I started my career in human resources decades ago at a major retail brand. It was an entry-level position, having just completed my undergraduate studies in business dabbling in human resources courses. From there, I moved up the HR career ladder, expanding my interactions with leadership teams and boards of directors, increasing talent retention and improving employee satisfaction while furthering my learning through the education and work required to complete two master’s degrees followed by my doctorate. My career journey took me into the higher education, managing benefits, compensation, payroll, HRIS and so much more. From there, I had the good fortune to join the business faculty focusing on HR and organizational development while continuing to be the CHRO for an organization in the optics, laser and photonics space. I was recruited away to be the CHRO for MSRB – the financial regulatory body of the Municipal Securities Market and it was from that position I moved into my current role as the CEO of HRCI and recently founded HRSI. What I have experienced is that every day presents the opportunity to learn something new and make a difference where it matters most: with people.
It certainly wasn’t surprising that my entry into HR started with an education in business and human resources. Nor was beginning in a large retail organization where multiple HR professionals supported scores of hourly workers across numerous locations. Sure, my segue into higher education, science and finance might have seemed unexpected; however, the service deliverables were similar: employee relations, compensation, benefits, HR, payroll, employee engagement and many other less traditional HR activities like being an interim CFO, leading organizational strategy and opening a restaurant.
Which brings me to my incredible delight at where the HR profession is heading, making it one of the most exciting career opportunities in any organization, large or small, centralized or distributed, global or regional. Our redefined normal has simultaneously redefined – and reimagined – HR.
As companies were challenged by helping employees balance the pressures created by the COVID pandemic with achieving business goals, HR stepped up. Working hard to help transform how work happens while supporting business leaders faced with painful restructuring decisions, HR became the heartbeat by unifying people and processes in new ways. Accelerating digital transformation down to the paycheck-level helped increase operational efficiencies and engage employees wherever they worked. Using modern technologies such as augmented reality, HR was able to ensure captivating onboarding and support productive skilling and reskilling.
Revolutions are rarely quiet, and the one taking place in HR is well evidenced. Chief People Officers command annual salaries upwards of $450K. New HR positions – such as the Change Management Director – help employees adjust to work changes and can also earn hundreds of thousands. HR Business Partner Managers provide policy guidance and align HR strategies with company goals. All of these roles, as well as more traditional HR titles, require business acumen, a skillset previously determined as lacking according to a global survey conducted by Korn Ferry.
Connecting HR’s efforts to the goals of the business requires a sea change in how we hire for this role. A recent scan of HR director-level job openings finds consistent requirements for people analytics to provide insights on improving employee development, the ability to support change efforts and provide compensation planning, scaling policy development, program delivery and workforce design.
Bringing these skills front-and-center means our revolution needs to reach into the higher education system to make sure HR professionals are prepared. In a recent article, Harvard Business Review covered the intersection of spatial computing and human resources as a crucial component in talent acquisition – especially for neurodivergent candidates. With employees experiencing disruption in so many aspects of their lives, their work experience is also impacted, necessitating increased focus on HR’s effective communications and change management skills. Similarly, AI has created threats and opportunities that are not well understood, requiring HR to be knowledgeable about what it might mean in the context of a company’s culture.
Researchers at McLean & Co. say that “HR’s involvement as a partner in planning and executing organizational strategy has increased from 36% in 2021 to 50% in 2024.” The same report states that when HR is highly effective at building talent, employees are 2.6 times more likely to be highly proficient in leadership skills and almost twice as likely to be more proficient in team skills. That means, as HR professionals, we need to invest in ourselves first so that we can be the starting point for better business outcomes and skills-based initiatives.
The first quarter of 2024 has lacked the enthusiasm typically reserved for turning the page into a new year. It hasn’t surprised me, especially given the degree of geopolitical conflict, the unknowns created by artificial intelligence, and increasingly difficult efforts to recruit top talent. HR has the unusual and enviable position to be both ally and seer during these ground-breaking times. As every flight about to take off starts: Buckle your seatbelts and put your oxygen mask on first. Invest in you and keep learning – obtain your HRCI certification if you haven’t already because you need to be ready for what’s next in the HR revolution.
