‘Tis the season! Various holiday celebrations and traditions will be honored, shopping frenzies will be had, family time will be shared, and unpredictable weather is to be expected. And with these diverse activities come many facets of HR for us to focus on; stress management, vacation policies, flexible work arrangements, emergency weather procedures, not to mention to much-anticipated yearly reviews. And while all of these things are important in their own right, it is invariably more important that we, as partners with our business, remember that this is also the season of the “last big push”.
For operational leaders everywhere, it’s getting last minute product out the door to the customer on time with exceptional quality; for sales, it’s getting every last order in before the books close on 2011, and securing orders for first quarter 2012; for financial leaders, it’s making sure every bill, every variance, every piece of inventory, etc. is accounted for and reported. And for human resources leaders, it should be about utilizing the tools and knowledge in your arsenal to advance these activities, and help your customer groups operate flawlessly.
Often times you hear about the success that HR leaders gain when they step outside of traditional roles and deep-dive into the business, immersing themselves in their client-teams and gaining operational knowledge and skills. And while I highly recommend to anyone who does get an opportunity to do so, more often than not the probability of that being offered to you is unlikely, so beefing up on your operational know-how is something you will need to do on your own, not only for your career, but for the benefit of your clients. One of the biggest complaints about HR is that we are too removed from what is actually happening, and what matters on a day-to-day basis for the business. In order to not only challenge that perception, but change it, and gain the respect of your business leaders, you will need to be able to prove your operational awareness and apply it. December is one of the best times to demonstrate this; instead of pushing unreasonable demands on your leaders and becoming a faceless paradigm known as “HR”, get out into the business, use your specialty skill set as well as operational acumen to help solve the issues at hand.
But how can you gain the in-depth knowledge you need in order to come to the table as a true operational leader? Learn about your business. As mentioned, this is not the month to start having sit-down meetings with leaders, shadowing floor supervisors, inviting yourself to strategy meetings, etc., but you can spend some time to expand on your knowledge of the industry, the company, and your division / client teams specifically, and set goals for yourself the coming year to learn more.
What are their challenges? What have they typically done well in the past? Where are they struggling from a delivery perspective, and how is your competitor beating them? What are the deliverables for the coming year, and what challenges will there be in meeting them? Are we embracing new technological advancements, and if so, how is it allowing us to deliver better/faster? Are we incorporating LEAN systems in our workforce, and training everyone on the mindset?
After you gain a solid foundation, start incorporating this knowledge into the way you do your job – and become more involved in matters typically outside your scope. The more you learn, and become ingrained in your clients and business’ needs, the more you will not just become a human resources leader, but a business leader. You will be able to answer operational questions from a new perspective, as you not only have the operational foundation, but the HR knowledge and people skills that will lead you to think more creatively, and with an eye for what this will do for the business as well as the employee. There are several issues where various employment law or union relations skills would be unquestionably effective, but the knowledge of the operational need is also apparent as well – a successful marriage of both is needed. Talent management is another area where both can be called upon, as operational needs may require different mixes of talent depending up on your cyclical staffing needs; do you have a need for temporary staffing, are your teams staffed appropriately and not too bottom / top heavy, etc. Rolling out any kind of new policy, procedure, incentive, or program can also call for operational knowledge, and extensive understanding of your customer base. For those leaders that can present this knowledge to their customers, as well as their extensive HR knowledge, it will not only be an invaluable tool for the business, but for the leader as well.
Until next time … Be Inspirational!
