HR Strategy - How to Earn Your Seat at The Table

Secure Your Seat at the Table

May 15, 2012Buckhead GEM Meeting

04/10/23 1Copyright © 2012, Corporate Performance Strategies, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Agenda

• The “past” HR perception• What’s your advice?• 10 Tips• Application to your situation


The Old Perception

“They have no seat, and the table is locked inside a conference room to which they have no key. HR people are, for most practical purposes, neither strategic nor

leaders.”Keith Hammonds, Fast Company,

Why We Hate HR, 2005

“To be sure, there are some firms that do HR well, such as Cardinal Health, Yahoo, Procter & Gamble and General

Electric. But Keith's scathing magazine piece still rings true three years later.”

Peter Galuszka, CBS News, 2008


The Past Perception

• Don’t understand the business• Pursue efficiency in lieu of value• HR programs/policies don’t help the

business• Go for short-term vs. long-term solutions• The Corner Office doesn’t “get” HR


• Good colleague just landed a job as an HR Manager in a large global pharma company

• Her coverage area is the Americas• Headquarters are located in Ireland• Her predecessor retired and for the

previous couple of years maintained the status quo

• She asks you:

– “What are 3 things I can do to become the trusted advisor with my internal customers?”


Help a Colleague

Ten Tips for Success

1. Delight your customers2. Build followership3. Display business acumen4. Expand your scope5. Influence direction6. Display passion in your job7. Proactive not reactive8. Become more strategic9. Know your blind spots10.Measure what matters


Delight Your Customers

• Price of admission• Survey customers• Builds credibility• Models the way


Build Followership

• Identify your top 10 stakeholders• Rate the quality of personal and

business relationships• Spend time with these stakeholders –

block your calendars• Travel with leaders• Lunches or coffees


Display Business Acumen

• Learn the business• Who are the company’s core customers?

What are their challenges?• Who is the competition? What do they do

well and not well?• What is your SWOT?• Input starts with impact on the business• Understand the financial aspects of the

business – Finance for Non-Financial Managers


Aligning HR with Business Imperatives

•Integrity

•Personal Capability

•Results

•Interpersonal Skills

•Leadership

•Building Winning Teams

• Strategic Leadership • Achieving Results

• Personal Leadership

• Interpersonal Skills

• Personal Capabilities

• Team Effectiveness

• Strategic Leadership • Achieving Results

• Personal Leadership

• Interpersonal Skills

• Personal Capabilities

• Team Effectiveness

Examples

Focus on the needs of retail and foodservice customers

Develop brand strength and products that meet consumers’ and customers’ needs

Invest in bakeries and people

Grow through acquisitions

Encourage an atmosphere that builds teamwork and embraces diversity

To increase the value

of the company

Vision

Strategic Objectives Leadership Competencies

GuidingPrinciples

Examples

•Quality

•Service

•Commitment

$3.0B Consumer Products Company

Expand Your Scope

• Volunteer for business taskforces• Assume new responsibilities• Attend operator meetings• Transfer out of HR


Influence Direction

• Understand your company’s direction• Speak up in meetings• State your position and back it up with

facts/data• Attend a program on strategic planning

or other functional topics


Display Passion in Your Job

• Avoid taking on things that don’t help your mission

• Shift from doer to LEADER• Shift from tactical to STRATEGIC


Proactive vs. Reactive

• Find out from each key leader the annual and long-term goals, opportunities, threats, and weaknesses – what keeps them up at night

• Pick 1-2 areas and create an action plan to help

• What can you bring from the outside to help tackle opportunities?


Become More Strategic

• Shift from “working in” to “working on” the business

• Find the time to be strategic• Read a book on strategy• Go back 90 days – what time was spent

on strategic goals


Strategic vs. Tactical

Management of Strategic Human Resources- Strategic Partner

Management of Transformation and Change – Change Agent

Management of Infrastructure – Administrative Expert

Management of Employee Contribution – Employee Champion


Source: Human Resource Champions, Dave Ulrich

Future/Strategic Focus

Day-to-Day Operational Focus

PeopleProcesses

MissionImprove lives

through leadership in the

prevention, control and cure

of XXX and related diseases

StrategyMake XXX and its

associated limitations unacceptable

Ensure that all people with XXX can access the knowledge, skills and resources they

need to minimize the impact of XXX on

their lives.

Drive a strategic research agenda that

guides and accelerates progress

toward XXX preventions and

cures.

Influence policies and strategies to produce better outcomes for people with XXX.

Reduce XXX-related disparities in health

and health care.

HR Operating Guidelines

Develop strategies and deliver services that build a culture of

top performance among staff and

volunteers.

Provide XXX with a comprehensive

system to attract, select, engage, retain, train, and

develop a multicultural

complement of staff and volunteer talent.

Build an HR platform from which human

capital strategies will be operating

consistently across all regions of XXX.

HR Initiatives

Linking HR with the Business

Know Your Blind Spots

• No News is not always Good News• Great leaders continually seek feedback• People will help if asked• Anyone can excel at this


Measure What Matters


• All the business functions have outcome measures – Sales, Marketing, Service, Operations

• HR typically measures efficiency of services• Three measures needed:

– Impact : How does this impact strategic success– Effectiveness: How does HR improve the capacity

of the talent pools– Efficiency: How much do we get for our

investment

Ten Tips for Success

1. Delight your customers2. Build followership3. Display business acumen4. Expand your scope5. Influence direction6. Display passion in your job7. Proactive not reactive8. Become more strategic9. Know your blind spots10.Measure what matters


Action Steps

1. What improvements can you make to help secure your place at the table?

2. What are the key barriers to success?

3. What 2-3 tangible steps can you take back on the job?


Please provide feedback, suggestions, and questions.

Dave Brookmire404-593-5001

[email protected]

HR Strategy - How to Earn Your Seat at The Table

Business

strategic shift

strategic goals

strategic planning

business taskforces

business finance

business relationships

display business acumen

hr people