To what extent can HR be business-led?

It’s a great aspiration in today’s world, and there’s a huge appetite for strategic partnering in HR.

That’s the part of the HR operating model that business leaders understand best. ‘I see myself as a mini CEO, and I want a mini CPO’ said a business unit leader to me yesterday.

So, if you start there, you’re pushing on an open door.

In reality, most HR functions have some version of Dave Ulrich’s three-part model. However, there are many variations on how this is deployed – and on where the power lies.

If you want your HR function to be seen as a value creator rather than as a cost centre, the power can’t be with the CoEs. And yet that’s often what I find when I’m commissioned to work out how HR can become a real driver of business success.

Programs get rolled out from the centre that don’t land well. It could be that they’re too complex, that the timing is wrong, or that there isn’t a perceived need for them.

Whatever the cause, it means a huge waste of resources. It’s frustrating too, and makes HR look like they’re disconnected from, and insensitive to, business realities. The HRBP can find themselves like a piggy-in-the-middle.

This is why it’s important to challenge how you’re structured, as well as how your teams work together. There can be a lot of history and unhelpful legacy thinking, but you can shift that.

If this is something you are exploring please contact me if you’d like to have a no obligation chat about how we can help you.