GOING TO THE EDGE IN 2020

I have been humbled by the amount and depth of work in the past six months. Many experiences brought forth questions about the profession that I do, i.e. Human Resources. There were moments of doing cognitively rejuvenating [hence ‘fun’] stuff and there were moments of professional fatigue. As a preparation for 2020, I took the last two weeks to step out onto the fringe to look back at the moments when I was having fun, including those from my previous work tenures. I reflected on the conversations I had with several stakeholders. What I found was that my fun moments were the similar moments my stakeholders valued. 

I loosely categorize these moments into four areas. I believe going to the edge of these areas and doing these well will create fun moments, especially in the profession that I do. 

Lead from the front of the business

Where I work now, we have business and financial acumen in our HR capability framework. It’s a great call out. As a HR professional, I continue to be foremost a business student. I love the ‘business’ part of being a HR Business Partner. One fun business partnering moment was starting the conversation on changing our go-to-market model by outsourcing our key account management and trade marketing to a market service provider, and I was a founder project team member of the project team that eventually made that happen. During one presentation, I was asked by a business leader if my proposal was to outsource the sales function of the company. It took some courage and lots of business clarity to affirm the proposal. I learned that HR must foremost study and know the business – its macro and micro levers of competitive success. 

Anticipate change and shape the solutions

About four years back, the business I worked with was about to launch a new product model. I saw that after accounting for all the sales forecasts, the business would still have a high level of inventory of the older product. I dug into several analyses, initiated and led a time-bound sales campaign that contributed to the clearance of more than half the inventory. It was a complete fun moment to learn about the various aspects of the business including arranging bank financing for customers, the A-Z of the sales process, marketing communications and the after-sales services including warranties. Recently, I have learned the concept of Explore v. Exploit. In doing HR, we must ensure that we purposefully make time to be in Explore mode – to walk a tad slower but taller to look beyond the obvious and connect the dots for the business we work with. 

Get intimate with technology

According to Dave Ulrich, this is one domain where HR tends to be weakest – in understanding and applying technology to build HR. Digitalization of business, in all its aspects is no longer a blip but a sustainable trend. In many parts of Asia where I work, daily purchase transactions are now being completed via mobile, P2P or e-payment. I took on a sales role in a technology solution company as my immersion into the world of technology and digital. During that time, I learned to consult, solution and sell a leading cloud HR system and more than that, I learned other aspects of technology such as security, privacy, data and analytics and mobile. I have also invested time in coaching the founder team of a platform start-up business that focuses on real estate. Leveraging what I have learned, I was able to contribute in the early discussions of developing a patient support mobile application. Going forward, digital (or technology) intimacy is a must have mindset and competency for HR. The HR function is ripe to sow and to some extent, harvest connected digital experience for employees and managers. 

Be fanatic about people

In politics, we have heard it’s about the economy. In real estate, it’s about location. In business, it’s about people – their motivation, development, realized potential and performance, belonging and connectedness to each other and the raison d’etre of the business. In the earlier go-to-market example, I took on the personal responsibility to ensure that impacted employees had their next career sorted out before we went live with the model. Whilst working through it, my focus was on their individual experience and the outcomes that meet their needs. We went live with employees having their next career affirmed. People before number, always.

People who are engaged and loyal to our business is an inimitable competitive advantage. Henry Ford clearly had the foresight when he said, “You can take my factories, burn up my buildings, but give me my people and I’ll build the business right back again.” One competency that I hope to see get into the HR lexicon is people acumen – having the mindset, knowing the theories, and applying the skill sets in hiring, developing, connecting and engaging every person. 

Stepping into 2020, I will actively find more fun moments. This way, I hope to go further to the edge – the space where HR is sine qua non to both the success of business and people. Have a blessed 2020. I hope to see and learn more ‘going to the edge’ HR stories in management and leadership literature next year.