Upgrading Your Job to “Business Partner”

Most HR professionals would probably admit that they were drawn to the calling because they love people. For most, a primary reward of the job is being mentor, nurturer, facilitator, advocate and expediter, i.e., helping people do better in the workplace, the setting in which they spend most of their waking hours. The HR officer who gets poor marks for people skills probably came into the profession by the back door—and the reputation of any HR department whose tone is set by such a person suffers accordingly. HR is supposed to show the kinder, gentler side of the company. Being nice is a sine qua non of the discipline.

But, under the pressure of a much more rigorous business environment, the HR discipline itself is evolving. No one would argue that the people-friendly aspect of HR ever will be, or should be, slighted. However, many HR professionals—sometimes following the lead of visionary CFOs and CEOs, sometimes on their own initiative—increasingly see themselves as business people. HR has commonly accepted low status as a one of the maligned non-revenue-generating departments, at best on a par perhaps with auditing, or at worst as a necessary evil. Finance departments have looked with suspicion or resentment at HR because the latter is seen as a drain. HR holds the reigns on the revenue outflows that can be the most difficult to control: compensation, benefits and pensions. More than one CFO has sought to gain control of HR only to be defeated by the complexities of the people aspect of the function.

But the evolution of HR in the direction of a full business partner is not a given, nor is it necessarily welcomed even by many HR professionals nurse resume help . Whether deservedly or not, HR is commonly viewed as one of the most conservative and risk-adverse areas of an organization. It is, after all, custodian of the corporate rules and is usually concerned that everything be done by the book. One HR consultant estimates that “80 percent of HR professionals are not bold, not courageous, proactive, or anticipatory—they’re not any of these things. They’re always looking for affirmation.”

“Business as usual” isn’t good enough for anyone who wants to play a role in the organization’s survival.

However, as we move toward the middle years of this troubled decade, the opportunities for HR are probably unprecedented. For one thing, business as usual isn’t really good enough for any corporation or organization—or for any department that wants to play role in the company’s survival. There’s too much pressure on the bottom line everywhere. Companies need all the wisdom and all the help that they can get in fashioning strategies to weather the bear market and the sluggish economy.

Can’t HR step up to the plate and be part of the team seeking to make a difference? Also, the legislative climate certainly is working in HR’s favor. The requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, in terms of mandating the right talent for the right jobs, mean that companies will need HR as a fully functioning business partner. (Note: Sarbanes-Oxley will be covered in a later issue of The Five O’Clock News.) It’s not as if the infrastructure were missing: HR now touches all departments and divisions of any company—everything from sales and manufacturing to IT and auditing. It recruits for all, handles the benefits, compensation and performance evaluations for all. What may be missing to move HR to the next level of power and influence are ambition, insight and the will on the part of HR people themselves. They need to break the predominant mold, and become bold, courageous, proactive and anticipatory.