Why it is important for HR to have a “seat” at the table.
We have heard it all before. “Who needs HR”? “Human Resources just gets in the way.” “They’re forcing me to retain poor performers.” They are just a cost center that does not add value.” These are all refrains I have actually heard over my career as a Human Resources professional. If you are in HR, you have likely heard something similar and if you are a business leader you may even think this way. I will concede that at its worst some of us in Human Resources have earned at the animosity senior management have towards us. In many cases we have lived up to being seen as unavoidable to ensure compliance, assign office space, process benefits, and arrange holiday parties along with a laundry list other tasks and responsibilities critical to the ongoing success of any business concern. This however is the human resources function viewed at its most basic level similar to the “Physiological needs” level in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid (see below) we were all required to memorize for Psych 101.
We all recall the five distinct levels of needs as outlined by Abraham Maslow. They begin with foundation of the pyramid which represents our physiological needs (food, water, shelter, etc. ) and ascend to the very top of the pyramid which represents the need for self-actualization (creativity, growth, and increased motivation). I would argue that for an organization to reach its true potential the human resources function needs to have its need for self-actualization met and, in my experience, the most efficient and effective way for this to happen is for HR to have a seat at the table.
What does it mean to have a seat at the table?
Having a seat at the table means that your HR leader is a true member of the senior leadership team. He/She/They are invited/encouraged/expected to understand your business and actively contribute to its growth, innovation, and ultimate success. This is accomplished by ensuring that they know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) that exist internally and externally so that they are able to activate the resources at their disposal in in furtherance of the organization’s mission. See, the HR leadership cannot just be a pair of hands simply executing orders passed down by the leadership. They must themselves be a leader with full situational awareness of the organizational landscape and empowered to act when necessary. This is only accomplished when the HR leader has the same information as the other leaders in the organization and has been given the authority and latitude to act on its behalf. This happens by having the HR leader in senior leadership meetings whether or not “HR” topics are being discussed.
What are the benefits of HR having a seat at the table?
I will outline four distinct organizational benefits to actualizing human resources.
- “Can you hear me now?” I have worked for a consulted with my share of organizations and the one consistent shortcoming of those organizations that had not integrated HR into their leadership was a lack of communication or outright miscommunication across the organization. An effective and informed HR team is a useful way to communicate organization changes and gauge the reaction to those changes.
- Culture, anyone? Most organizations have a distinct culture. One that comes from the top down and has been deliberately and meticulously curated to attract and retain a specific type of employee. This culture develops, trains, and rewards your employees with a frequency, and in a way that fits with the type of employees you hire into your organization. In many cases the first interaction new employees have with your organization is through contact with HR organization, These culture purveyors are your secret weapon in articulating and spreading your culture to your newly hired employees.
- You gain an evangelist. As your HR leader becomes more comfortable with the inner workings of the business, how it runs, and how HR might be leveraged to help it operate more efficiently, the business gets one more evangelist who is not constrained by title and a narrow scope and is able to discuss the business, its products and services from top to bottom and how it might be able to partner with potential customer and clients.
- Obstacle avoidance. When HR is treated like a strategic partner in the business and included in ground-level discussion about your next move, be it big or small, you able to hear from someone who may view the next move from different vantage point and is able to offer viewpoint that might not otherwise be expressed and might possibly keep you from running aground.
Of course, your HR leadership and organization needs to demonstrate value and prove they are worthy of being a valued business partner. The ways that the HR leadership and organization can do this will be covered in my next blog titled, “How HR can prove it belongs at the table.”
Reginald Taylor is a Human Resources professional with a 30-year career in the field working in both the for-profit and not for profit areas. He is the Principal at R. Taylor and Associates Consulting, LLC, an HR Consulting boutique based in Washington, DC and providing advice and counsel to companies nationwide. R. Taylor and Associates Consulting, LLC (www.rtaylorconsulting.net), “Making the Pieces fit”.
