How HR leaders can become strategic business partners

Raj Tanwar, Chief Strategy Officer and HR Head, Advantage Club

One of the reasons Raj Tanwar has moved distant from the halfway HR to strategy arsenic a function, was due to the fact that helium realised determination are definite things which are fundamentally missing successful the HR function.

He felt that a large constituent of it is human-centric plan thinking. “It means we are often reasoning successful a precise linear mode – we are taking transactions arsenic a transaction and not looking astatine if we are worth adding it,” helium explains.

In an exclusive enactment with ETHRWorld astatine its Future Forward Conference, held precocious successful Mumbai, the Chief Strategy Officer and HR Head of Advantage Club gave an example: Suppose an worker has to instrumentality a leave, determination is thing much than applying via the process.

But imagine, portion applying for the permission connected a system, the idiosyncratic gets a prompt:

• Why are you applying for the leave?
• Can I publication a doctor's assignment for you?
• Can I publication a movie summons for you?
• Can I publication a section cab oregon formation for you?

“I whitethorn not privation to bash anything, but astatine slightest somebody's asking me,” Tanwar says, adding, “So, value-adding successful each tiny transaction makes each the difference.”

He felt the relation of strategy serviceman volition let him to bring these elements of “what we often telephone employee-centric acquisition to quality design.”

“I'm blending some the HR tech and the fundamentals of human-centred plan thinking. I've been capable to blend some and connection it to the clients arsenic a halfway offer,” helium says.

Becoming strategic concern partners?

A 2019 Gartner study says 70 per cent of CEOs expect their CHROs to beryllium cardinal players successful endeavor strategy, but lone 55 per cent accidental their CHROs conscionable this expectation. Many HR executives are ill-prepared for this greater responsibility, the survey says, adding that lone 20 per cent of Fortune 250 CHROs person acquisition extracurricular the HR function.

According to Tanwar, whenever immoderate HR person creates a plan, he/she should beryllium with the team, look astatine the goals for the twelvemonth coming ahead, instrumentality enactment of the employees’ voices and past make an HR strategical plan.

Here, helium advises that the HR strategical program needs to screen each the 4 aspects – people, process, lawsuit and concern – from each standpoint, and connected the apical of it, the governance set.

And aft the implementation, Tanwar suggests HR leaders to spell backmost and look astatine the ROI (return connected investment) and the interaction that the program made connected the people.

“That's what I person done precise often successful the past,” Tanwar says.

The close equilibrium of HR Tech and People

Keeping employees engaged remains a symptom constituent for organisations crossed sectors. For instance, a 2022 JLL survey recovered that 49 per cent of employees inactive consciousness overwhelmed by a immense intelligence overload, 46 per cent consciousness isolated from their colleagues and 49 per cent judge they are astatine hazard of burnout owed to nonrecreational oregon idiosyncratic intelligence load.

The question remains: How to prosecute them? And what should beryllium the close blend of carnal and integer models?

Calling engagement a analyzable concept, Tanwar says it whitethorn person a antithetic meaning for antithetic people. “For immoderate people, erstwhile they're unhappy, listening to them is an engagement; for idiosyncratic unwell, addressing the request is engagement,” helium explains.

Concerning tech arsenic a portion of the engagement, helium says it has 2 parts: First, engagement, which is done by design. “That means determination is simply a peculiar extremity that you privation to achieve, and past you person brought successful tech to execute that goal,” Tanwar says.

Further, the 2nd mode of doing it is an appreciation that HR leaders bring tech to marque definite that it covers people, and leaves the interaction and worker acquisition that an organisation wants to make for them.

“But if you inquire me, is determination immoderate close equilibrium oregon mantra? The reply is no,” Tanwar asserts.

However, helium would accidental that HR leaders request to driblet the linear equation that has been written years back. “That you volition bash a bully occupation and there's a pat connected the back. That whitethorn not beryllium the future,” helium mentions, adding, “People look guardant to things which are mode beyond.”

He gave an example:

There was a clip erstwhile the learning absorption strategy lone had courses, which are each related to career. “But today, if you look astatine a mates of LXP (learning acquisition platforms), you person courses connected however to play a guitar, however to bash blogging, however to bash camera shoot, however to constitute a book,” helium says.

“So, a equilibrium of some is required,” Tanwar says, concluding, “What matters the astir to your unit is the worker lifecycle.”