Worldwide, the number one concern on the mind of CEO’s after political and economic factors is the availability of key skills (PwC’s CEO Survey, 2018). That means the first thing on the list that’s within most organizations’ control is a human capital problem. Good news: it’s game-time for those in HR! Bad news: most HR functions are not positioned to tackle this problem.
More bad news: in the past fifteen years, HR has not moved the needle to make a strategic impact in business. In fact, according to CEB Global (now Gartner), HR Effectiveness has gone down 8% in the past three years and only 15% of HR talent is capable of succeeding in today’s work environment. The data consistently lists the same general competencies needed for great HR: business acumen, innovation, leadership, creating value through data, and forming strategic relationships.
To keep it simple, it all boils down to one thing: BUSINESS ACUMEN.
Have it on your HR team, and your organization is firing on all cylinders. Missing it on your HR team, and your company is left on the sidelines watching others speed by.
There is a lack of context in the ever-elusive “Business Acumen” moniker (otherwise referred to as: strategic, smart, business-savvy, and “gets it”). The term is overused and underexplained. Google dictionary defines “acumen” as the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain. HR people – all young professionals in business, really – need practical behavioral examples to practice and perfect this competency. When a new professional wants to “be strategic,” but keeps missing the mark, the gap is that they don’t understand what they need to do. Leaders can help them by describing the competency in terms of action. Here are some practical behaviors you can exhibit and teach that bring the concept of “business acumen” to life:
- Get to know the players. Do this first and do not put it off. If you have been in your role for a while and haven’t been practicing this, you can start doing this today. If you are just joining HR at your organization – it’s perfect timing. A great company should already have these meetings set up for you as part of your onboarding. If they don’t, take it upon yourself to schedule them. Lunch dates are nice, but be sure to schedule most of your initial meetings with structured 1-1 time with each key player. You want to establish relationships, but don’t forget you’re assessing your company’s talent inventory. Don’t make the mistake of assuming only leaders and executives are “key players” – some of the most valuable talent are individual contributors performing their roles well who have been in the organization for some time. Don’t leave them out. Come prepared with questions that will help you learn who the players are, what part of the business they serve, how they serve it, what motivates them, what they need, who the top players are and why, what’s working and what’s not (for starters). Depending on the size of your organization, this could take a few weeks to a few months. Resist the urge not to finish this once you get busy – that can be a trust killer. This is where you build early credibility, make important relationships and acquire much-needed business knowledge. You do this by asking smart questions, listening, learning and connecting all the dots. You should not advise, coach or impart your knowledge at this point – you are learning, grasshopper (no matter how experienced you are). Your time will come.
- Get to know the business. This is an endeavor you will start day one and never stop, and you start with meeting the key players (see first bullet). Once you’ve had your first “key player” meeting, ask to make them a regular thing. Ask if you can join team, department and functional meetings to listen and learn more. Meet with Finance to understand the financial reporting structure and the levers that drive profitability. Meet with Marketing to understand your market position and value proposition. Meet with sales people to understand how they position the company and make a sale. Meet with operational leaders to understand processes within their function and how and when they interact with other functions. Find out who your company’s competitors are and follow them. Find out why your organization wins and loses business when they do, and the market forces that impact your company. Know your strategy to compete and win in the marketplace. If you’re new at getting involved in the business, don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed. It’s not expected you know or understand everything in one or two meetings. You will learn over time. Hear this: if you prioritize HR Administrivia or other work over this, then you’ve fallen directly into one of the that will ruin your chance at being a strategic partner and making a real impact in your business. If you don’t have time for this work, you’re working on the wrong things, and your .
- Analyze Data and Provide Insights. This is where HR fails time and time again. Organizational leaders are begging HR to contribute in this way, but year after year HR is ranked poorly in their ability to use data to make an impact. It doesn’t take a math whiz or data geek to collect and analyze information and feed it back in ways that are meaningful. Find out what data will help, and start gathering it. Research benchmarks, begin trending your data, analyze it, and put it in the context of how it impacts your organization. Then, provide recommendations based on your data-driven insights. And don’t forget to calculate and show the return on investment (ROI) for your work. HR has access to enormous amounts of data that, when organized in meaningful ways, can provide tremendous, untapped value to your organization.
- Connect with stakeholders early and often. Stakeholders will differ based on the project or initiative you’re working on. Find out who they are and connect with them right away. Ask for their input and feedback, include them from the very beginning and along the way, and run any final work or ideas by them before they are submitted. Leaving them out will negatively impact your credibility and trust, and your project won’t be as good as it could have been had you included them. Not to mention, it will probably result in more work. So do it right from the beginning and form solid bonds with stakeholders.
- Have the courage to speak up. There are going to be times when your spidey senses are firing – don’t ignore them, go ahead and speak up. If you disagree with something, politely ask “why” or ask for clarification, or respectfully offer a differing opinion or idea. If you have another point of view or an idea that hasn’t been discussed, offer it up. If you were in a meeting where a decision was made and agreed upon and you didn’t speak up, then you’re on board. Disagreeing after you had the chance to do so is not cool and will be a sure way to lose the respect and trust of others. Do give thought to what you say before you say it. As Bernard Meltzer so wisely advised, ask yourself, “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it helpful?” If the answer to any of those questions is “No,” then don’t say it.
- Keep asking why until you get to the actual problem. In HR we are quick to solve problems because we want to get things done and help people. But if we don’t correctly identify the real problem, we create extra work and chaos; in the end the problem goes unsolved, and HR gets blamed. If someone comes to you asking for a specific remedy, solution, program, or task, ask why it’s needed before jumping right on it. Then ask why again. You may find that the market adjustments your Customer Service executive keeps requesting for her team are seated in a true problem of hiring over-skilled talent for a position, or an ongoing performance management issue. Dig deeper.
- Research your industry and read with fervor. You can’t add value if you don’t know anything about your business or industry. Always be reading something relevant, and be curious about what’s going on in the world where you spend most of your waking hours. If reading about your business or industry bores you, consider making a change to something that excites you. Don’t take my word for it – check out the data on what reading can do for your career.
When HR leaders and their teams are genuine in exhibiting these behaviors day-to-day, and not , great things start to happen. You begin to earn trust and credibility. Which earns you a seat at the table and a voice people want to follow. Which allows new ideas to be implemented and not just talked about. Which results in changing business behaviors. Which positively impacts the culture of the organization. Which leads to a slew of net promoters –customers and employees alike. The business is happy because they are achieving their ideals, and HR talent is happy because they are seeing the fruit of doing the work they love. And the world is a better place because people are going home happier. Everyone’s a winner.
