HR Professionals: Are you ready to take on a world of business?

It may not be widely realized by the outside world quite yet, but I do hope all of you HR professionals out there will agree – Human Resources is an exciting field to be a part of! The ‘HR brand’ has been changing and is still evolving: HR professionals are winning the battle to internally brand HR as a key strategic player, as the value of strategic HR processes is being increasingly recognized, and the use of HR as a strategic tool is gaining momentum among organizations of all sizes and across all industries. With HR expanding in scope and depth – demonstrating its worth to those who have long dismissed it as nothing more than the traditional administrative function – those organizations taking a strategic approach to HR are finding the return on investment is high.

As HR moves up to the big leagues and steps up to the plate, HR professionals are responsible for ensuring they do not ‘swing and miss’. The HR field has been in an ongoing struggle to prove its strategic value, and now, as we are presented with the opportunity to do just that, it makes it even more necessary for those working in the field to have the business skills to turn an HR problem into a business solution, and a strategic HR plan into a sustained business advantage.

Is there any doubt HR is a key driving force behind organizational success? Not any more! Numerous studies have erased it, studies like those by Professor Dan Ondrack from the J.L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Professor Ondrack’s study has shown that Best Employer firms outperform the competition in any given industry. It is no secret that having the right people, in the right place, driven to do the right things is the foundation for business success. What we need to ask ourselves is what do HR people need to do and what do we need to be really good at, to ensure that we hit that home run and leave the competition scrambling to get back in the game?

The answer? HR leaders have to have essential business skills, sound business knowledge, an analytical mind, the drive to succeed and the ability to communicate with their peers from other business fields. The reality is that HR has a larger role to play than perhaps even HR professionals realize. In a world where ethics and good corporate governance is no longer a ‘bonus’ but a necessity, HR has the opportunity to help the organization manage risk and enable and empower employees to do the right things and take the right steps. HR is responsible for creating levels of accountability, and for taking any steps necessary from a governance perspective to ensure that questionable business behaviour is not tolerated.

So, to all you HR Professionals, I ask you: Are you ready to take on a world of business?

Jennifer Roney
e: jenny@engagehr.com