What is strategic influencing in human resources?
At an organisational level, strategic influencing in HR involves guiding and shaping the thinking of business leaders so that their decisions take into account human capability and culture. This ensures a more holistic approach to business strategy and when this happens HR creates business value.
This kind of strategic partnering also enables HR to align with business objectives and to ensure that talent management and organisational development proactively support the company’s goals.
While this responsibility is an explicit part of the role of the HR Business Partner, we advocate that everyone in HR needs to partner, whether in a Centre of Expertise or the HR Operations team.
At the highest level, strategic influencing means promoting the people agenda to enable business leaders to understand how HR’s work can drive business success. The CPO or CHRO needs to make clear the connections – e.g. between engagement and productivity, between strategic workforce planning and managing staff costs, and between effective performance management (which lies within the remit of the business leaders) and reduced attrition, absence and compensation claims.
Start from the business context and strategic priorities
These typically include growth, profitability, service levels, product innovation, agility and operational effectiveness.
A strategic HR function can proactively drive and influence all of these priorities when:
- Its activities are explicitly and actively aligned with business priorities and goals;
- It works in collaborative and robust partnerships with business leaders;
- HR people at every level are influential, business-credible, proactive and speak the language of the business.
Understand your business model and how HR creates value
We work together to create your unique Success Model that:
- Illuminates what drives success with your organisation
- Digs into how to capture, improve and scale that
- Shows how HR’s work enables business outcomes
- Creates a powerful framework for measuring HR’s impact
At a situational level, individual opportunities also arise for HR people to influence particular decisions. For example, they may have a business stakeholder who is failing to demonstrate good leadership and as a result their team is unclear about priorities and is demotivated. Influencing this leader to invest more effort and skill in how they lead can have strategic impact.
Why is strategic influencing important for HR professionals?
Strategic influencing enables HR professionals to contribute to the organisation’s success by aligning HR practices with business strategies. This kind of influencing can only happen when a trusting relationship is built with the stakeholder. This alignment ensures that the workforce is equipped and motivated to achieve organisational objectives, fostering sustainable growth.
How can HR professionals develop strategic influencing skills?
HR professionals can enhance their strategic influencing skills by building cross-functional relationships, understanding business operations, and developing effective communication strategies. Engaging in leadership development programmes, such as those offered by Enable-HR International, can further strengthen these competencies.
What role does strategic influencing play in HR leadership?
In HR leadership, strategic influencing involves guiding the organisation through change, shaping culture, and ensuring that HR initiatives support business goals. Leaders with strong influencing skills can effectively advocate for necessary resources and drive initiatives that enhance organisational performance.
Many HR functions fail to ask business leaders what they want. Influencing is a two-way street – listening is a core influencing skill. We have developed a robust process that produces real clarity about where the business wants HR to focus.
This consultation process leads to valuable and productive discussions about what’s important – and why it is seen that way. HR leadership can then build and execute a plan that will deliver real business value.
This kind of strategic influencing enhances HR’s reputation as a value creator rather than as a cost centre.
Building a Winning HR Strategy: How to Align People, Culture, and Business Success
Working out HR’s priorities
In relation to the current business context and priorities …
Why do you see it that way?
We have an online surveying tool if you decide to gather views from different groups.
We also have a ‘self-drive’ set of guidelines that HRBPs or other team members can use to bring this consultation into their conversations.
How does strategic influencing impact organisational culture?
Strategic influencing helps shape organisational culture by promoting values and behaviours that align with business objectives. HR professionals can influence culture through policies, leadership development, and by modelling desired behaviours, leading to a more cohesive and productive work environment.
Much of this kind of influencing is achieved conversation by conversation, as the HR leader takes opportunities to help the business leader understand the nuances of culture, values and behaviour and how they impact performance and profitability.
Our Success Model provides a practical framework to quantify the impact of HR’s work.
How to build HR’s strategic influence in today’s landscape
Strategic influencing for HR leaders
Can strategic influencing improve employee engagement?
