When I Googled “What support does HR need”, Google’s search suggestions were all about what people want and need from HR professionals, rather than what the HR professionals need. I asked HR professionals about the challenges they face and the support they need. To review, here is what I found (in order of importance):
- Leadership backing
- Emotional & psychological support
- Respect for the value HR adds
- Strategic focus
- Resourcing
- Soft skills development
- Aligned expectations
This post is part 5 of a seven-part series exploring each of these in turn from 7 (Aligned expectations) through to 1 (Leadership backing). Part 5 of the series is all about developing respect for the value HR adds. Respect as a verb means to:
“Admire (someone or something) deeply,as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.”
(Oxford Dictionary)
WIFM: Why it matters (to you – the HR Professional)
If we look through the lens of Martin Seligman’s Theory of well-being model (PERMA), lack of perceived respect from key stakeholders in the organisation is likely to result in feeling negative emotions, feeling disconnected from others, and feeling that you do not have a core purpose within an organisation.
Furthermore, if you as a HR Professional are respected for the value you add to an organisation, you are likely to be included in and expected to contribute to discussions around strategy and are more likely to have access to the resources (time, financial, headcount) you need to succeed.
But how do you get that respect? Consider the following quote:
‘Kim (HR Professional) is respected by everyone they work with,
leaders and frontline staff alike.
They are respected for their strategic approach to talent management.
This meant that our business was ahead of the game when the market fell,
with minimal job losses and maxim shareholder return.’
(Riley – fictitious CEO)
The elements to notice in this sentence are:
Who = who is doing the respecting: leader and frontline staff
Why = the reason for respect and why it is important to the organisation(aka ‘value add’): minimisation of job losses and maximising shareholder return
How = the attributes that gained respect: strategic approach to talent management
These questions are exactly what you need to ask yourself if you, as a HR Professional want to be respected for the value you add to your organisation and its people. In a nutshell:
1. Who do you want respect from?
2. Why would they respect you? (i.e. what do they value?)
3. How will you gain that respect?
Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash
1. Who do you want respect from?
Before jumping into solution mode it is important to take a customer-centric view. This means that your starting point should be to identify the key stakeholders (KSH) you want to have respect for the value HR brings to the organisation. Think about your executive team, middle and line managers, and employees. You might also want to consider external stakeholders such as the suppliers, customers, the local community, and trade unions. Then prioritise which stakeholders are the most important for you in terms of gaining their respect.
Most importunately, don’t bother expecting and seeking out respect from the business if you aren’t first clear in yourself about the value HR adds to the business.
“Before you can expect respect from others,
you have to respect yourself”
2. Why should they respect you?
Photo by Juliana Amorim on Unsplash
Once you have identified your KSH’s, you now need to identify what they value in terms of HR services. My advice here is pretty much the same as the advice I gave in my article on aligning expectations. That is, DON’T ASSUME you know what your KSH’s value and would respect your for. Whilst you might be able to make an educated guess, to get to the truth you need to go to the source and ASK. Then listen.
If you work with a large stakeholder group you probably can’t speak with everyone. In this case there are a couple of things you can do:
- Send out a simple survey asking for input
- Run a focus group with representatives from each of your stakeholder groups (don’t forget to include other HR professionals in your organisation).
What your KSH’s value from HR is probably very similar to their expectations of HR which means you can kill two birds with the one stone (no offence to birds).
Photo by Kawtar CHERKAOUI on Unsplash
3. How will you gain that respect?
To gain respect for the value HR adds to your organisation you need to first close the gap between KSH needs and wants of HR and current reality. That is, do the stuff your KSH’s value. But that’s not usually enough. You also need to tell them.
Erik van Vulpen talks about the HR value chain and a tool to show the added value of HR. It’s a simple three-step process that starts that clearly shows how HR activities lead to organisational goals. Try it for yourself and then show your KSH’s.
You can further reinforce with your KSH’s how HR adds value by showing them data. Use metrics to show them the amount of money you saved the organisation, how many employees you helped get promoted, the amount of time you saved by streamlining processes. Paint a picture that clearly shows your KSH’s how they and the organisation have benefitted from your targeted and meaningful contributions.
Remember, the three key questions you need to answer to get respect for the value you add to your organisation as a HR Professional are:
1. Who do you want respect from?
2. Why would they respect you? (i.e. what do they value?)
3. How will you gain that respect?
Failure to gain respect for your value-add within an organisation can be detrimental to you, your stakeholders and the organisation. Respect will not only gain a lot more job satisfaction, but you will find that you are included in more strategy meetings, consulted on a wider range of business issues and gain the buy-in from the business to enable you to succeed across a range of HR initiatives.
About Shift Consulting
As a Workplace Psychologist I want to support HR in the workplace because I believe that real change happens where the people are. And none of us can do it alone.
If you want to know more about shifting mindsets through coaching or groupwork, check out my website www.shiftconsulting.com.au or get in touch via email, phone or on LinkedIn.
If you are interested in receiving my follow-up newsletters, click here to get on my mailing list for your HR Support Insights newsletters. Also, if you find you have similar support needs highlighted in this article, I am also offering a 20-minute quasi-coaching session on how you might get the support you need. Obligation free.