The role of the HR professional is in dire need of rescuing from a slow decline after years of being undervalued by the rest of the business.
To avoid losing all their power to line managers and third-party service providers, HR professionals need to co-ordinate and automate the fundamentals of policy, processes and people. This way, HR can proactively deliver people intelligence to the rest of the business in time to influence key decisions affecting resources and company strategy.
It is only by adding value to the business that the HR director can hope to gain the professional recognition from other internal departments that they have long deserved.
The time has come for the HR director to stand at the steering wheel of companies alongside the chief executive and chief finance officer.
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If the role of the HR director is to survive and light up the corporate sky, then the incumbents must do more to demonstrate its value to the business as a whole.
Frank Beechinor
Chief executive, Vizual Business Tools