Thinking Like a Strategic Business Partner

Transcription

1 6 Practices of Strategic Partners Series Leading the People Side of About the Author Todd Averett President Leading People Partners Thinking Like a Strategic Partner When I was in graduate school over twenty years ago, I worked in the Learning and Development function at a large private university. Our function was a part of the HR organization, and I remember my boss and I discussing many times what the role of HR was in the organization. I remember him pointing to a plaque on the wall, noting his years of service in a national Personnel Association, and talking about how things were changing in HR. HR, he said, had to become more strategic, and less about just delivering payroll and benefits. Over 20 years later, there are still organizations and HR leaders and professionals who have not yet made that transformation. There are articles and news items about eliminating HR, putting non-hr people as leaders in HR to shake it from its old beliefs, or outsourcing the entire function. I believe that one of the biggest barriers to the transformation of HR is the people currently within HR. I ve seen some very positive changes over the last several years, and it s getting better. But we still have miles to go. Having lead HR teams for many years, I ve come to learn that there are certain practices that tend to differentiate the more strategic HR professionals I call them Strategic Partners, no matter what their specific title is within HR from those that are not really moving the profession forward. Some HR organizations use the specific title Partner to describe HR professionals that are assigned to business units and serve as their generalist. What I am describing here are practices that can be used by HR professionals whether they are specialists Recruiting, Learning, Compensation experts or generalists. Copyright 2015 Leading People Partners, LLC Thinking Like a Strategic Partner 1

2 6 Practices of Strategic Partners Series I call them the Six Practices of Strategic Partners: 1. Thinking like a strategic business partner 2. Becoming a student of the business 3. Becoming a student of the People Side of business 4. Developing and proactively communicating people insights 5. Aligning people strategies to business strategies 6. Modeling the role of a trusted business partner. This whitepaper is the first of a series describing each practice, focusing on Practice #1. Thinking Like a Strategic Partner This may sound like a simple concept, but it is more rare than it should be in HR professionals. Strategic Partners think like Strategic Partners. Strategic Partners view themselves not just as service providers to business leaders, but also as equal partners to business leaders in driving business results. What does that mean? It means that they are constantly thinking about the business, business results, business strategies, and how talent and HR practices can support the strategies of the business. Strategic Partners view themselves not just as service providers to business leaders, but also as equal partners to business leaders in driving business results. Thinking like this let s call it the Strategic Partner Paradigm provides the fundamental framing for how these individuals think about and perform their roles. This is a significantly different way of thinking for some HR professionals. For example, here are different paradigms or ways of thinking that I have observed over the years from HR professionals: I m a police officer. I enforce policies and ensure that no rules are broken and that rule-breakers are punished. I m a therapist. People come into the office who need counseling and I provide therapy. Copyright 2015 Leading People Partners, LLC Thinking Like a Strategic Partner 2

3 6 Practices of Strategic Partners Series I m a teacher. I teach everyone I work with to be better. I m a mediator. I mediate conflicts between coworkers or between employees and their bosses. I m the cheerleader. My job is to keep everyone happy. I m a service provider. I deliver HR/talent/learning/benefits services. I m the employee representative. I make sure that senior management knows how the employees feel and represent their point of view. One of my favorites came from a long-time HR professional: I m the person who follows the elephants on parade and cleans up after them. I ve found that there are foundational beliefs that most Strategic Partners have that allow them to be successful. While all of us as HR professionals perhaps take on one or more of these roles at times, when we think about our entire jobs in these terms, we are not likely to be able to make the shift to becoming a Strategic Partner. I ve found that there are foundational beliefs that most Strategic Partners have that allow them to be successful. They are: They have a genuine passion for the business and want for it to be successful. They are interested in customers, products, services, strategies, and results. They are students of the business! They believe that they serve the enterprise. Their clients are ultimately the enterprise, not just one leader, or a group of associates, or a department. They think about what is best for the entire organization over the long term. They believe that they can impact the business by impacting and influencing leaders. They have a strong, guiding belief in the value and importance of talent and culture in accomplishing business results. They believe that they must be proactive to learn the business, address business issues, and create solutions. They don t wait and react to requests from business partners. They come to the table with their insights and suggestions on what should be done. They believe that they must be accountable and own their words and actions. They don t withdraw into blaming or speaking like a victim. Copyright 2015 Leading People Partners, LLC Thinking Like a Strategic Partner 3

