Remodelling Hr at Home Depot

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Remodeling HR at Home Depot Vol. 53 No. 11 After cutting 1,200 HR jobs, the retailer’s leaders found that less may be more. 11/1/2008 By Robert J. Grossman Home Depot’s announcement last April that it was slicing 1,200 human resource positions—more than 50 percent of its HR staff—by eliminating HR managers from each of its nearly 1,970 U.S. stores sent chills through the HR community. With the housing market in the doldrums and the economy teetering on recession, the world-leading hardware and home improvement retailer had to make tough decisions. Ten percent of the 5,000 staffers at headquarters in Atlanta had already been let go. But this broadside at human resources was different and, to some observers, counterintuitive. With more than 330,000 associates and 2,254 stores worldwide, Home Depot continues to face daunting challenges in retention and gaps in worker training and expertise. Its customer service ratings significantly lag those of competitors such as Lowe’s. In addition, Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake must heal wounds remaining from the cultural upheaval wrought by his predecessor Robert Nardelli. Seven years ago, the company had assigned HR managers to each store to work as business partners with store managers. Now, its leaders have concluded that an HR presence is a luxury they can no longer afford. How could Home Depot expect to address its human capital issues by decimating the HR ranks, eliminating the professionals trained to focus on them? Where were the HR executives when all this came down? Were they outside the loop while others determined their fate? It turns out they were initiators of and prime advocates for the plan. Partnership carries responsibilities, and, in this case, HR executives were resolute that they could "take one for the team." They are now convinced they can run HR companywide equally

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