I’ve noted an increasing trend in recent weeks as I’ve worked with some really talented candidates who have been the collateral damage of corporate actions. All of them have either been retrenched, or are exiting the very careers where they have been developed and fast-tracked, due to corporate action beyond their control – shareholder issues, restructuring, new leadership, mergers and acquisitions.
Boards and executive teams have come to rely on their HR Directors as trusted advisors and strategic business partners. But to what extent? How has the role of the HR Director changed, especially post COVID? Which issues are central to their daily work? What impact do their values and experience have on the organization? Which conditions make up their working environment? These are just some of the 30 questions included in the recent survey.
Principal Connections (www.principalconnections.ie) asked 124 people in HR executive positions for their opinions and have published the results in an extensive and inspiring report which captures the views of those who understand the role and function best.
Some takeaways from the research program may have been expected, others quite unforeseen. Four in five feel valued in their current role, yet only three in ten are formal members of the board, even though leadership, strategic vision and EI are the today’s top competencies. HR Directors are now more greatly involved in business transformation and change but employee engagement and retention is the topic most likely to keep them awake at night.
According to Principal Connections: “The role of the HR Director is one of the most important functions for organizations worldwide. HR Directors and their teams lead the way in people-based decision making. They take the sentiment of an entire workforce and use it to help shape a workplace. By creating somewhere people want to work, HR Directors are propelling a virtuous circle where people are motivated to give their best and this leads to even higher quality talent being attracted to the organization, and contributing to its future. This also leads to better products, services and a better customer experience, and of course more bottom-line revenues.”
Founded in 1984, Agilium Worldwide LLC is an international executive search group of independent, owner-managed retained executive search firms, with members who are active in virtually every market. Agilium Worldwide ranks among the world’s top 40 executive search organizations.
Agilium Worldwide’s member firms offer personalized, specialized, client-oriented services. By eliminating the formally structured, pre-programmed approach they can remain proactive and secure prompt, skilled and expert service to their clients, to help them find the “Perfect Fit” – the right person for the right position, at the right time, at the right location.
Agilium Worldwide member firms are trusted advisors to companies from the Fortune 500, as well as to upcoming and start-up companies around the globe. Clients get the best of both worlds: an entrepreneurial approach with global reach and local perspective.
