How can I sell HR strategies with intangible value?
| Published date | 21 October 2007 |
| Date | 21 October 2007 |
| Pages | 7-7 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390980000991 |
| Author | Cheryl Fields Tyler |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
7
Volume 6 Issue 5 July/August 2007
Q&A
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Leading industry experts answer your strategic HR queries
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Q&A
HR AT WORK
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Q: How can I sell
HR strategies with
intangible value?
T
his question is one of the perennial
issues in HR, and there are some
very practical ways to tackle it. First,
build a compelling point of view on the
people drivers of business success for your
company. To do so, you must build your
fluency in the fundamentals of your
business. What differentiates your
business from the customer point of
view? What drives profit and shareholder
value? What is your company’s vision
strategy and plan? On that foundation
you can then build a clear point of view
on what it takes on the people side of
your business to execute and win.
Guard against platitudes like “We
need top talent” – that’s a given.
Diagnose and articulate the four to six
people priorities that are key to achieving
performance breakthroughs. Is it getting
a stronger slate of executive leaders in
place? Is it attracting and keeping “star”
talent that will create the new product or
service breakthrough? Is it shifting your
sales incentive system to drive solution
selling behavior in the field?
Speak the language of the business
Second, communicate your point of view
and recommended HR strategies in the
language of the business, not in “HR
program speak.” For example, I recently
witnessed an HR leader briefing senior
leadership on a new performance
evaluation system. This new approach
was designed to drive a new culture of
leadership accountability for team results
and more effective talent differentiation
within teams – both clear and compelling
“people drivers” that executive
leadership was looking to HR for help in
addressing. But the three-hour briefing
focused on the new automated
evaluation tool, the HR schedule
requirements that leaders must adhere
to, and the forced-ranking template
everyone had to fill out for their teams. It
goes without saying that the new system
landed with a gigantic thud. What a
difference it would have made if that
session had focused on the business
purpose of the new system, helping the
executives understand how this new tool
would help them implement what they
had already committed to as leaders.
Link people strategies to core outcomes
Third, compile and use a combination of
qualitative and quantitative data to
reinforce the linkages between people
strategies and core business outcomes. HR
performance scorecards are fine, but too
often those metrics are rearview mirror-
focused. They don’t help HR leaders
diagnose the real pain points in the
organization. Simple tools like pulse
surveys, focus groups and leadership
interviews are key to garnering data that
reinforces the linkage between people
priorities and business needs. Don’t over-
complicate things – use the initial data as
a benchmark and repeat the same, simple
measurement techniques to show
progress and improvement over time.
Refine your leadership skills
Fourth, expect to stretch you own
personal leadership. It takes courage
and growth to position yourself for real
influence and impact. Ask for feedback
and coaching from a trusted colleague
outside of HR to understand how you
appear to non-HR colleagues.
Strengthen your general business and
financial acumen. Network beyond HR
circles. Take on special assignments that
will enable you to learn about other
aspects of your business. Do your
homework and expect to feel outside
your comfort zone at times.
The most successful HR leaders see
themselves as business people first and
HR practitioners second. Develop a
compelling point of view on what it will
take on the people side of the business
for your organization to succeed, and
then use your personal leadership skills
and the “tools of the HR trade” to
catalyze performance breakthroughs
where it matters most.
Cheryl Fields Tyler
has nearly 20 years’
experience in business
effectiveness research and
consulting and has consulted in nearly every
industry,in both the private and not-for-profit
sectors. She is the founder and CEO of Fields
Tyler Consulting.
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