What Is HR's Role In Organizations Today?

I guess because I was in the corporate HR world for 20 years, mostly in high volume manufacturing environments, I am pretty passionate about this topic.  I have experienced years of "inviting" myself into the strategic planning meetings.  Making a seat for myself at the table where decisions were being made. Then proving myself to be a valuable business partner, decision maker and adding value to the bottom line.  So I have seen the evolution of the HR role in organizations first hand.

HR professionals are responsible for recruitment, staffing, compensation, benefits, health and safety, and I always gasp at this one... party planning and employee meals! But more and more companies are outsourcing many of those responsibilities so that HR can participate in critical functions that have an impact on the business' success.

HR has become much more than record keeping, payroll and other transactional functions.  They are focusing on leadership development, talent management, succession planning and other business strategies that will transform the organization. They should be bringing value to the organization.

Your HR professional should be your right hand.  They should be following business trends.  They should be able to speak your business lingo and how it compares to your competitors. They don't just know the people in your organization by name but they know what motivates your people.  They know when morale is low and why.  Even better, they can prevent morale drops because they have a pulse on the people and they know the decisions that will make morale low.  

Your HR professional should know the pulse of your organization, make you aware of many issues before they even become issues. They should have a seat at your table helping you take your organization where you want it to go and keeping you abreast of laws and risks along the way.  

HR is so beyond meal planning and processing payroll.  I would love to know, what role does HR play in your organization and how would you like to see it change?