HR Inflection Points: What’s next for HR?

I’ve just caught up with this article from Dave Ulrich and as usual he picks up the strategic zeitgeist. HR is indeed at an inflection point.

The value of this image for me is that the inflection point indicates a pivotal moment of choice.

I’m travelling this journey with clients right now. As HR leaders, they’re carrying so much legacy stuff – the capabilities of their teams, the way the function is regarded by business leaders, and indeed how they regard their own role.

They do have a choice. Often, they can choose to stay as they are because they are in fact delivering well on the expectations they’ve set with their CEO. They can make incremental changes that don’t rock the boat too much.

Many CEOs just want a CPO who will solve their problems for them. They do not understand how much more potential could be released from their talent, or how value can be created when they work in true strategic partnership with their CPO.

It’s exciting work when we help HR leadership teams to move from a stodgy and often frustrating situation to one where doors are opened to a much more dynamic future. We start this process by creating the conditions for fresh, robust and productive conversations between HR leaders and business leaders. This then enables HR leaders to align far more closely with business priorities and therefore deliver measurable value. Implications that arise might include a renewal of the people strategy process, building capabilities of leaders and HRBPs, or some OD of the HR team – and we continue to partner with them to build a function they are proud of.

If you’d like to explore the choices you’re making as an HR leader, get in touch for a complimentary session where I’ll get you inspired to go for what you really want.