Yes, by strategically influencing organisational practices and communication, HR can enhance employee engagement. Aligning HR initiatives with employee needs and business goals fosters a sense of purpose and commitment among employees. In practice, this is done by helping business leaders and managers to understand how engagement works and what drives it or undermines it.
What are some challenges in developing strategic influencing capabilities in HR?
Challenges include overcoming resistance to change, bridging gaps between HR and other departments, and developing a deep understanding of business operations. It is vital for HR people to develop business acumen – to understand how their organisation makes money (or serves its stakeholders) and how it loses money.
Every HR leader should find an ally in the Finance team who will help them to understand the numbers.
Key factors in HR’s ability to influence strategic (or operational) decisions are:
- Looking through a business lens (rather than HR’s)
- Speaking business language – which means being able to use numbers to make a business case.
- Avoid using HR jargon. It creates distance between HR and its stakeholders.
Continuous learning and development, such as participating in Enable-HR International’s workshops, can help address these challenges.
How does strategic influencing relate to HR business partnering?
Strategic influencing is a key component of HR business partnering, where HR professionals work closely with business leaders to align HR strategies with organisational goals. Effective influencing ensures that HR initiatives are integrated into business planning and decision-making processes.
What is strategic business partnering – and how do we ensure it delivers value?
What tools can assist HR professionals in enhancing their strategic influence?
Tools such as people analytics provide data-driven insights that support strategic decision-making. Enable-HR International offers people analytics services that help HR professionals understand workforce trends and inform their influencing strategies.
Many organisations do not have in-house analysts, and their sources of employee data can be spread across several different systems. We build dashboards for clients which draw all their people data into one dynamic, user-friendly interface. Alongside this, our experts provide support to dig into the data and draw out meaningful conclusions.
Employee research and people analytics dashboards for better decision making
How can Enable-HR International support organisations in developing strategic influencing capabilities?
Enable-HR International specialises in empowering HR functions to increase their strategic impact. Through services like business and HR strategic alignment, leadership development, and people analytics, they help organisations enhance their HR capabilities and influence.
How does strategic influencing differ from traditional HR roles?
Strategic influencing goes beyond the traditional administrative and operational functions of HR by focusing on aligning HR initiatives with long-term organisational goals. It involves playing a proactive role in decision-making, advocating for resources, and shaping company culture to drive sustainable growth. Enable-HR International provides training and tools to help HR professionals make this transition seamlessly.
Can strategic influencing help with organisational change?
Yes, strategic influencing is essential for driving organisational change. HR professionals use their influence to align stakeholders, manage resistance, and ensure smooth transitions during periods of change. By leveraging their strategic insight, they act as change agents. Enable-HR International offers consulting services to help HR teams navigate organisational change effectively.
What qualities make a strong strategic influencer in HR?
Strong strategic influencers in HR possess qualities such as emotional intelligence, excellent communication skills, business acumen, and the ability to build relationships across departments. They also demonstrate confidence in presenting ideas and influencing decision-makers. Enable-HR International’s leadership development programmes help HR professionals cultivate these critical qualities.
How can strategic influencing enhance talent management strategies?
Strategic influencing helps HR professionals craft talent management strategies that align with business goals. It ensures that recruitment, training, retention, and succession planning initiatives support the organisation’s long-term success. Enable-HR International provides tailored solutions to optimise talent management through strategic HR practices.
Why should HR leaders focus on developing strategic influencing capabilities?
HR leaders who develop strategic influencing capabilities position themselves as trusted advisors and key contributors to business success. These skills enable them to align HR initiatives with organisational objectives, advocate for resources, and lead transformative change. Enable-HR International supports HR leaders with bespoke programmes, including executive coaching, designed to enhance their strategic influence.
More Strategic Influencing in HR FAQs can be found here: Strategic Influencing in HR FAQs
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If you are interested in learning more about our co-founder, Deborah Wilkes, or learning more about Empowering HR, we invite you to purchase Deborah’s book, which is endorsed by Dave Ulrich.
