What "seat at the table" are you referring to?

(Yes, I’m writing about this also.)

So, I got to thinking the other day, what would it be like if every HR professional that comes into an organization gets an overview of the different operational areas and learns the business. Yep, I said it, learns the business. You would get hired (Check) You would go through the normal Orientation process of company mission, vision, values, culture, Benefits, Diversity, History , etc. (Check) You would meet with your manager and go through your job descriptions and the expectations that he or she has of you on the job. (Check) You would learn about what I call the trio--the company, department and individual goals. But do you think you will have an opportunity to Onboard and learn the business that you’re in?

Imagine if you were partnered with someone from other departments that you could work closely with on projects that would not just benefit the HR team but provide you with an opportunity to learn about how you and what you do as an HR professional are connected to the company. How HR impacts other areas in the company. How HR is perceived by other departments. Would you consider that a great opportunity? Would you know how to capitalize on this opportunity? Do you even care?

I know a lot of HR professionals that do not know the business that they are in. They do not know what the monthly financial reports are much less how to read them to gauge where the company is financially. They may not know about big initiatives that are coming down the pike, such as the new Branding schemata, the acquisition of “smaller Company A”, the new product that is being developed and how it’s going to affect the business.

The purpose of writing this blog post is just to look at the issue that we are faced with and provide some thoughts on the subject. To explore it a little bit more. I’ll be providing some commentary on this from time to time, because I feel that this is an important topic. In the meantime, if you have any comments, please let me know.

As always, prioritize, set boundaries and live!