The Savvy HR’s Guide to Creating Remarkable Value

 

HR’s Reality

We are living and doing business in an era of rapid change that is revolutionising our understanding of the employee-employer relationship and HR’s value in business.Seismic change is both exciting and scary.  Your level of preparedness and adaptability will influence where you sit on the ‘feeling excited’ – ‘feeling scared’ scale.Sitting tight and playing safe is in fact the high risk option. Don’t be fooled.The winds of change are blasting through the HR discipline.  Burying your head in the sand whilst the meteor is falling is a sure fire way to wind up on the wrong evolutionary end of an Extinction Event.HR it is time for a (r)evolutionary Mind Shift.

“A mind shift is a change of focus and perception. […]. A mind shift is an “ah ha” moment on steroids. It’s the movement of the tectonic plates in your psyche, opening your mind to entirely new ways of thinking and acting."

That's why I have compiled 5 Mind-Shifting Super Strategies from the Savvy HR's playbook.

 1. Get Angry:

“The HR industry misuses language as a sort of low-tech mind control to avert our eyes from office atrocities and keep us fixed on our inboxes”.

When I read this The Guardian (UK) article recently tweeted to me, incensed like a hotsauce-dipped stick being poked in a red ants’ nest. Oh man, was I enraged, vexed and livid. HR was under heavy artillery fire.Pause. I stepped away. Brewed a pot of coffee. Returned. Mug of coffee in hand, re-read calmly, then tweeted two responses via @AquariusHRLtd.With 29,252 Shares and 1076 comments and counting at the time of writing this post; the article has not only pinched a nerve but has also fired up a passionate conversation about the role and the ‘human’ experience of the HR function.  This is a good thing!It’s definitely worth checking out.So yes get angry; but take decisive action to change how people feel.  HR needs to stop hiding behind the tools, dashboards and metrics. Putting the human value first can and will put you at odds with HR’s hard-won management position in the business.It is at this pressure point you will need to take a stand. To increase its value, HR must lead from a position of principle, whilst managing the delivery people-related systems and processes for the organisation.2. Learn Circus Skills: HR walks the wobbly high wire whilst juggling the shifting balance of power between the employee and the business.I recently listened to the podcast, The New Sophisticated Job Seeker and the Role of Employer Branding and was blown away by the interview/dialogue between Jason Seiden, CEO & Cofounder, Brand Amper and J.T. O'Donnell, CEO & Founder, CAREEREALISM and CareerHMO.I lost count of the brainpokes! and ideas for the focus of HR’s next act.  Here’s a morsel to whet your appetite.

 “Candidates today want to work with companies not for them. […] it’s the relationship that you have to protect and manage, and recruiters are the ones in the most pain right now as they are caught between conflicting demands of the candidates’ desires and the needs of the business.”

3. Weave New Alliances:  HR’s is not alone in the struggle for value recognition. PR and Marketing are feeling the pressure too - chilly drips of perspiration trickling down our collective hairlines.Stephen Waddington’s excellent post, Marketing vs public relations vs human resources: what’s the difference? - joins the smart dots between the three business disciplines that share the brand space.Now I am not one to back down from a good fight, but I don’t believe a turf war is necessary. I have learnt that sometimes it’s far more advantageous and mutually beneficial to form strategic alliances.In the new business reality, it is increasingly common for Marketing, PR and HR to build a relationship with the same individual depending on the nature of the engagement (customer, investor/community stakeholder or employee) with the organisation. No one discipline can lay claim to the individual – often your customer is your community stakeholder and your employee simultaneously.This is an opportunity not to be missed.  Marketing, PR and HR – we know people – that is our unique value offering. Let’s actively collapse the walls between disciplines and create a new paradigm for value through coexistence and collaboration from our respective spheres of expertise.4. Stop feasting on low-hanging fruit:  I have said it before and feel no shame in saying it again. STOP IT!HR’s lack of self-assertion and the stubborn attachment to a low nutritional value diet of transactional tasks is sounding the death knell for HR’s relevance and value in the organisation.5. Know when to Quit: When you have done all of the above plus more; and still you are not gaining any traction.a) Do you put up and shut up?  ORb) Do you quit in the name of respect and commitment to making a difference?In the end, “if you can’t find a way to get your C-Suite to see where you’re coming from, and at least come to a consensus that there’s value in treating employees as “humans,” then you’re probably in for a tough time as an HR or talent leader – and it might be time to start polishing off that resume, frankly.” Daniel Fogel, Author of the blog Recruiting Daily.The truth is, if you are known for low value output, you will fail to earn high value respect. Without respect, your ability to make a meaningful difference and achieve monumental results becomes hard – perhaps too hard.I urge you to try out these mind-shifting super strategies.  Pick one, two or all.  Better yet, add your own.But above all don’t wait.The next chapters of HR’s story are being written.  What will you write?This post is inspired by some super cool individuals  - some of whom I have respectfully and liberally referenced in this post. They are asking the hard questions and breaking down walls in their respective disciplines of Marketing, (Employer) Branding, PR and HR/Recruitment.Be sure to click on the links in this post to dive deeper in the rabbit hole to discover more tips on how to increase your value and achieve monumental results.So until we meet again next week down The HR Rabbit Hole…