Great Expectations/A Guide to Hiring an HR Professional that Adds Real Value
I have dealt with management at all levels of the organization for 20 years on a host of different people, productivity and organizational issues.
From this collective experience, I have arrived at an interesting conclusion; that almost all members of the executive team require solid advice and direction on human capital issues for many different reasons. However, the executives that get the most value from their HR professional are the ones that hired the right HR person to handle that function in the first place. Somehow, they have managed to hire an individual that understands the business end of business and as a result, are partners in the truest sense of the word. As an example, they do not spend time in meetings engaged in only HR-speak, nor do they spend their time administrating to endless bureaucratic requirements and their eyes do not glaze over whenever the conversation turns to driving revenue and making numbers. However as HR professionals, they do understand the need to balance these business imperatives with strong employee commitment and dedication and understand that this task is a delicate, constantly changing and well planned balancing act. This juggling of these organizational requirements emanates from the need to drive business objectives at one end of the spectrum and balancing employee commitment and dedication to the organization at the other.
Understanding this concept is not easy. Go too far in one direction and you achieve great numbers at the expense of burned out employees, increased turnover and eventually, a loss of productivity. As a result, the numbers you worked to attain erode. Furthermore if employees are unhappy, they are easy pickings for the competition and usually it is the top performers who are recruited away first. Go too far in the other direction and you have the most dedicated and committed employees on the face of the earth. They love coming to work, have great benefits, all of the tools they could ever want and excellent compensation. The only problem with this scenario is that the organization pays dearly for this situation because the numbers that the organization utilizes to benchmark and measure success erode to dangerous lows. As a result it becomes obvious that running a successful business requires balancing everyone's needs in an intelligent and well thought out way.
Dealing with the balance that exists between the prudent judgment required for the leadership of human capital issues versus the need to achieve levels of profitability, ROI and shareholder value is exactly where the business oriented HR professional comes into the picture. This enlightened individual is a rare bird, and if you have one on staff with the talents and judgment required, I strongly suggest you make them a member of the executive team and give them the opportunity to support the development of long term organizational strategy. According to Bob Griffin, CEO of Knowledge Computing Corporation "When I look for an HR executive I search for someone that understands the needs of the Clients, Shareholders and employees with an ability to manage conflict across all three. Once I have added that individual as a member of the executive team, as with any other executive team member, I let them do what they do best and build an organization to achieve success." Just as you depend upon your CFO to map out your organization's future from a standpoint of financial capital, you should depend upon this individual to map out your needs to identify, attract and retain the human capital required to get you from here and now to your planned destination. The inability to understand this requirement can have grave consequences. Without having the right people at the right price doing the right things you can wind up with a workforce that can't support organizational objectives and fall short of your overall goals.
"Almost all members of the executive team require solid advice and direction on human capital issues for many different reasons."
Following this logic, the question becomes a simple one; what attributes does a CEO need to look for in an HR professional that will support the organization's objectives using sound business judgment while successfully balancing the human capital end of the organizational picture? The answer has three parts:
- It is necessary to hire an HR professional that understands the business end of the business in which you are involved and knows what making a good business decision is all about. Not only does HR have to walk the line between sharing your values and supporting your organizational objectives, but it must also be able to communicate the requirements to the employee population so that those objectives become a reality.
- You must look for an HR professional who speaks the language of business. Do they know what role a balance sheet plays in making decisions? What about an income or cash flow statement? Please do not misunderstand my message. They do not require the same ability to understand or be able to manipulate numbers and projections with the same fluid grace as your CFO. However, if they sit at the executive team meeting devoid of even the most rudimentary understanding of numbers they will seldom contribute anything of value to strategic organizational decisions. Numbers are often the very language of business and if they do not understand the financial underpinnings that drive those decisions, they cannot offer the value required at the executive team level.
- The HR person must be able to go off with a good understanding of the mission and come back with well thought out plans relating to development of the human capital end of the plan that will support your strategic organizational objectives. Let's look at a real-world example. If for example, dramatic growth over a five-year period is an organizational objective, you are not looking for an HR person to ask how you want to accomplish that. You are looking for a leader, a thinker, and a doer. You need a person who will not ask questions but explore options and provide solutions. Does growing organically make the most sense? Is growth by acquisition a better plan? What about joint ventures and/or outsourcing or other options? What are the costs associated with each of these options? Furthermore, can they provide a complete risk analysis for each concept with associated pros and cons along with examples of what other organizations have done that have had success or failure in similar endeavors? Most importantly, can they make a recommendation that can be backed up with a solid business case?
Now let's look at some examples of HR professionals that would not make the best addition to your executive team based upon their approach and philosophy as it relates to the way in which they perceive their role:
- Those who have made a career of striving to become a better HR/recruiting professional. Although admirable in purpose and intent, becoming better at what most HR is today simply produces less ROI over time. Although it may provide that individual with incremental added value as it relates to organizational partnerships, it does not measure up to what your real needs are since that person does not possess the core competencies for the task at hand.
- Those endlessly embracing more sophisticated levels of technology for greater administrative purposes. A strong HR executive will understand the need to balance the technical requirements of the organization to ensure compliance with the appropriate costs and returns, but also understand that technology moving beyond this requirement is superfluous. Those individuals who believe that more technology is always the answer very often miss the meaning of the overall objective in the first place.
- Those looking to obtain memberships, endless certifications, and advanced degrees. I have seen HR professionals with more degrees and certifications, than can fit on a business card. That being said, staying current in your field is important; i.e. understanding new guidelines and laws will ensure that the organization is in compliance. Once again, it is all about balance and intelligent utilization of resources
- Those who demand a seat at the table. It has been said that power is never given; it can only be taken. This is a good philosophy in war, but it will not be effective in the workplace. However, the right HR Executive will understand their value and as a result, expect a seat at the table. You, as the enlightened leader, should do no less than provide one.
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