What does it take to be a relevant HR leader? This presentation will show you what you should be doing to enhance the credibility and respect your brand deserves.

1. 7 Steps to HR Relevance
Pamela J. Green, MBA, SPHR, ACC
The HR Coaching and Career Ins2tute
@pamelajgreen Tweet Responsibly

2. HR’s Business Challenge
How Can HR Demonstrate Business
Relevance and Add Value to the
BoGom Line?

4. Being capable of making a difference in
decision-making with Nmely HR
informaNon to impact the present and
future outcomes desired by you and your
organizaNon.
HR Relevance

5. Recent CEO Quotes About HR
“The senior HR execuNve [needs to be] a business
person first and an HR leader second. They need to
decipher and deliver.”
“Human resources must up their act…”
“HR needs to prepare people to accept change and
behave in new ways to achieve the firm’s goals and
realize its returns-on-investment (ROI).”

6. Are HR and Organiza2onal Priori2es Aligned?
A survey of top studies suggest that they might not be.
Organiza2on’s Priori2es HR’s Priori2es
1. Match talent needs with
organizaNonal strategies.
2. Master the basic elements of
HR.
3. Predict outcomes.
4. Diagnose problems and
prescribe value added acNons.
5. Use an accurate and complete
view of workforce costs to
evaluate decisions.
1. CommunicaNng HR
iniNaNves company
wide.
2. Employee engagement.
3. Proving the ROI of HR
iniNaNves.
4. Cost management.
5. Focus on technology
and performance
management.
Sources: EREMedia, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, HCI, CIPD, HBR

7. 7 STEPS TO HR RELEVANCE

8. Step 1: Build Credibility
• Establish strategic partnerships
• Demonstrate fiscal responsibility
• Serve as internal consultant
• Respected as the chief talent expert

9. Establish Strategic Partnerships
• IdenNfy, model and implement best
pracNces.
• Support organizaNonal work.
• Ensure cross agency and cross
organizaNonal collaboraNon.

10. Demonstrate Fiscal Responsibility
• Determine the RIGHT measures that
demonstrate value and strategic
bench strength.
• IdenNfy strategies and business
problems that link HR to value and
profitability.

11. Serve as Internal Consultant
• IdenNfy the new behaviors needed to
achieve goals.
• Pinpoint techniques that ensure the
support and sustainability of HR
programs and systems.

12. Respected as the Chief Talent Expert
• Known for aGracNng and developing a
talented and diverse workforce
through workforce planning and
development.
• Design scenario and strategic
workforce plans to align HR with the
core strategy.

13. Step 2: Determine what key
stakeholders care about
• Understand that HR is not monolithic.
• Know the business.
• Look for ways to connect with and idenNfy
what “they” want to accomplish.
• Put HR on the firing line.

14. Top Leader Priori2es Include…
• Workforce Development and RetenNon
• Technology Changes (mulNchannel, e/m
commerce)
• Business Growth and Development
• Addressing CompeNtor’s Advancing Market
Share
• Business Security and Recovery

15. Step 3: Know What’s Trending in HR
• HRIS Systems and Security
• Data Analysis
• Financial Acuity
• Healthcare Costs
• Talent Management
• Employee Engagement and Development

16. Step 4: Link HR to Profitability
• Sales Growth: Analyze the pace at which your
organizaNon's sales revenue is/not growing
and the HR implicaNons and related
strategies.
• Working Capital: Measure your organizaNon's
financial health by analyzing talent readiness
and capability to meet any short-term
obligaNons.

17. Step 4: Link HR to NFP Profitability
• Development: Assess the operaNonal costs,
especially the quanNty/quality of talent needed
to raise $1. For example:
– Capital Campaign/Major Gils $ .05 to $ .10 per dollar
raised.
– Direct Mail Renewal $ .20 per dollar raised.
– Direct Mail AcquisiNon $ 1.00 to $ 1.25 per dollar
raised.
• Salary and Benefits: Ensure they are
proporNoned to revenue the organizaNon will
raise during the year.

