It sets out a great list of questions HR professionals should ask themselves when they step into a fresh leadership role. This paper is written from the perspective of landing the top HR job in an organisation however I feel it contains relevant information for all aspiring business partners.
You can view a copy of the paper here. These are three of the takeaways that particularly resonated with me.
1. Do you really know the business? Can you synthesise a cash flow map to understand how the organisation makes money and what the value proposition is to the customer?
This I believe is critical and (for me at least) is one of the core separators between HR simply being a process function and HR being a business enabling function. In order to add value to a business, one needs to understand the business in addition to the HR function.
With this in mind, the paper presents a practical activity in order to assess these elements together (that being the integration of business and HR functions).
Every company is doing HR work. Find out what is being done by mapping it. Summarize and synthesize the work being done with a grid of businesses (columns) by HR activities in people, performance, communication, and work (rows). Look at the grid to see where HR investments are innovative, aligned, and integrated. Try to assess the overall quality of HR work within the organization. Where are the pockets of excellence Where are the areas of concern? - The RBL Group
2. Can you see how the business operates from multiple points of view? Have you built relationships with enough key people to construct this multidimensional view?
I found this to be an interesting point. Here the paper not only talks about the obvious stakeholders (i.e C-Suite's and senior managers) but also mentions customers, analysts and investors. While you may have a diverse perspective from within the organisation, have you had the chance to appreciate the perspectives gained externally from the organisation?
3. Have you identified your core HR priorities over the short, mid and long term?
Identify the early wins and achieve them quickly in order to build credibility with the business. Its important however to prioritise what should and can be achieved rather than just what can be achieved. I remember very fondly a HR leader I worked under who told me to remember "Don't fight the crocodiles; drain the swamp." Assess what your doing against the big picture.
An easy and common mistake is trying to be all things to all people. In study after study, leaders need to synthesize and prioritize. In your first few observations of your company you will probably find many things that could be improved. List them. Think about them. Prioritize them. If you have 10 projects and 100 units of resources, the wrong allocation is 10 units per project. You need to focus your time and HR investments on those initiatives that will be both implementable (doable within time and budget) and have impact (make a visible difference in business results). - The RBL Group
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