HR professionals have long been focused on reactive, tactical duties as their primary role in business. These activities—payroll, recruitment, employee relations—while necessary, are easily outsourced. Centers of excellence can do this more effectively through scale.
As companies now recognize, talent and capabilities create the greatest impact in winning in the market today, so they are demanding more from HR. Business leaders need HR to be more engaged in their business and to help them build the talent and organizational assets for the future. Leaders are requiring HR to be proactive and to push the organization’s agenda, not follow it. In other words, they need HR to be more strategic.
To rise to this challenge, HR professionals and leaders must develop their business acumen, influencing skills, their change-leadership, and their ability to anticipate talent needs. Strategic HR professionals need to be at the table when critical strategy and business decisions are made. They must have the ability and courage to ask insightful questions about the business’s needs and strategic priorities.
Strategic HR identifies leadership and organization capabilities for the business to be successful. The HR function can then align focus, initiatives and priorities, in order to build these capabilities. HR should operate in a more consultative manner, placing more focus on business outcomes and the impact they can make.
Tactical HR activities will always be there in a company; however they are not creating economic value directly. HR functionaries with aspirations of being more “strategic” will need to develop new skills and re-prioritize where they are spending their time.
Dan Hawkins founded Summit Leadership, a talent, organization, and consulting firm primarily focused on leadership, human capital, and HR strategy. www.summitleadership.com
What HR Can Do for Your Organization
By Dan Hawkins
Dan Hawkins