By Barry Rubenstein 

I was recently asked to facilitate a meeting with senior level HR professionals. They wanted to hear about the latest trends in Human Resources – what’s hot, what’s not. In addition, they wanted to know how HR can add more value to their organizations.

As I prepared for the meeting I did a significant amount of research regarding the latest trends in the HR world. While there are plenty of trends going on in HR – on-boarding, talent-management, changes in benefits etc. I was struck by the number of trends that while new in name, are mostly spins on old topics. While pondering what it takes to add value to the organization, I moved away from industry buzz words and decided to create my own! The term I created (or believe I created) is the “Super-Generalist.” This term resonates with me because it implies what I believe to be the most important HR quality – that of being an expert in as many subject areas as possible.

While in large corporations, it may be important to specialize, I believe the days of extreme specialization are dwindling. Since most HR organizations are now quite lean (as are the organizations they often support), HR must instead add value in almost every functional area of Human Resources.

The super-generalist, displays the following five characteristics:

• Deep knowledge of the group they support along with deep knowledge of overall business objectives.
• Outstanding strategic and tactical HR skills.
• Strong HR competencies and the ability to demonstrate strong business ethics.
• Strong understanding of change-management.
• Super-Generalists have received their invitation to the executive table and ensure that they maintain their invitation!

Super-Generalists take the necessary time to explore solutions to complex employment problems, consult with senior management regarding current and future use of human capital resources; understand the complex landscape of benefit changes etc. All in all, the super-generalist is something of a “one-stop shop”; a resource with a tremendous amount of knowledge of HR and business strategy.

All HR professionals at one time or another have felt that the HR agenda can be swept aside by certain members of management. This phenomenon can be overcome! If a super-generalist is supporting a sales division, they must have their finger on the pulse of how sales and revenue are going. What products and services are contributing to the bottom line; what sales people are excelling or struggling? If you support the marketing division, you must understand the latest marketing campaign strategy. Where are we advertising and why; what new business is coming in as a result? By having a stronger grasp on what is driving your business unit, you gain the credibility needed to ensure that you have management’s full attention.

Paying keen attention to the business drivers cannot take the Super-Generalists’ attention away from critical things like the work environment and ensuring that everyone is being treated well and consistently; this is simply added information that a super-generalist must have to add value to the organization.

While becoming a subject matter expert in all HR areas as well as developing business savvy can be daunting, it is also terribly exciting. This opens up new worlds for HR and continues to demonstrate how HR adds value to the company.