HR Owns the Table!

The city was Chicago. It was the Summer of 2008 and the event was SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition. The SHRM President gave a speech about not asking for a seat at the table but demanding that seat by making HR indispensible for the organization.

Fast Forward to Atlanta 2012. The SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition took the city by storm. Over 13,000 HR professionals, over 1,200 vendors, hundreds of concurrent sessions, mega sessions, keynote speakers, etc. One thing was eerily absent from discussions and sessions this year. I don't recall hearing that HR should be at the table or should demand to be included in decision making. In 2012 it is very evident that HR is driving organizational change and strategic planning. Companies have finally realized that the people within the organization are what defines success for their business and HR professionals are in the forefront driving the decisions.

HR is no longer payroll, benefits, compensation, EAP, Wellness, Training, or Compliance. With the volatility of our environment we are now needed as advocates for our employees. We are quickly changing the culture radically! HR is no longer seen as the place to run when problems arise. We are seen as the change agents. Whenever administration wants something done that involves people they realize that HR HAS to be involved. It's not a cursory response to ask for HR input. We are a vital part of making change happen. Along with making the change happen we make sure there is fluidity in the change management.

HR and Strategic Planning are walking hand in hand! A lot has changed from 2008 to 2012. Companies now understand that employees' motivation is key in being successful and the ROI is much higher for a company who has high employee satisfaction. When employees are happy retention isn't an issue. When employees feel that they are more than an employee ID and that they matter the bottom line will show profitability in some form.

I came away from the 2012 conference with a heightened awareness of HR's role in the organization. In 2008 I left with the idea that I needed to create relevance. Today HR IS relevant in every decision an organization can make. I'm proud to be a part of such a vital piece in the tapestry of Organizational behavior. I can't wait to see what role HR will play in the next four years. I can guarantee that the Human Resources Professional of 2016 will look vastly different that the person of today... and that's progress in the right direction.

We don't want to sit at the table - we own the table and administrations carry on their business plans with Human Resources as their watermark!

jamie