Executives discuss role of H.R.

By Amy Bauer

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

A group of Topeka chief executive officers on Thursday described human resources professionals as role models and guardians of a company's mission, vision and corporate culture.

Human resources departments balance the needs of employees and the employer.

The executives assembled Thursday by the local chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management said they appreciate that balancing act and know it affects the bottom line.

"There's a linkage between corporate culture and financial performance," said Duane Fager, president and CEO of Commerce Bank & Trust. "Banking and financial services is a highly competitive business, and the way we maintain our competitive advantage is with our people."

Customers have described interaction with employees as the reason they like a particular banking location.

CEOs Sister Loretto Marie Colwell, of St. Francis Health Center, James Haines, of Westar Energy, and Steve Briman, of Bartlett & West Engineers, joined Fager at the Shawnee Country Club for the SHRM chapter meeting.

"The thing that's most important to me is fairness," Colwell said. "I have a great deal of trust in the people in that department. I know they think the way I think about the way people should be handled."

Haines said Westar's human resources department has helped the company through difficult times in recent years. Before Haines' tenure as CEO, the company eliminated 600 employees two years ago through voluntary and involuntary buyouts, he said.

"From everything I can see today, it appears to me that our H.R. folks managed that process extremely well," he said, noting such change has the potential to create large rifts in organizations. "It takes a lot of compassion, a lot of diplomacy and at times a lot of courage."

Briman said his company in a short period of time has experienced working with and without a human resources department. The 260- employee engineering firm added a three-person human resources staff in January 2000. In the preceding year, the company grew by 100 employees. Since then, the company has grown to appreciate all that the department adds, he said.

"When we most needed H.R., we didn't have it," Briman said.

Amy Bauer can be reached

at (785) 295-1231

or [email protected].

Duane Fager

Sister Loretto Marie Colwell

James Haines

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