What Do You Want From Your HR Team?

What Do You Want From Your HR Team?

I read an article recently that asked the above question of a group of senior executives. One CEO had the response that “I want HR to read my mind." While this may appear to be a joke, there's a lot of truth to the statement. Reflected below is some additional feedback from that same group of executives.

• I want HR to speak my language. We’ve all heard over and over how we need to be business-savvy and speak the “language of business.” One CEO said it perfectly. He said “Sometimes, I feel like I’m speaking a different language to my HR person. I want to feel like what I’m saying is making sense and that they know what to do with it.” He then went on to acknowledge that sometimes it’s hard for his HR people because he isn’t always the best at articulating his thoughts. But, it helps when they learn how he thinks and what is on his mind so that he has less explaining to do.

• I need HR to think for me. The point this CEO was making was that his brain doesn’t necessarily think about the critical employee issues the same way that HR does. So, he needs HR to be thinking about things that aren’t part of his daily routine. He wants HR to take that leadership role and, in most cases, take care of these issues so he can focus on the business.

• I want HR to help me solve my problems. Many of the executives talked about current challenges in retaining staff and getting qualified staff on board. One gentleman in particular said that the thing that keeps him up at night is knowing that he’ll have enough of the specialized talent that he needs to support the incredible growth the company is experiencing. He wants to know that his HR people are doing everything they can to solve this problem with him.

• I want HR to keep me out of trouble. The CEO wants you to warn them before they make a move that could land them on the witness stand. There's always a right way and the wrong way to tell the CEO that they are headed for trouble. We agreed that “you can’t do that” is probably not the right approach. But, the group overwhelming agreed that a loud, stern warning would be appropriate. One CEO joked, “Sometimes you have to yell, but I’ll hear you.”

Any HR department can benefit from asking this same question of their executive team. You might be surprised by what you hear – and you may have an opportunity to view your own job in new light.

Keep communicating!