Do you have your process defined?

I am reading my blog posts (yes, it has been so long since I blogged that I have lost track!) – and thinking, how did I forget process definition?! Turns out, I didn’t miss out on process definition, but went with the assumption the process has already been defined. Going by my experience since I wrote the last blog, I realize that is not the case, especially so with the start-ups. HR processes have their own evolution curve. Most organizations start off with adhoc processes with a “whatever that works” policy, because HR is not their core and they are absolutely right in doing so in that stage of the organization. However, as the organization grows and crosses that invisible threshold, the need to create a defined policy and process emerges.
Process definition is definitely the foremost step even prior to considering budget or getting into evaluating technology options. Without a defined process, it is quite easy to get lost within the technology landscape. I have seen many companies first pick the technology vendor then look into what process they have in place. The vendor’s promise that they have a “standard process” in place looks too good and the organizations take the bait and decide to go with the standard process based on best practices.
I come from the school of thought that there is no one best practice, especially when it comes to HR. HR processes evolve depending on the organization’s culture and the kind of people involved in executing the process and the country (or even the state or the county) to which the organization belongs. Thus one standard process cannot work well for all. What the vendors sell is usually a configurable product that allows only a defined set of configuration variations.
If you really want your HR processes to empower and extract the highest performance out of your people, you should invest in the right place – defining sound HR processes and then go looking for technology options to enable the process.