How HR Managers Support Business Goals
As a human resources (HR) professional, you are no doubt looking at how HR managers can support business goals. In recent years, HR has elevated from a paper pushing department to one of the most trusted advisors to the C-suite. Today’s technology driven business environment has made people the most critical asset of any organization. Finding, recruiting, and retaining talent in a knowledge-driven market can be the difference in success or failure for you business goals.
To be effective in a more strategic role, Human Resources managers must be prepared. The roles have changed, which means the expectations have changed. Many of the historical administrative tasks can be automated, but not all of them. Those still have to be handled effectively and efficiently. And you also have to learn new, broader business skills.
For starters, do you understand the business? In order to play a part in supporting the business goals, you have to understand them. This means going beyond a powerpoint or presentation. You need to understand the “why” behind the goals. As you dig into the rationale for each goal, you’ll develop a clearer picture of how you can support the team to meet them. Whether it’s new skill sets to hire, retraining, wellbeing, or employee engagement, understanding what is driving each goal will help you provide the strategic support necessary to achieve it.
Additionally, are you up to speed on technology both within HR and for the company as a whole? The ability to either suggest or apply technological solutions can not only create new efficiencies for the company, it demonstrates the forward thinking nature of the HR team.
Relatedly, make sure you’re measuring and analyzing all of the metrics you have at your fingertips. This is an excellent way to show how you’re supporting business goals. From turnover rates to profit per employee, here is a great list of HR metrics you can track.
And, with all of this data, you can apply thinking that will demonstrate a thoughtful, even out of the box solution. When faced with new data, and a lot of it, often times people fall into analysis paralysis. Instead of being overwhelmed by data, look for correlation and insights that can serve both HR and the business.
A third area to take under consideration is culture. As Peter Drucker famously said, “culture eats strategy for lunch.” If the culture of the organization is lacking, it must be addressed to hit growth goals. There is no better place to start on culture than HR. From a focus on the customer experience, to adopting agile decision making practices, to increasing diversity and innovation, bringing new ideas to the table that highlight the best practices of today’s most successful companies shows that HR is ready and able to support business goals.
Make sure your business unit is running like a well oiled machine. You can’t sacrifice HR duties in pursuit of broader business objectives. Keeping your department ship shape is a clear sign to the CEO you’re able to take on more strategic initiatives.
HR Managers can support business goals and it’s easier than you think. Follow the suggestions above and you’ll be poised to capture more attention from the executive team. After all, we know that people (your stock and trade) perform best when there is clear direction. Putting together your HR plan in support of business goals ensures current employees and new hires are empowered to contribute.
For more information on how you can develop an HR plan in support of business goals, send us a note. Our HR recruiters are here to help you find, hire, and retain the best possible candidates, and to do that, you need alignment with the business.