Delivering Business Value Through HR

I was recently invited by my mentor, Eddie Lee, to attend a WSG “Adapt and Grow” session where he shared and tickled the minds of SME HR professionals on how to be more PROACTIVE rather than REACTIVE when dealing with the business side of things. It was a pretty interesting session to me being in an employer branding agency, and the following are my 4 key takeaways from his sharing.

1) Start off by asking, “What is the aim of doing this?”

Before deciding if we should even implement something, it’s important to first question the purpose of doing so. Is it to reduce turnover? Is it to generate more revenue? Is it to enhance the employer branding? What are we actually aiming to achieve by rolling out a new initiative? By first clearly defining the end goal, we can then take the most effective route to deliver value to the business.

2) Remove the HR hat and put on the business hat

To convince the senior management and line divisions that HR is a strategic partner, we need to see things from their point of view. Instead of merely saying, “I want to reduce the turnover”, the real aim of doing so could perhaps be reframed as “I want to retain the best talents to generate the highest possible revenue for the organization”. Using a different lens while leveraging on HR toolsis what we can adopt to help others appreciate the value that we are trying to deliver.

3) Focus on bringing people into the business

HR often focuses on the operational part of things and in turn, becomes very process-driven rather than thinking of how we can become an enabler to deliver strategic value to the organization. Definitely, the daily operational tasks have to be delivered. But while doing so, we should also not overlook what our true potential can bring about i.e. bringing the people element into the business and enabling them to create value for the organization. It’s not all about policy adherence or ensuring things are done in certain manner. More emphasis should be placed on value creation.

4) “Build, Borrow, Buy” model

The growth model has 3 parts to it. First, we can BUILD talent from within where we develop and then promote. Second, we can BORROW talents from other teams and re-deploy them to other parts of the organization. Third, organizations can BUY talents from the open market to fill positional gaps. Ideally, organizations should create a strong talent pipeline so that people can grow from within and progress. When that happens, talent acquisition will then be primarily at the entry level which is easier to source and cheaper to acquire.

People Mentality Inc is a HR and Employer Branding Consultant in Singapore. Our clients include Pfizer, Great Eastern, Accenture, DHL, Samsung, Coca Cola, Keppel, Loreal, Under Armour and more. We netted the HR Rising Star 2016 award and APAC Top 10 HR & Employer Branding Consultant 2020.