3 critical ways to use your HR power for good | 2-minute video

You have HR power. But do you use it enough?

We aren’t talking about wielding power for the sake of authority. We’re talking about the power in the knowledge you have — knowledge that can help your organization run better and stronger.

HR power for the good

It’s the good kind of power and your company’s leadership can benefit from all you know about managing people, talent and processes.

Here’s the best news: More than half of company leaders admit they don’t know how to use their HR team as effectively and strategically as they’d like to, according to research from Personio.

Fortunately, in this episode of the 3-Point from HRMorning video series, we have HR leaders and experts with great ideas on how HR pros can work with company leaders to work more effectively and strategically.

Click, watch and listen for more details on the best ways to do that.

Transcript (edited for clarity):

If knowledge is power, HR could be the most powerful person in the room.

Yet, many HR pros are too busy, too humble or too ignored to take what they know to the CEO.

In fact, almost two-thirds of CEOs in a Personio study said they’d like to have a better understanding of what their HR team does. The CEO wants to know what you know. The board does, too — especially in this ever-changing business landscape. So, let’s give the C-Suite what they need. For starters …

Burch: Well, if you think about some of the hot topics that we’re seeing in business right now — not just in HR — things like staffing and keeping people. They are huge issues in the country around employment — and do we have enough of the staff. People quiet quit and all these buzzwords that are happening in business right now? And I think the C-suite is looking to HR for the strategies on how do we manage all of that. 

Mellor: Say you try to turn it into an idea and a philosophy and a process and who knows what. Stop! Stop right now. That’s a really important part of the conversation. Sometimes it’s just a, “Hey, listen, we have this whole thing that we could spend the next 30 minutes on, but I’m actually here to tell you that you’re wasting your time because if you were to go down that path, you would immediately be reaching certain things that frankly, we can’t have within this organization.”

Smith: You Know, a lot of times it’s CEOs or CFOs who will say, “Oh, HR is a cost center” — which makes me crazy. And it’s not that that’s true to a point. However, if you have strategic HR leadership, they’re going to help you drive revenue by minimizing risk, adding benefits that meet your employees needs and add value to attract and retain employees.

The C-Suite needs to hear more from HR. So …

• Be a trendsetter. Tell them about the trends you hear and see before they need to ask.
• Say stop. OK, OK, you don’t have to be the “No Person” all the time. But HR can help the C-Suite by identifying some things that just can’t happen.
• Be the balance. Show the C-Suite where you boost revenue by minimizing risks or maximizing talent.

Take what you know to your executives. You can help build a better business strategy with your human insight.