It still amazes me that the majority of people in HR have to struggle to be seen as major decision makers in the business. Sure, we’re normally not a function which directly impacts the bottom line of a company, but “directly” is used very loosely here. Can you image what would happen to the financial numbers of your company if HR didn’t provide guidance on how much to pay employees, how many employees are needed or what benefits to provide? And that’s just the direct financial impact. What about things like employee engagement, costs and returns on employee development and the indirect impact of succession planning?

The list for how HR strategically effects business is endless.

So what can you do to make the powers that be realize the value you bring to the big decision table? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Make Your Way to the Business Table

No one’s going to provide you with a map to the business table, you have to find the hidden path and get their yourself. The first and most important step is to remember that actions speak louder than words. I know so many people in HR who believe that just because they can talk the talk, people think they can walk the walk. Let me just take a moment to highlight that there is always someone smarter than you out there. Don’t try to take people for a ride.

Create opportunities where you can take strategic actions for the organization. Do this, and others will realize the value you bring to the table.

Go Out and See What People at Ground Level are Doing

When is the last time you knew an HR person who tagged along with someone from the sales team when they go out into the market? Or an HR person follow a medical specialist in a hospital? Or any business for that matter? I think that one element that’ll get HR people taken more seriously is that if others perceive that they know how the business actually operates. Perception is such a powerful concept here. I mean, as HR we’d say we write the job descriptions, we do the interviews – how could anyone think we don’t know what they do?

But, once people on the ground – and in return their superiors see that HR is a proactive part of the company’s operations, your view as a strategic partner will be more valued.

Don’t Identify Problems with Workforce Issues – Provide Solutions

How often have you sat at a table and heard how total salaries need to be decreased, workforce is too high or absenteeism is causing financial pains? Can you image the same conversation if solutions were provided instead of problems? Imagine hearing, lets cut annual increments from 12% or 8%, let’s increase employee engagement instead of hiring new people, lets reward the top 3 people with the highest attendance records at the end of the year? See how that would immediately change the mindset of the conversation?

Strategic decision makers do just that – make decisions. They don’t provide problems and hope that someone else will realize the solution.

I won’t go to the extent of saying that HR is the most important department in a company. I think everyone has equally important roles to play. But if you ignore any of these components you’re setting yourself up for failure. Let me know if you plan on implementing any of these tips to become a strategic business partner and sign up to the blog so you don’t miss any other tricks of the HR world.

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