Given the demand on organizations to compete or fail, every staff and line function must add value. The time has come lor human resources to step forward and become more business focused. Since 1991, HR budgets have declined by 40% and staffing levels have shrunk by nearly 25%.3 Increasingly, HR work is being delegated to the line, pushed out to transaction centers or outsourced. Paradoxically, this is very good news. It means that HR can spend less time on the non value adding administrative, and more time working with line personnel to improve the operating efficiency of the organization. The central question is, Is HR up to the challenge?