By Thuy and Milo Sindell
Fans of the television show The Office will know that one of the best parts of the series is Michael Scott’s dislike of his HR employee, Toby. Over the years, Michael comes up with countless crazy ideas to “improve” the workplace. And without fail, Toby always shoots them down for being against some company policy, leading Michael to “hate so much about the things [Toby] chooses to be.”
While that relationship is hyperbolic, it’s not uncommon for business leaders and HR to butt heads. In fact, a 2016 Quantum Workplace study of HR professionals from nearly 300 organizations found the No. 1 roadblock they face is a lack of leadership buy-in for initiatives like employee engagement.
Even though leaders and HR professionals are on the same team, they often have very different perspectives on how the company works. Neither of these viewpoints is more valid than the other, but unless each is considered, there will be tension.
In order to get everyone on the same page, here are three things HR leadership wishes executives understood:
1. HR helps the bottom line
For many CEOs, their main concern is the financial success of the company. They want to make as much money as possible, while spending no more than necessary. As such, it’s hard for them to understand why it’s worthwhile to expend resources on things like employee wellness or their personal professional development.
HR leadership, however, knows investing in these things has a huge impact on the bottom line. And there’s research to back that up.
A 2016 study on employee ownership and firm performance looked at data from more than 56,000 companies around the world. It found that on average, organizations with engaged employees—which the study defines as employee owned—are 4% more profitable.
So, leaders, when HR suggests a new initiative, don’t focus on the time and cost associated. Instead, think about how it can improve the workplace and allow employees to be more productive. By identifying that benefit, it will be easier to objectively consider the idea.
2. HR tech is worth the investment
In recent years, there’s been a flood of new HR technology that automates many tasks HR leadership used to have to do manually. Everything from payroll to employee development can now be done faster and more efficiently with technology. But these tools come at a cost.
This leaves many executives asking why they should pay for something the HR team can do manually. But the key is understanding that HR could be spending its time on more valuable tasks.
For example, the HR team could spend hours thinking about each employee’s skills to determine who could benefit from leadership development—and they may or may not make the right choices. Or they could use a leadership skills assessment platform to quickly identify the employees with the most potential.
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3. Decisions are data-driven
Thanks to advances in technology, HR leadership also have a lot more data available. This means they’re not making decisions based on whims or opinions, but rather because of undeniable numbers.