By Barry Rubenstein

At its inception, Human Resources or rather, “personnel” departments were often viewed as obstacles or impediments to a company’s growth due to HR’s insistence on inflexible policy implementation and a lack of overall business acumen. Nicely, HR’s role has evolved into occupying seats on the executive team. However, in order for HR to “keep their seat” work has to be done!

So how does HR make its way to the executive team? Let’s explore…

• Learn the business. In order to get invited to the executive team’s table, HR must learn the intricacies of the business. What are the core businesses, what are the core objectives, opportunities, challenges? Once this is clearly understood, HR needs to articulate the objectives as well as the company’s mission. In fact, HR must be the ambassador of the company’s mission.
• Create a positive atmosphere/deal with difficult issues. From an employee relations standpoint, HR plays a critical role in any company. While the positive work environment is a “no-brainer” it is important that HR works directly with management to ensure that the office is an enjoyable and productive place to be. The other side of the positive atmosphere is handling difficult employee issues. It is critical for HR to work in concert with management to resolve performance issues. Flagging and working with management to resolve issues while reducing exposure and risk is a surefire way to maintain your invitation to the executive table.
• Raise awareness. In this case, awareness relates to making sure that senior management understands how its mission is being carried out. In other words, does the company really live up to its mission and core values? Are employees truly valued for their accomplishments? Does the company nurture career and professional development? These are critical factors that HR must raise on a regular basis as they will ensure that the company truly practices what it preaches. In addition, when HR works to provide an atmosphere of growth and works with management to ensure said growth, the company will become more productive.
• Challenge managers to manage. One of the biggest frustrations from an HR standpoint is the feeling that managers do not know how to manage adequately. HR must work diligently to be certain that managers understand the full responsibility of their managerial responsibilities. Those management skills include both the technical and interpersonal side. Typically, managers have tremendous strengths on the technical side. However, the ability to provide ongoing constructive feedback, solid performance management feedback, strong career and professional development focus often is lacking. A recent example comes to mind… A Senior Manager was having difficulty providing feedback to an employee who was struggling. The manager, by nature was a hands-off manager, choosing to let his employees set their own agenda, prioritize their work and, in essence succeed or fail largely on their own. In certain situations this strategy is extremely useful. However, in this situation it was unproductive and counterintuitive. The employee in this case needed clear guidance and feedback regarding his performance. The manager, by backing off, was inadvertently contributing to the problems his employee was experiencing. I challenged the manager to modify his personal style for the good of this employee and the company. We worked together to design a performance plan that resulted in improved performance and overall accountability. This is one of many examples where HR must work with managers to provide the feedback, guidance and training necessary for managerial excellence.
• Policy Implementation/Risk Assessment. The ongoing challenge for all HR professionals is to implement policy while reducing risk. A certain way to stay at the executive table is to assist your company in avoiding employment lawsuits. HR accomplishes this by meticulous attention and understanding of federal and state statutes as well as intimate knowledge of company policies and practices.

In summary, becoming a business partner is a complex task. However, for HR to bring their true value to the table it is critical to pay attention to the above factors.