From an operational point of view there are many names for HR and it is not Human Resources, nor are they flattering.
HR, or People and Culture as it is now often referred to, have traditionally had a poor reputation across many organisations as the policy police, putting the brakes on innovation and creativity resulting in a process and policy drive which in turn has stemmed the overall company results and built a wall around HR excluding them largely from the reality of what the company goals really are.
For many years HR has had this poor reputation and progressive and dynamic HR leaders have been making the shift away from operational police to strategic partners with a long term solution focused output driven culture.
Dynamic HR leaders are now partnering very closely with the CEO and CFO in setting the strategic direction of the company. The industry is going through a shift from the “control space” to one that is about “enablement, driven more by principles rather than rules”. It has been found that people are responding better to this work environment and results are improving, but it does take time and shifting a workplace culture is one of the most difficult transitions any organisation will face.
One of the biggest challenges faced by most organisations is the attraction of talent. For this reason, it is becoming a greater priority for HR Leaders to partner with the most senior management within the company to ensure there is clarity and a very clear vision of how the human resources of the company will be engaged, inspired and speak so highly of the workplace culture and leadership that others want to come and work for you.
In order to effectively partner with the CEO or CFO, there needs to be a level of trust and confidence in the ideas and principles the HR Leader has to offer the company. The HR leader needs to understand the company goals and develop a long term strategy that is based on a pro active approach rather than the reactive approach that has been such a strong part of HR in the past.
HR Leaders need to step away from their traditional roles of the past and embrace technology to help take them away from the desk and build their role as business coaches and developers of people leaders. They need to treat their department as a value adding business rather than a corporate support function.
It is HR Leaders that have this approach that will be the global envy of all organisations.
