Why HR is a Major Player in Business Strategy

Crafting a company’s strategy can never be a one-person job. Its foundation should be a 360-degree view of the organization, meaning that you need to collect perspectives and insights from different angles to form an accurate picture of what’s really going on. No matter how eagle-eyed you fancy yourself to be, you won’t be able to keep track of every detail.

When you’re drawing up your company strategy in the boardroom, it’s crucial for an HR representative to be there. Nobody else has such a good view of what’s up with your people–and no matter how well-thought-out your strategy is, it’s going to crash if you don’t factor in the employees.   

HR can bring the following to the table:

Direction checking

A company, even as it’s made up by different people who come and go over the years, has a certain identity–and this identity is grounded in the company’s mission statement or original vision. Of course change is expected: rebranding isn’t uncommon, but it’s often intentional and backed up with extensive planning.

What you need is someone who can constantly monitor if your strategy still aligns with your company’s values. HR knows this best, considering that they’re the main champions of company culture. Going against your values for the sake of success will have bad consequences over the long run, even if it might lead to quick wins.

Gathering employee feedback

Your HR team is keenly aware of whatever is going on with employees–and you definitely need this information before, during, and after your strategy-planning.

HR is extremely familiar with your employees’ habits, pain points, and reactions. When anything new is implemented, they can catch firsthand how employees are taking it, beyond what’s being said up-front to management.

As with products, strategies are hardly done after the first execution. You need to check for feedback, both directly from the employees and indirectly from the straight-up observations of HR, then adjust your course of action.

Spotting problems

Because HR is in charge of team-building events, onboarding, training, and more, they’re the gatekeepers of your company culture and can spot glitches that might lie well beyond your radar. Culture will always impact strategy, and vice-versa. Tweaking your company culture for the better can produce huge gains in terms of performance.

Consult with your HR about inefficient processes or areas of your company culture that need improvement, and brainstorm on how you can trigger organizational transformation simply by working on your culture. While the big idea will come from the top, HR plays a significant role in how it will trickle down to employees.

Recruiting

As your company evolves, job openings will increase, new people will stream in, and there might even be restructuring of departments or shuffling of roles.  When your strategy involves expansion and bringing new people in, it becomes especially important for HR to be there.

HR is primarily responsible for recruitment, but even before that, they can help determine what additional positions are needed and what characteristics candidates should have. It’s been said that a company is defined by its people, and HR is the main facilitator here, guiding employees from hiring up to resignation.

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