Comparing the Roles, Responsibilities, and Activities of Transactional and Transformational HRD Professionals

Abstract

HRD professionals engage in one of two potential roles—transactional or transformational. Transactional focuses attention on an activity strategy whose cornerstone is training. Transformational focuses on a results-driven strategy that is performance-centered-a role that helps organizations achieve their strategic business goals and objectives. These strategies differ in their outcomes and contributions to organizations in that the former leads to training for training's sake while the latter seeks to maximize organizational performance and effectiveness. Thus, HRD professionals are challenged to choose either an activity strategy that embraces a business as usual approach or a results-driven strategy that requires adopting a new and exciting role.