The HR Specialist

In addition to providing plain-English HR advice that tells readers what they can do, not just what they can’t do, The HR Specialist shows HR professionals how to raise the profile of the HR function from the back office to the boardroom. Readers will find personal success by developing innovative solutions to general management problems.  Learn more about The HR Specialist and the two free reports you'll get when you subscribe...

 “The leaders of my organization say they understand how HR works, but they really don’t have a clue—and aren’t too interested in finding out.” 

It’s a common complaint from HR professionals across the country. But bosses who truly “get” HR and what it can contribute to the bottom line are more likely to embrace HR as a strategic business partner.

So how do you “train” your boss on HR and erase some of his or her misperceptions?

Use the following strategies suggested by HR consultants and veteran practitioners:

 Don’t take a self-serving or lecturing approach such as, “Here’s why my job is important and why you should care,” or “Let me explain how HR functions.”

Instead, focus less on what HR does and more on how it can work with executives to help grow profits and sales and cut expenses.

“Attach specific costs and savings figures to areas like recruiting, retention and engagement of employees,” says Ernest Gundling, co-founder of Aperian Global, an organizational development firm. 

“Executives respect somebody who can make a straightforward case for why what they’re doing is important. It doesn’t mean you should be overly vocal or pushy, but make a business case,” says Gundling. 

Become a confidante by listening to the boss’s concerns about the results and explain how HR can help address them.

“Go through the feedback to get into a discussion with executives of perceived management strengths and weaknesses, things that are going well and not so well and their aspirations for the company,” says Gundling.

According to Maggie Romance, director of organizational development for Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz., “You educate. You bring in data about similar situations in other organizations that haven’t been addressed. You discuss the consequences to the workforce, operations output and (the company’s image).” 

What do you do if you repeatedly make a good case but the boss’s attitude and approach to HR never changes?  

Consultants suggest that you step back and take an outsiders’ view of your position and consider whether you are in the right job.