18. Step 4: Con2nued…
At meeNngs listen for the following words:
Expansion
Downsize
ReducNons
Risk-Adverse
New Technology/Program
Long-term goal
Sluggish sales/revenue/income
AcquisiNon
Growth
CompeNNon
ProducNvity

19. Step 5: Key Measures that Lead to
Results and ROI
• RetenNon Value: Hire/Develop/SeparaNon
(employee retenNon = money retenNon)
• Employee referral rates
• Revenue per employee: (Revenue-OperaNng
Cost)/Total FTE
• SaNsfacNon/engagement (predict turnover)

20. Step 5: Con2nued…
• Tie Employee Performance to Customer
SaNsfacNon/RetenNon
• Measure EROI - the pre-tax dollars generated
for every dollar invested in employees. This
metric shows how effecNvely the investment
in employees is supporNng the organizaNon’s
goals. The larger the percentage return the
more effecNve your investment in people is
working.

21. EROI Example
EROI = {(Revenue – (OperaNng Cost – Labor Cost))/Labor Cost}-1
For example, if an organizaNon has:
Revenue of $ 4.5 million
OperaNng Costs of $ 3.75 million
Labor costs of $ 1.5 million
then the EROI = {(4,500,000-[3,750,000 – 1,500,000]) / 1,500,000} – 1
= 0.5 = 50%
Or, for every dollar invested, the organizaNon receives back the
original dollar and 50 cents of pre-tax profit. This is described as a 50%
return.

22. HR Profit Center Model
Business
Problem
Cost of
the
Problem
HR
SoluNon
Cost of
the HR
SoluNon
$
Benefit
from
SoluNon
Cost–
Benefit
= Profit/
Loss
Source: Turning Your HR Department into a
Profit Center by Michael Mercer

23. Your Approach
• The cost of the soluNon should not exceed the
cost of the problem
• Monitor industry salary trends
– Determine your compeNNveness (What are
compeNtors doing?)
• Capture the benefit/expense of Training,
MeeNngs, ProducNvity, Absenteeism and
Tardiness

24. Your Methodology
• AnNcipate business needs
– Growth/decline in revenue
• Your sole purpose is to figure out ways to:
– Increase profit
– Decrease costs
– Make employees more efficient
– Improve producNvity

25. Step 6: Elevate Your Capability,
Competency, and Credibility
• Scenario Planning
• Strategic Workforce Planning
• Lean Six Sigma
• HR Financial Reports
• Metrics and AnalyNcs
• Cyber Security

26. Scenario Planning
1) Develop credible scenarios.
Evaluate the wide varieNes of potenNal influences
on your businesses, from customer moves to
supplier changes, shils in energy prices, and
compeNNve acNons etc.
2) Then iden2fy success factors or competencies for
your organiza2on to flourish in each scenario.
Managing change, collaboraNon, technical capabiliNes,
innovaNon, customer service, etc.

27. Scenario Planning
3) HR and top
management should
then focus resources
on developing these
competencies.
Expected Future
Alterna2ve Future #1
(Preferred)
AlternaNve Possible
Future #2
Worst Case Scenario

28. Strategic Workforce Planning
Aligns the needs and prioriNes of the
organizaNon with those of its workforce to
ensure it can achieve its business requirements
and organizaNonal objecNves.
Demand Supply Gaps AcNons

29. Lean Six Sigma
A methodology that relies on a collaboraNve
team effort to improve performance by
systemaNcally removing waste:
Defects, overproducNon, waiNng, non-uNlized
talent, transportaNon, inventory, moNon, and
downNme.

30. Step 7: Ensure Sustainability
• HR is aligned with vision, mission, and strategy
– also involved in strategic planning.
• There is commitment by top brass.
• If more than one in HR, others are commiGed
to the work.
• HR involvement becomes part of your
operaNonal DNA: Performance Reviews,
discussions, calibraNons, business growth, etc.

31. Showcase HR Relevance
1. Determine what key stakeholders care about.
2. Know what is trending in HR.
3. Link HR to profitability.
4. IdenNfy key measures that lead to results
and ROI
5. Elevate your capability, competence and
credibility.
6. Ensure sustainability.

32. Showcase HR Relevance
• Track, analyze and solve business problems
from a profit/value centered perspecNve (not
just service oriented)
• Deliver presentaNons to leadership about
profit/value centered effecNveness
• Train and coach HR staff to think from a
profit/value centered perspecNve

34. Resource Books

35. Thank You
Ask me anything.
Pam@hrcci.com
202-293-4965
www.hrcci.com
hGps://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelajgreen