In addition to seeking community input and researching other organizations, the HRPD Team called on several individuals who have expertise in the human resource area. Their insight and wisdom helped the team define its focus, shape its inquiry, and apply information from other organizations to MIT. Several members of the Sloan faculty guided the team in many ways. Robert McKersie and John Carroll helped plan and participated in the orientation of the team. Lotte Bailyn, Mary Rowe and Edgar Schein shared their research on work family issues and organizational change. Additionally, Professors McKersie, Schein, Rowe, Maureen Scully and Deborah Ancona offered welcome criticism on the first draft of the recommendations.
Cheryl Locke, Vice President of Human Resources at the University Medical Center in Florida and former Vice President of Human Resources at American Express, provided a retrospective on her efforts to lead change for her current and former employers. She confirmed the need to position HR as a strategic partner within the organization; she also verified the need for high-level, visible leadership and support.
Lyle Spencer, author of ReEngineering Human Resources, shared with the team, its sponsor, and the personnel officers his vision of a paperless human resource system. He envisions that the human resource professional of the future will spend 80% of his or her time on strategic issues, and 20% on more traditional service delivery.
In addition to ongoing process consulting, Hay/McBer provided classroom sessions on human resource practices and systems, information-gathering techniques, and organizational cultures. Also, they provided additional reference materials to educate the team.
MIT Home Page