Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Clear Line of Sight into the Value of HR Executives

Awareness of the value of HR Executives is growing. Clear "line of sight" between Human Capital contributions and the bottom line has resulted in more measurable and better understood definitions of HR impact. A recent WSJ article points out that:


"At least 65 current and former human-resources managers serve as outside directors on 101 boards...Ten years ago, the number would have been no more than a half dozen..."


An interesting trend, for sure -- HR pros have increased their role in corporate boards by an order of magnitude.

Based on our experience working with executives in the Human Capital function, my team and I believe that the respect HR Pros are receiving is driven by two key factors:

  1. Measurement: it's become easier (and more common) to measure the contribution of HR Pros to bottom line results. So the value that's always been there is now being measured more consistently.
  2. Results-Orientation of Human Capital Pros: the HR function has evolved, increasingly, towards a "Human Capital" paradigm, which is inherently results oriented, ROI-driven, and does a better job of "connecting the dots" between HR functions and business outcomes. As a result, the best Human Capital professions in their field have become high impact, high value, and highly coveted C-level executives
It's great see see the huge intangible value added by Human Capital professionals becoming more visible!

Posted By:
Jaime FitzgeraldAlex Roberts