Do you get “it”?

I just stepped away from an online conversation with an industry colleague, and shall I say, newly found unofficial mentor. We were discussing the state of the Human Resources industry and the changes that have occurred in the industry, as well as the changes that still need to be made. My colleague said something that resonated in me, as I am sure it may in others:

"Once people get it, they become an evangelist.” 

I loved that statement! I thought, “That is so true”! But then I thought, what is "it" we are supposed to get? And who doesn't get "it" yet? Should we get "it"? Does "it" require an ointment of some sort?

Well, here "it" is in my words: 

Be a business leader, living in an HR world (Put that to music if you want). 

HR leaders constantly define themselves as just that...HR leaders. I’m guilty of that myself, just look at my LinkedIn profile. Do Operations Managers call themselves Operations leaders? Or do CEOs define their skill set by doing standard CEO things, like sitting at the end of table and making final CEO decisions? No. They define and prioritize their skills by expertise in their business. 

So HR peeps, if you want to have a seat at the table, then stop acting like a specialist who is an expert at progressive discipline and start acting like a business leader! Learn the business...become an expert in what you do. Not in what singular you does (yawn); be an expert at what you as a company does. If you send out war cries about your company values, and insist employees promote and live those values, then you should have a well-rounded understanding of what goes in to the values. It’s recruitment marketing and employer branding 101. 

It's not you, it’s...well, maybe it’s you

When I started in HR in the early 2000's, I sat in countless HR conferences and meetings listening to HR professionals complain and strategize about how to get a seat at the almighty table. Strategy may be an overstatement, however. These discussions usually consisted of a universal HR voice saying "HEY! We NEED a seat at the table!". 

A few years later, I'm reading headlines like "Time to Blow up HR and Build Something New" in Harvard Business Review. Now, to be fair, the issue goes on to provide sound advice on what to do about it (and it’s not pulling the pin and running), but how did we garner such strong vernacular when it comes to the state of HR?

That's because we, as professionals in the HR field, never thought by demanding a seat at the table, that we may not be the right fit for said seat. It was a bad game of musical chairs and we were the opportunistic winner. We then found ourselves in front of strategic teams and spouted the same old compliance-ridden, HR type solutions with no real innovation. Some of us remained transactional by nature yet in a strategic role. Yes, there is still need for the transactional and very stringent needs for compliance, payroll etc....but those are two very different people. It's time for those two people to break up and go their own way.

If HR is to grow and advance, it needs motivated leaders of business, who happen to know HR. It needs evangelists who get "it". 

But I still don't know what "it" is. Right, right. Okay...

"It" is different for every company, for every person, and for every employee; just as every human is different. But that's just it! HUMAN. PEOPLE. We all make businesses successful. Happy people work harder, faster and smarter for companies to whom they are loyal. Loyalty and happiness is not driven by policy and procedure. It is not dependent on whether a person works 7 vs. 8 hours per day or if the employee handbook contains a policy that is strictly compliant with state and federal law. It is dependent on the overall culture derived by an organization, the cumulative experience derived from working at a company. It is derived from the human aspect of a company. 

Leaders in HR should be people-centric by nature, inquisitive and striving for improvement at all times.

It’s all about experience, baby

In today's ever-competitive job market, employers need to focus more than ever on the employee experience. Hot topics to note:

• Flexible Work Arrangements

• Evolving a discipline culture to one of coaching and mentorship

• Recruitment Marketing

• Employer Branding

• Realistic managing

• Career Development

I’ll be writing in more detail on these subjects soon.

Become a Marketer. Become the Evangelist. 

Human Resources is Marketing. Whether it is recruitment marketing or employer branding, HR is marketing (like it or not). Hell, most pros in the human resource game have to develop and maintain their own personal brand. 

Walk in the shoes of a candidate navigating your recruitment process. What is that experience like? Is it enjoyable? Are they excited at the possibility to work there? Or are they approached by the cranky recruiter who acts like the first phone screen is a security clearance interview for the secret service? 

Walk in the shoes of an employee. Are they excited about coming to work? Why or why not? Then make a plan to embrace the whys and alleviate the why-nots when possible. It’s not an exact science. We’ll never get it just right. But when we do get something right, share that sh&%! As all marketers know, competition is good and healthy. Being the coolest kid on the block is only cool if there are other kids. We’re all in this together, trying to make the human work experience better for everyone. That’s when you get “it”. And when you do, become the evangelist. 

You’re not alone in “it”

Last year, Society for Human Resource Management released its new competency model, in which you will find a huge shift from that of the traditional HR to one of people-centric acumen. 

Even more encouraging is the development of organizations such as DisruptHR. Similar to the format of Tedx, DisruptHR holds upbeat (if slightly edgy) events and coins itself as “The Rebellious Future of HR”. Events are held internationally, and chances are they are coming to a city near you. If you happen to be attending the one in Dallas on September 19th, look me up…I’d love to meet you! In the meantime, the organization has a ton of recorded talks from past events on their website. 

And that just scratches the surface! There are so many bloggers, writers and evangelists out there with tips on how to be an HR leader in the modern workplace.

-       Marnie Robbins, HR Freelancer, Evangelist