Strategic maturity of the HR function is challenging to achieve

It demands deep understanding and agreement between all top leaders about what drives human performance and how to turn that into business success.

This requires a series of conversations that help business leaders to understand cause and effect; exploring values as well as data about what drives performance.

The CPO has to have a strong strategic voice across the leadership team, in the board room as well as in the one-to-ones behind the scenes. They also need the business acumen required to set it in context.

I’m finding that more business leaders do understand that engagement drives productivity and thus in turn drives profitability. That’s great progress.

Even then, senior business leaders can ‘get’ it intellectually, but their words and actions fall short. For example, in failing to invest sufficiently in HR shared services.

In my experience, this journey of strategic thinking tends to take place alongside that of making the case for investment in operational efficiency.

I agree with Gartner that it’s difficult to achieve strategic HR maturity without the operational essentials being delivered. It’s difficult for a CPO to have strategic credibility if people aren’t paid correctly.

However, many of the HR teams I’m working with have to fight hard for sufficient resources to build their operational capabilities. They won’t get the budget they need if their CPO doesn’t have strategic leverage.

So many HR functions are, quite simply, under-resourced to fulfil their potential as value creators rather than as a cost centre.

What’s your experience of this? What has helped your HR team to build its influence and stature? How well resourced is your team?

Please do contact us to discuss this further.