Is HR Hot?
SteveSo during a year when the 'Is HR Dead' discussion seemed to rage on and on,and we are still talking about HR as Secretaries, out of nowhere the Wall Street Journal runs a piece called 'HR Executives Suddenly Get Hot' - about the increasing trend of current and former HR executives being called upon to serve as outside directors for publicly traded firms.
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From the WSJ piece:
Once considered denizens of a corporate backwater, more human-resources executives are being tapped to serve as outside directors because many have become strategic players with bottom-line impact. U.S. companies wooing them seek their insight on hot-button issues such as executive pay, management succession and integrating acquisitions.
I wonder how it makes some long-time HR professionals feel to know that they were 'denizens of a corporate backwater'? That line reminds me of a post I never got around to writing titled 'Trailer Park HR'.
But I digress.
It was interesting that several of the examples in the WSJ piece had to do with firms not just wanting help with managing risk or compliance, or with navigating the recession. Rather items like 'attracting and developing top talent' and assistance in 'detailing strengths, weaknesses, and developmental needs for top staff' were cited as reasons to bring in HR talent into the boardroom. These are significant, and dare say 'strategic' activities.
More HR professionals an Corporate Boards sound like a good thing for HR and for corporations alike if the increased representation drives improvements; like better alignment of strategy with workforce capability, methods to try and not just preserve jobs but to (gasp) actually grow jobs and opportunities, and for more organizations to truly live up to their myriad 'people first' mission statements.
So maybe, after all this time and effort, HR is rising above filing forms and party planning, and getting (don't kill me for this) the fancy leather seat at the giant mahogany table.
However, a quick glance at this article on 'The Next Hot Jobs' doesn't mention anything about HR. Jobs like 'Bioinformatician', 'Forensic Accountant', and 'Fuel-Cell Engineer' all make the list though.
Those all sound pretty complicated to me.
What do you think, should more Corporate Boards have HR executive representation?
Is HR actually hot?
Reader Comments (5)
Nice to see a little good PR for HR! Of course I think that HR is rising above forms and administration, but I'm biased. I think that it will be a slow change as administrative HR folks retire or are replaced when the economy improves. Thanks for sharing, Steve.
Bioinformatician? I know a few HR execs that serve as directors and they do bring added value to board meetings. These execs are very business minded and tend toward doing what makes the bottom line better while remembering to take care of the front line staff.
@Bonita - Thanks for the thoughts, I think it is a positive step and good to get some mainstream, positive press for a change.
@April - I agree, it really should be a no-brainer for organizations to include this kind of talent on their boards.
HR may be hot or not, but the WSJ article doesn't answer that question. Notice that the boards have recruited former HR executives as their personal HR advisers to help with the high-level stuff that boards deal with: executive comp, M&A, executive succession planning and recruiting, etc.
Nowhere in that story was there mention of an HR exec dealing with the companies' regular employee problems or dipping below the VP (probably SVP) level. So it may be "a seat at the table," (Lord, forgive me for saying that), but it's the wrong table. Has nothing to do with helping form or execute the companies' business strategy.
And sorry, Steve, but I can't imagine there isn't an HR executive alive who doesn't realize many other executives consider HR "a backwater," and is either fighting fiercely to prove them wrong or just resigned to it by the overwhelming administrative demands of his/her job.
@Bill - Thanks for your comments on this. I like to think the trends discussed in the piece do signal a positive shift in the recognition of the value of HR and Talent Management in the Board Room, but really only time will tell.