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By Jane Sunley 

 

HR is in the frame.

HR is about engaged employees, strategic people planning and becoming the lynchpin of organizational development, having positive impacts on bottom lines and balance sheets. It’s also about compliance, employee relations and sifting resumes for optimal recruitment, among many other functions and priorities.

 

Most HR professionals command respect, positioning themselves to make waves within their organization. However, are you really maximizing your impact?

 

HR, in its 21st century incarnation, is a department that continues to evolve at a pace faster than any other branch of business, yet rather than being viewed as a fresh and exciting business driver, too many HR departments are tarnished with “hangover” negative perceptions. There is an ongoing evolution in HR strategy – HR needs to continue taking visible and high-impact action to prove its strategic worth.

 

Is HR positioned firmly, on equal footing, within a “holy trinity” alongside the CEO and CFO? Are you the number one trusted advisor on all manner of business decisions to members of the board and, in particular, in the confidence of the CEO? Are you a skilled marketer, selling the employer brand and employee value proposition internally and externally? Have you ensured your organization is positioned as a “go-to” place for top talent?

 

In order for HR to move forward, there is a real need for HR professionals to move across the business, breaking down silos and building strategic alliances with all other departments to help them understand the business case for investment in talent.

It’s about seeing the big picture, making things simple, being brave and asking the right questions – leading fellow directors to look at things differently.

 

A well-rounded view

HR must fully understand the whole business and its priorities so as to fully contribute to board-level conversations. For example, understanding how to make a clear, compelling business case clearly boosts the credibility and impact of the C-suite HR director.

 

You need to understand your business, which is all around people. But you also need to understand THE business in order to marry up the two and make the right recommendations. It’s about seeing the big picture, making things simple, being brave and asking the right questions – leading fellow directors to look at things differently. Proving your worth in an inspiring way means you’ll always be taken seriously.

 

A growing body of research shows that CEOs are becoming more and more involved in talent strategy, leadership development, change management and organizational development, so now is the time to fully align and help shape their thinking.

 

As people strategy moves up the corporate agenda, the strategy currently devised by HR departments is becoming a vital business driver. The HR director has the opportunity and the challenge to step into the driving seat of people strategy, or – perhaps more importantly – the HR professional should ensure that he or she is ready to be an excellent navigator.

 

Jane Sunley is CEO of Purple Cubed and author of It’s Never OK to Kiss the Interviewer – and other secrets to surviving, thriving and high-fiving at work and Purple Your People – the secrets to inspired, happy, more profitable people.

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