Atlanta Human Resources Consulting and Executive Coaching Firm Articles by Corporate Performance Strategies

Recently, I visited a CEO with a prominent service business. He asked me two questions that hit home. First, he asked me what his HR function should be doing. That was easy. Second, he asked me why CEO's fire HR leaders. This question inspired me to discuss our experiences with this issue.

For the past two years, since founding Corporate Performance Strategies, we have been asked by many "C" level executives, to revitalize and improve the operating effectiveness and value of their HR departments. After a dozen clients, ranging in size from 70 to 4,200 employees, where we either followed the previous HR executive into the lead role or audited the client's HR department, the scenario is all too similar: We found an incumbent that is not performing to expectations and the function is not viewed as helpful or strong with respect to supporting the company's operating goals. Drilling down on this statement is the lack of alignment of the HR functions with the business priorities.

What I propose are the following guidelines that may be used for selecting (and developing) an HR leader that will be effective over the long-term.

Trust and Credibility. This is difficult to assess, but is essential for the HR executive to possess. For HR executives that have derailed, there is a perception by management and employees that information cannot be shared with the individual for fear of not remaining confidential. This manifests itself in a couple of ways. The executive may betray a confidence or openly challenge management's direction with other employees (e.g., subordinate, peers, etc.). On the latter issue, we all get our chance to disagree with direction, but the fatal flaw is leaving the meeting and publicly or privately disagreeing, as the HR leader. For credibility, it is in part, consistently delivering on commitments and always telling the truth. One client decided to shift healthcare costs to employees. The incumbent HR executive did not agree and proceeded to openly question the decision with her staff, on a regular basis! Extensive probing and reference checking aid in assessing this area.
Compliance Oriented. "C" level executives get frustrated with someone telling them they cannot do something. Most people do. We have found that some HR executives protect their turf by using "fear" of compliance to change management and employee behaviors. It is the unique ability to translate compliance requirements into business terms as one way to meet compliance requirements. A recent HR audit revealed that the HR VP had implemented a job evaluation system with 35 job grades. The internal managers had complained about this system. The company was less than 150 employees! Asking the candidate to outline how he/she translated the compliance requirements (we all have to) into HR initiatives that were supported by senior management is a good starting point.
Business Focus. The HR leader should be involved and knowledgeable about their business. This spans to strategies, products, services, financials, strengths, threats, etc. If the candidate cannot answer basic questions about their business (e.g., SWOT) a red flag should go up in the interview. Following that line of thinking, their HR initiatives should line up with their company's operating goals on a 1-1 basis. Drill down on their company's strategic initiatives and explore how the incumbent aligned his/her function and personal time with these priorities.
Leader vs. Manager. Leaders speak up and voice their opinion. They take stands on tough issues. They coach and mentor peers, subordinates, and in HR's case, their boss. Leaders learn how to make a difference in the company and are perceived to make an impact on the business results through their actions. Managers simply execute direction. It takes courage to speak up and make an impact, and some HR leaders cannot discern when to pick their battles. Find out from the candidate when he/she took a stand on a controversial issues and how it was handled. HR leaders should be the champions for change management initiatives and "in front" with these changes in their respective organizations.
Flexibility. Businesses transform and change, and unfortunately, not all people do. The HR leader needs to be able to adapt to these changing conditions in ways that support the business. A CEO was relating a situation with his HR VP where the incumbent submitted a budget that was flat from a year ago. However, the company was in a crisis, had laid off many people, revenues had declined, and this had been going on for one year. I left wondering where the HR VP had been in all the prior staff meetings. That CEO outsourced the entire HR function. Probing how the candidate has adapted his/her style, skills, approaches, etc., over time will give you some indication of his/her flexibility.
Customer service driven. If you cannot get the transactional side of HR (i.e., compensation, staffing, employee relations, training, etc.) working flawlessly, you will not be able to advance to the more strategic areas of HR. Too many times there were failures in the internal customer service side of the function for the HR leader to possess credibility. Ask the candidate for his/her metrics in this area to give you an idea of how he/she has developed and monitored customers satisfaction.
Technical Skills. This has never been the issue. A majority of the incumbents possess very strong HR technical skills. This should be assessed in pre-screening and used as the "go-no go" interview step. While most "C" level executives do not have the technical HR skills, in many instances this is a commodity HR skill available quite readily in the marketplace. Prioritizing this skill is generally a fatal flaw.

We commissioned Computer Psychologist.com to help us develop a profile for successful HR leaders. We administered a comprehensive personality test to successful HR executives and developed the following general profile from the data:

These people are extraverted, friendly, outgoing, and venturesome. They enjoy being around others, and they prefer working as part of a group or team. They are not shy or timid and are willing to take social risks
At the same time, they are well above average in general intelligence. They enjoy traditional academic knowledge acquisition and are generally fast learners
They are remarkably steady emotionally and behaviorally. They take a generally upbeat, optimistic approach to their work, and they tend to be predictable and even-keeled in their mood and outlook. They are calm, confident, self-assured, and secure with themselves.
Finally, they are reasonably practical and pragmatic, as opposed to in-the-clouds theoretical and philosophical. They are more comfortable seeking concrete, bottom-line solutions to problems.

Some HR executives lose their jobs with changes in CEO's and changes in control. A recent poll by SHRM found that when a new CEO takes over, approximately 65% of the direct reports are let go, with HR executives at 50%.

We can learn from what does not work. Focus on the areas above in the selection process (including reference checks) to help increase the likelihood of success. Focus on these areas with incumbents in developmental feedback to improve their effectiveness. Use of a valid 360 degree feedback tool can assist the incumbent HR executive in change. Putting future HR leaders through targeted development to address these areas helps build bench strength for the HR function.

At CPS we strive to advance HR's effectiveness and value in companies.

Dave Brookmire, President
Corporate Performance Strategies, Inc.
3340 Trails End Road
Roswell, GA 30075
Phone: 770-587-2265
dbrookmire@cpstrat.com
www.cpstrat.com