Abstract
The role that HR professionals play in an organisation has evolved. It has moved from
one that purely focused on administrative and compliance tasks to one that requires a
strategic understanding of the business environment and how that can be incorporated
into bringing people-related solutions. As the HR profession evolves, it calls for new
competencies to be learned in order to keep up with the pace of change and continue
to assist in business improvement. There is a constant need for HR professionals to
prove their value in an organisation. Therefore, exploring the role that HR
professionals play in business improvement within a state-owned company is critical.
The study utilised the HR competency model (2016) to investigate whether HR
professionals fulfil the required roles that support business improvement. The model
has nine domains that were used as an assessment framework for determining the
different roles that HR professionals in the state-owned entity should competently fulfil.
The study established the employees’ perceptions, experiences, and knowledge
within the HR division concerning the multiple roles played by HR professionals and
the required competencies.The study adopted a case study approach dealing with one
state-owned entity whose head office is based in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province in
South Africa. Purposive and convenient sampling was used to collect information from
junior to top management employees. Only one employee was at an executive level.
All research participants were in the HR discipline from different departments. Semistructured
interviews were used to collect data, which was subsequently analysed
deductively to identify the emerging themes. Findings revealed that the HR division in
the state-owned entity put measures in place to ensure that HR professionals in the
organisation were equipped to provide a service bringing about business
improvement. Findings also revealed that although the necessary measures are in
place, there is poor strategy execution as a result of the lack of HR competencies
described in terms of the HR competency model. Therefore, the study proposes some
key recommendations for enhancing HR competence for business improvement.
Keywords: HR competency model, competencies, business improvement,