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As Dave Ulrich recently said: “There has never been a better time to be in HR.” With excessive business activity, constant change, rapid technological advancements and a heightened focus on employee wellbeing; great HR is now essential.

We see this every day and speak to companies (of all sizes and industry sectors) who are genuinely grappling with how to tackle issues such as mediocre performance, dysfunctional teams, lack of great leadership, and an inability to attract talent and improve poor culture. Whilst intent is high, many businesses are struggling to find strong HR leaders who possess all the qualities and skills sought. Granted, it is a “tall order”, but as an HR professional, taking the time to understand what organisations want from HR can help you to turn this market gap into an opportunity. To find out what traits and skills you can develop to improve your appeal to great employers, read on below.

Businesses Want an HR Professional Who Is…

It’s important to note that what businesses seek from their HR executives will largely depend on that business’s stage of evolution, and sometimes the industries it operates in, as well as its size. As an example, a small but rapidly growing IT business who focuses on innovation, will want someone different compared to a large corporate financial services enterprise. Despite this however, there are still several traits and skills that are frequently asked for by most employers.

Courageous & Commercially Curious

Traditionally, HR has relied on ‘best practice’ approaches based on what other successful organizations were doing at the time, but this isn’t an effective method in today’s HR landscape. Now, the hurdles organizations face can be incredibly unique and these businesses have distinct ways of celebrating success. This has resulted in employers looking for HR executives who have moved beyond best practice to embrace iterative, test practices or a global best-in-class, holistic view. This requires HR leaders with the courage to pull apart problems, speak their mind and give their honest but credible opinion to mitigate risks, or highlight opportunities.

To gain such an acute business awareness, HR professionals need to shift from a process or program focus and take an ‘outside-looking-in’ systems-thinking approach. This means having the commercial interest to dive into the wider industry and the initiative to step outside of native specializations to learn how systems, processes, initiatives, policies and procedures connect together. Possessing this level of understanding can enable HR professionals to look for linkages, understand trends, ask harder questions, and ultimately build a sound business case to champion change or further discussion. Building this understanding is no easy feat, but a great place to start is with industry events, conferences, cross-functional projects and mentors outside of the discipline. Not only do these events open potential networking opportunities, but they also present a fantastic chance to gain exposure to different disciplines and other industries. So, if you work in technology, don’t shy away from attending events related to your businesses’ offerings, even if they’re outside the HR realm, as gaining this familiarity is the first step to building strong commercial acumen.

Credible & Relevant

Whilst having the courage and commercial curiosity to speak your mind is important, so is being able to back it up with substance and fact. Another pressing concern for employers is finding HR professionals who are comfortable with uncertainty, and capable of dealing with ambiguity. Without credibility, it can be immensely difficult to develop influence and challenge the status quo to get better results. A great way to develop credibility is to have statistical data and useful insights to back up your statements, but I don’t mean falling back on one or two data points that HR has traditionally used in the past, such as turnover statistics or the cost of absenteeism. Organisations want HR executives who can use a variety of different data points, such as information on employee productivity and engagement, to better inform decision making across the business, from tackling someone’s leadership style to justifying the development of a new parental leave initiative.

Another key to building credibility is to be seen as someone who is consistently evaluating their own performance and career, determining gaps and taking positive steps to address them. Let’s take communication skills as an example. Possessing strong communication skills is crucial for HR, but it is still an area we frequently receive feedback from employers in. Organizations are looking for HR professionals who can showcase a multipronged approach to verbal and written communication to suit different stakeholders and situations, as opposed to a static approach. Developing such a communication approach can be difficult, but businesses are interested in people who are actively developing themselves. So, start by proactively asking for feedback on your current vulnerabilities and finding ways to improve on them. For example, if you need to work on your ability to influence a room of 50 people, consider improving your presentation skills through practical experience.

Genuine & Humanistic

In HR, there is often a façade that because you must be the moral compass of the business; that you can’t get too close to people or show your real self. However, people respond best when someone is being genuine and they know they’re talking to a real person. With that in mind, don’t let this façade get in the way of your next job. When you’re interviewing with an employer, drop this barrier, and show the best version of yourself.

It’s important to also remember the unique position HR is in: squarely between the commercial interest of the organization and doing the right thing for its people. A key challenge for HR executives is being able to effectively balance commercialism and humanism to protect the interests of both parties. Again, this ties back to having the courage to do the right thing and the facts to call something out and address it.

A Coach

A core responsibility of HR is to make other leaders better, and this is something more businesses are prioritising as today’s multigenerational workforce continues to challenge existing leadership structures. Whilst a lot of HR executives state they have the ability to coach leaders, the evidence to demonstrate this is often weak. To improve your chances of securing a HR executive position, we recommend that you look into completing an accredited coaching qualification (thorough an organisation such as the International Coach Federation ) if you haven’t already, to demonstrate your skills in this area.

Summary

As the business world continues to evolve and AI takes its place, HR executives and leaders also need to change with the times. Regardless of what stage your career is at, it will always pay off to evaluate yourself against the current and future market. If you’d like further help reviewing your career and skills, or would like to connect with fantastic HR opportunities throughout Australia, don’t hesitate to contact me or my team today.