrative Expert. While the other three pillars focus extensively on how recruiters should be part of policymaking, the Administrative Expert focuses on the HR department itself. According to the model, a recruiter has to ensure that the company has a robust administrative workflow. In addition, they should make robust HR policies and optimize the workforce where they perform at their maximum efficiency.

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HR Process Optimization

This part deals with ensuring that the basic HR systems which handle things such as payroll, benefits administration, and compliance are working smoothly. The job of the HR is to ensure that any work is done smoothly with as minimal bottlenecks as possible. This involves identifying and eliminating any red tapism to ensure operational efficiency.

The use of automation tools should also be adopted especially for doing the boring and mundane tasks. Digitalization also saves time and money and is a great way to keep large quantities of data.

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Policy Implementation & Compliance

An HR professional should also be an expert in policy implementation and ensure that they align with the company’s goals and objectives. In addition, they have to also consider that all the governmental guidelines (such as labor laws, sexual harassment cell) are being strictly followed.

Furthermore, based on the industry that the company belongs to there are specific standards and regulations that the company must abide by. Lastly, comes the legal workplace practices and ethical policies that must be followed to ensure every employee has the confidence that in times of crisis they will have a robust mechanism to rely on.

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HR Technology & Data Management

The HR professional should also ensure that the data of the employees including recruitment, training, is managed efficiently using Human Resource Management System (HRSM) software such as Workday, Oracle HCM Cloud, and BambooHR. They also need to ensure that their HRMS works smoothly with their Application Tracker System (ATS) to ensure smooth recruitments.

Furthermore, they used the data collected by such tools to analyze performance, employee satisfaction, and workforce trends.  This can be used during the times of hikes to reward the best performing employees. Using data allows them to improve the decision making process and find any loopholes in the organization.

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Cost Management & Efficiency

A recruiter has to optimize the workforce and ensure any redundancies are addressed as quickly as possible. Efficiency also means that less and less time is spent on manual administrative work, with digital tools being used to do so. For example, using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to automate several aspects of the hiring process.

Another way to manage cost is to ensure less is spent on recruitment. That can be done by making the work environment positive and inclusive, which will lower the attrition rate, which in turn will lower the cost of turnover.

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Workplace Inclusion & Diversity

Recruiters should also encourage initiatives such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) hiring that increase workplace diversity; several researchers have found that diversity is linked to a company’s growth. For example, a series of studies by McKinsey & Company called ‘Diversity Matters’ has shown that diversity in a company can increase its chances of profit by 25 percent.

However, a diverse workplace means policies that treat all employees fairly have to be implemented. 

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Advantages of David Ulrich’s Human Resource (HR) Model

In today’s age, many companies have adopted Ulrich’s Human Resource (HR) Model to take from a traditional setup to a modern one. This models also enhanced the role of HR which can elevate the entire image of the industry. So, what  a the advantages of David Ulrich’s Human Resources (HR) Model

Aligns HR with Business Strategy

The biggest advantage of   David Ulrich’s Human Resource (HR) Model is that it elevates the role of HR from an administrative functionary to a strategic partner. This allows HR to be more involved with leadership and share ideas that ensure the workforce is aligned with the company’s goals and objectives.

As a strategic partner, they need to have a robust hiring process that identifies and hires talent that aligns with the company’s long-term mission. For this, they can rely on data to analyze patterns that allow them to make informed strategic decisions.

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Enhances Organizational Change & Adaptability

HR is also an important asset in helping an organization change and adapt to the demands of its industry. In the long run, it helps during transitions, ensuring they don’t affect employees’ performance while maintaining their confidence and motivation. 

They also have to create a culture where employees continuously strive to improve themselves. This can be done through e-learning platforms, mentorship programs, and leadership development. Adopting a growth mindset should also help bolster critical thinking, which increases the chance of innovation and experimentation.

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Improves Employee Engagement & Satisfaction

It also considers the well-being of the employees and recognizes their value to the company. More often than not, employees find themselves without a voice in the company, which can greatly decrease their morale and affect their efficiency. 

Doing this ensures the workplace has higher productivity, lower turnover, and lower attrition rates. This improves the company’s brand image and acts as word-of-mouth publicity, thus helping attract the best talent.

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Strengthens Employee-Employer Relationship

The recruiter also has to work on ensuring that he is the bridge between the employee and the employer. In a workplace, conflicts are bound to happen due to a clash of ideas. However, it is the job of recruiters to ensure such conflicts are quickly resolved. The job of HR is to encourage open and honest communication, which can help them identify any issues in the company.

It is also the HR’s job to ensure that all the employees’ concerns are taken into account during the decision-making process.

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Boosts Business Competitiveness

The companies are moving to David Ulrich’s model because it puts HR in a position of power, allowing them to make changes that can increase the company’s competitiveness. In the cutthroat business world, companies  don’t want to yield an inch to their competitors. Thus, they need to equip recruiters with powers that can help employees and employers.

The David Ulrich model equips recruiters with powers and responsibilities. This is why they need tools that can help them automate some of the tasks, especially the ones that are boring and cumbersome.  For example, ATS can help with the digitalization of the recruitment process. However, this is not enough, which is why companies are now increasingly relying on services of the Interview as a Service (IaaS) tools. Such tools harness the power of Artificial Intelligence to help create a robust interview plan.

At the end of the day, the IaaS platform is no more a luxury but a necessity. One such platform is BarRaiser, a state-of-the-art AI-based interview assistant that will take the quality of your hiring to the next level. With BarRaiser, recruiters can create a detailed interview plan for candidates. The interviewer can give specific instructions to our AI bot to create an interview, such as:

• The questions for the interview 
• The number of rounds for the interview 
• The duration of the interview and its specific sub-parts 
• The number of parts that the interview must be divided into and their durations 
• Must have questions 
• The number of experience required for the job posting 
• Must have skills
• Additional Skills 

Using these instructions, our tool will create a structured interview format to ensure an unbiased candidate selection process.

After this, our AI Interview Copilot assists the interviewer, giving them specific instructions. For example, if the interview exceeds the time limit, the AI bot will alert the recruiter to speed up the process. In addition, we are also committed to making our process as unbiased as possible. This is why our AI transcribes and records every interview and immediately raises an alert if the recruiter uses language that might be considered discriminatory to the candidate. 

After the interview, the AI asks for a detailed review of the candidate from the interviewer. We believe that our tool is an assistant and not the decision maker, so it formulates answers only after receiving instructions from the interviewer. While this is happening, the AI is also creating another report that measures the recruiter’s effectiveness and their performance. This report acts as a check and balance to ensure accountability for every stakeholder involved in the recruitment process.

Using BarRaiser, we guarantee quality hiring that will bolster diversity and inclusion. BarRaiser is the best AI interview platform that features structured interviews and tools to ensure quality hiring while eliminating recruitment bias. With BarRaiser’s support, you’ll be well-equipped to build a strong team of sales associates who will drive sales and deliver exceptional customer service.