For many years a large group of companies have been collaborating internationally through the European HR Forum to improve the quality of their HR strategies and practices - saving time and costs in the process.

EHRF has created an 'open learning' community

Why reinvent the wheel when you can learn from the hard-won experience of other organisations. Often the best solutions come from talking to others, and the more diverse the others the greater the chance of breakthrough ideas.
 
Several years ago a handful of companies set out to build a self-help network based on these principles. They formed the European HR Forum, engaging John Herbert, Executive Director, as architect and facilitator. The now over 150 companies participating in the network are testimony to their common sense approach.
 
Owned by its corporate members, the EHRF is not-for-profit, providing a service for all the HR practitioners in the member companies. The members share the overhead costs, currently 6k euro and there is no extra charge for usage.

"The EHRF is inclusive and participation is based on ability to contribute," says Herbert. "The one qualification for membership is to be engaged in HR internationally. Academics and consultants are welcomed in support of the corporate agenda," he adds.

With an executive committee formed by members led by President, Mark Pearson, EHRF is corporate-led and corporate in character. "The unique networking model that has evolved is proving increasingly appealing to HR leaders in to-day's business environment," says Herbert.

The beginning of a pan-European network

In the mid-80s the HR directors from twelve major multinational companies decided they wanted to start a network. At the same time the leading strategic HR network in North America, the Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS), was seeking a pan-European partner network but found there was none. The two needs fused and the EHRF came into being.  

"The companies wanted to create a pan-European HR network with a similar purpose and values to HRPS without replicating the services already available to members through their other associations," says Herbert.

Alexander Nieuwenhuizen, senior vice president HR and organisation at Lafarge in Paris was working for an American company in Europe when he joined EHRF thirteen years ago. "I wanted to work with European HR managers implementing good practice," he says. "I picked EHRF because its members were real contemporary HR leaders of respectable companies."

Nieuwenhuizen, who currently sits on the EHRF executive committee, feels that for HR the Forum is "the real thing" where people in a similar profession can "sit across the table from each other and get the whole story with no one pushing their products along the way."

Working out from the centre

The EHRF's services and networking processes continue to evolve. The main services are benchmarking, interest groups, workshops and a network request service, but a major recent development has been the EHRF regional networks established in Germany, France, Switzerland, UK, Sweden, and Finland.

Members rapidly build up their own personal networks

"The idea is to mirror the EHRF services at the regional level— providing opportunities to build personal networks locally and minimise travel costs," says Herbert, who has just returned from the opening meeting of the Madrid regional network.

Members can chose when it is most effective for them to network locally or internationally says Herbert. For example, the EHRF London Network recently triggered the launch of the international EHRF Talent Interest Group to work in-depth on issues surrounding talent management. The first meeting was held this July. "Over 30 companies attended from France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, US and the UK, reflecting the international and business sector diversity of the network," says Herbert.

One of the coordinators of the London roundtable, Daniela Menzky, who is Vice President HR EMEA at Avon in the UK, is very enthusiastic about the network. "It provides an outstanding opportunity to network with a broad range of HR colleagues on any HR topic relevant for your organisation," she says. "As well as being good fun, it gives you a 'sanity check' – reassures you that you are seeing the same trends as others.  And your entire organisation can use it to feed their questions in via HR."

Menzky also sees the network as "a fantastic tool to broaden the horizons of more junior or specialised people."

Where the networking starts

The networking process starts with each person and organisation identifying their issues and interest for networking. This results in a database to connect people with similar issues and interests and relevant experience to share.  "It's all about working the system and building up a powerful database," says Herbert.

We aren't really 'clubbers'

The EHRF differs from other business associations in several ways. "The forum aims to be more of a practical 'utility' that a club," says Herbert. "It allows people working on a similar project to get around the table to share experiences – and we believe that diversity within the group increases the chance of breakthrough solutions."

And EHRF prides itself in being inclusive. For example, a large company may only want to meet with other companies of the same size, or people may want to network exclusively with people from their industry or peer group. EHRF will support such groups, but ask them to open participation to others who can contribute when the issue under discussion ceases to be specific to their group.

"Participation in EHRF meetings and projects is based on ability to contribute and self-selection by topic has proved to be the best way to ensure standards remain high at EHRF events," says Herbert.

High frequency, broad reach

Members of the EHRF tend to meet more frequently than other groups. "The EHRF provides the platform to enable people to network as suits them best, whenever needed," says Herbert, pointing out that partnerships with other associations such as the HRPS in North America and 'Entreprise et Personnel' in France further extend the network's reach.

"Through focussing on creating an 'open learning' community the members have created a model and approach that can be shared more widely. For instance, you don't need to be an EHRF member to participate regionally or if you are an academic without a budget," says Herbert.

"Using EHRF's system of virtual network requests, I have, for example, been able to get a good sense of the communication of vision and values at such companies as Shell, Philips and Lafarge within 24 hours," adds Mark Pearson, previously HR & Communications Director at Coors Brewers and president of EHRF. 

"It's not only the speed and breadth of the network," says Pearson, "but the friendships that you develop which make the EHRF so powerful and unique."

"And in the end," says Herbert, "it really is the members who are running the show."

July 2005

Natasha Gunn is the editor of Expatica HR.

Expatica HR is pleased to announce that it is now working with EHRF to provide members of the Forum with up-to-date information and news on the mobility industry and international HR management.

Visit www.ehrf.org for more information on the EHRF.

Subject: HR benchmarking and interest groups,  HR networking groups, European HR Forum