Address employee life cycle events
To build transparent processes and procedures
Create a productive culture by engaging team members
So that they have confidence that their concerns and issues will be addressed which helps to mitigate risk
Provide employee, manager and leader coaching
So that the entire team feels that they communicate more effectively and consistently which promotes strong organization development
FAQS
What role does organizational culture play in helping or hindering people from finding their place at the leadership table?
Culturally there have always been biases based on function, education and work experience and other less well defined, race and gender, that impact how a person moves into leadership roles. Other things, including image, personal deportment and communication ability play a significant factor as well. Culture, particularly in mature businesses can be pretty hard wired. To attain and achieve success in a leadership role you have to abide by the unwritten rules and excel in delivering on the strategic, operational and tactical goals, as a leader of people or as an independent contributor. To succeed in any organization you need to understand what the current state of the culture is, make your mind up to comply with its norms, if the norms don’t violate any of your professional or ethical standards, and become a culture champion. This will stand out and your value to the organization will be clear, giving you more opportunities to grow in place.
How has the role of HR Leadership evolved in recent years, and how does that impact the ability of the HR professionals to claim a seat at the table?
In the past several years strong HR leaders at various types of organizations have showed executive teams and boards the type of value-added work that HR can provide. To do this they have had to be the HR expert but equally as important a leader who is fully conversant in the strategic and operational workings of the business. HR leaders who have been able to demonstrate this skill and inculcate the need-to-know business to the whole HR team have been very successful. This is because the business does not see the function as a siloed entity but a true business partner with value added input to make the business better and to protect the business if the need arises. Demonstrating these capabilities lends credibility to the function and HR is not relegated to second class citizen status. These are the types of things that allow HR leaders to take a seat at the leadership table.
As HR continues to play a more strategic role in organizations what do you think will be the next step in ensuring HR professional have a strong presence at the leadership table?
We have to continually develop and refine our HR teams competencies, help them to be invaluable to the partners they service. We have to strongly develop HR into a positive customer service deliverer, striving to always delight the customer, our internal partners. To do this HR team members have to know as much about the business in its current state and the proposed future state. We need this knowledge to prepare business leaders at all levels for what to expect and to be ready for change as a change agent or a change adopter.
At the highest levels of the organization our HR leaders have to stay current with the trends that will impact the organization and plan on creating realistic plans for HR core competencies to be as stream lined and efficient as possible, saving the business dollars when possible and always using corporate funds judiciously.
