This document outlines four major milestones in the development of national HR standards in South Africa: 1) the establishment of HR professional practice standards, 2) the creation of an auditing process to assess organizations' compliance with the national HR management system standard, 3) the launch of a national HR scorecard and metrics for benchmarking HR contributions, and 4) the formation of a National HR Academy to standardize HR education. These milestones aim to provide a framework for HR excellence and establish HR's role in organizational success.

1. Copyright 2014 © HR Future magazine, www.hrfuture.net
Four major milestones on the National HR Standards journey
Get an overview of the Standards journey.
By Siphiwe Moyo
On 28 August, HR professionals will gather in Sandton, Johannesburg, to celebrate four
major milestones on the National HR Standards journey towards National HR
significance and excellence. Here are the first four milestones in the journey.
MILESTONE 1 HR Professional Practice Standards
The HR Professional Practice Standards set out the operational or tactical processes
that constitute good practice in each one of the HR professional practice areas. The
Practice Standards give expression to practical issues in more detail than can be
covered in the main HR Management System Standard and its 13 elements developed
in 2013. The HR Professional Practice Standards include HR practices such as on-
boarding, succession planning, recruitment and selection, dispute resolution, leadership
development and learning evaluation.
MILESTONE 2 HR Auditing
The second major milestone is HR auditing against the Standard. Building on the
National HR Management System Standard in 2013, the HR Standards journey
continues with the SABPP auditing unit being set up to oversee and manage the HR
Management System Audit. SABPP is well positioned to manage audits, being an
Education Training Quality Assurance Body delegated by SAQA to conduct quality
assurance, and accredited by the Quality Council for Trade and Occupations as an
Assessment Quality Partner in the new occupationally-driven skills development system.
These quality assurance roles, in addition to accrediting the HR curricula and learning
provision of universities for more than 20 years, have ensured that the auditing unit has
the credibility, experience and capacity to effectively manage HR audits against the new
National HR Management System.
The first pool of Lead Auditors and Auditors was trained by Dr Michael Robbins from
International Management of Risk (UK) and Dr Penny Abbott from SABPP. The auditors
were trained on the principles and sound practices of auditing, with a specific focus on
how to audit the 13 Elements of the National HR Management System Standard.
The requirements for the competence of Auditors and Lead Auditors will ensure the level
of competency established both for auditors and lead auditors will enhance the
professionalism of individuals carrying out the assessment of an organisation.

2. Copyright 2014 © HR Future magazine, www.hrfuture.net
The auditing process is as follows:
1. An organisation will submit a request to be audited against the National HR
Management System Standard;
2. The organisation will get evidence ready about compliance of the 13 HR
Standard Elements using the SABPP Audit Assessment Tool;
3. A Lead Auditor and three Auditors will be allocated and a site visit arranged to
conduct the audit. The Auditors will use the SABPP Audit Scoring Tool to allocate
points per Standard Element as well as an overall percentage score for all 13
Elements combined;
4. An Audit Report is send to the company, and a presentation is done on site; and
5. If all the requirements are met, the organisation is certified compliant with the
requirements of the National HR Management System Standard.
MILESTONE 3 National HR Scorecard and Metrics
The third milestone is the launch of the National HR Scorecard consisting of a risk-based
approach to establishing key analytics and metrics for the contribution of HR to the
success of the company. This will open the door for proper benchmarking between
companies and across industries to present a true national benchmark for HR Managers
to provide confidence to their executive committees and board about the bottom-line
impact of HR practices on the organisation.
MILESTONE 4 National HR Academy
The fourth milestone is the National HR Academy. While realising that HR professionals
come from different universities and learning providers, the need for standardisation of
HR curriculum has been identified to ensure greater consistency and quality in HR
learning provision. Hence the establishment of the National HR Academy to build
capacity of HR professionals in the application of the National HR Standards, HR Metrics
and HR Competencies.
Way forward
The four milestones of the National HR Standards journey not only unite HR
professionals with a clear framework for HR standardisation, but also affirm South
Africa’s HR leadership globally. The methodology and process of auditing companies
against the National HR Management System Standard has been set up to provide
organisations with an opportunity of being assessed on the quality of their HR system.
This will assist HR leaders with an independent review of the strength of its HR
Management System, as well as identifying opportunities for improvement. Being
certified independently against the National HR Standard strengthens the role and
position of the HR Director and will instil confidence in Excos and Boards that HR
strategies, practices and risks are effectively managed in the organisation. Moreover,
nationally the HR Standards, Audits, Metrics and Academy are positioned to raise the
bar for the HR profession by establishing HR credibility, status and independence as
already achieved by several other professions.
Siphiwe Moyo is the Chairman of SABPP, www.sabpp.co.za.