4 6 Practices of Strategic Partners Series Your beliefs dramatically impact how you think about and perform your role. I d encourage you to be very clear about what you think your role is and, more importantly, what your organization needs in your role. I have seen that as HR professionals continue to move down the path of becoming a Strategic Partner, they see themselves, and refer to themselves, less and less, as a Trainer or Recruiter or a HR Generalist. They see themselves as business people. And, interestingly, so do their business partners. There are some HR professionals who just do not want to change their thinking. Now, one qualification. Some of you may read this and say, This is going to the dark side! We re becoming minions of management! Remember that the fourth foundational belief is to have a strong, guiding belief in the value of talent and culture. That belief by Strategic Partners will ensure that they continually share their point of view on this topic with business leaders, constantly reminding them of the importance of people and culture and calling out issues and opportunities that are getting in the way of the organization moving forward. There are some HR professionals who just do not want to change their thinking. They entered HR for a certain reason and like doing certain things in HR a certain way. Many of them I ve spoken to want different results than what they are getting now, but they don t want to change their thinking or approaches. Sadly, they are unlikely to see any positive changes! One way of assessing your current beliefs about your role is to consider these questions: Why did I enter this field? What was interesting or important to me about it? What did I hope to accomplish by being in HR? What is a successful HR professional? What do I feel the most engaged by in my role? What do I think my fundamental role in the organization is today? What do I want it to be? What does the organization need it to be in the future? After you consider these questions, you may find that the Strategic Partner Paradigm is a great match for what you are passionate about. If so, terrific! You have the essential foundation! Copyright 2015 Leading People Partners, LLC Thinking Like a Strategic Partner 4

5 6 Practices of Strategic Partners Series You may also find that being a Strategic Partner is not for you. Perhaps you have been in the field for many years maybe even successfully and don t see a need to change your thinking. If so, consider a different kind of role, or an organization that is a good fit for how you want to practice HR. But be warned there are fewer and fewer of these roles and organizations left! Your thinking matters. If you think like a strategic business partner, you are well on your way to becoming one! This kind of thinking serves as a powerful foundation for the remaining Practices of Strategic Partners. Good luck! About The Author Todd Averett has been fascinated by the challenges associated with Leading the People Side of for over 20 years. He was most recently Vice President, Global Human Resources for a global, multi-billion dollar retail company with over 25,000 employees. There he held progressively responsible positions, ultimately leading the global HR teams located in the US, China, Canada, Latin America, and Australia. Todd has played key roles in acquisitions, divestitures, international expansion, organizational restructures, and cultural change initiatives. Todd Averett President Leading People Partners Prior to working in retail management, Todd worked in the Learning and Development function at Brigham Young University, where he received a Master s Degree in Organization Behavior from the Marriott School of Management. Prior to his master s degree, he received his Bachelor s Degree in Psychology, with an emphasis in Organizational and Personnel Psychology. Todd can be reached at todd@leadingpeoplepartners.com or Leading the People Side of About Leading People Partners, LLC Leading People Partners is a consulting, training, and executive coaching firm, specializing in: Onboarding and Developing Leaders Developing Strategic Human Resources Accelerating Talent Management Practices Building Strong Internal Partnerships and Teams We d love to partner with you to help you and your team better lead the people side of business. To learn more, check out our website at or contact us directly at todd@leadingpeoplepartners.com or Copyright 2015 Leading People Partners, LLC Thinking Like a Strategic Partner 5