5 Ways to Turn HR into a Profit Driver

The HR fraternity is somewhat sick and tired of hearing that the human resources department is yet another cost center. Why? Let’s ask some serious questions to ourselves here:

1. Do we add value to the bigger picture of the organisations we work for?
2. Do we proactively support our internal clients?
3. Do we often support the business strategies to help the “Tangible” profit centres succeed?

If the answers are a big ‘NO’, we should know why HR is treated like just another Cost Center. Isn’ it?

Needless to say that people are the lifeblood of any business. Failing to take care of them will result in failing the company. Even ‘so-called’ enlightened leaders know treating their people well is critical times especially when the competition is about to steal their key resources but most leaders aren’t fair and justified in treating HR or other units just like their favourite — Sales Team. Here are five ways that HR can finally its rightful place in the sun and at the C-suite table, driving profitability.

1. See the Bigger Picture

Most HR leaders like to run their cozy little empire in isolation, not knowing the business priorities and conditions. Such leaders also don’t let others to poke their nose into their domain. These people are not really interested in sales numbers, market dynamics and other significant business information. They are also not aware of the newer trends emerging in the HR leadership. The modern day organisations prefer to hire Business Managers to drive HR because they do understand the business. They can link these HR deliverables against the cashflows and predictive analytics. This saves them from over-hiring and future layoffs, as well as allows them to hire quickly to take advantage of market opportunities.

If you’re interested in enhancing your decision-making skills at work, seeing the big picture can be an essential skill. Understanding how to see the big picture can help you prioritise effectively, set better goals and improve leadership skills. By developing a complete perspective of a situation, you can make decisions that drive long-term results, which can help you advance in your career.

2. Go Digital

HR digital transformation is a hot discussion topic among many HR professionals these days. And for good reason, since digital technology has the potential and ability to transform HR as we know it. But while it’s one thing to talk about digital HR transformation, it’s an entirely different thing to do it! The HR leaders must dive deeper into the phenomenon of HR digital transformation: what is it, why is it necessary and how do you go about it?

Start prioritizing digital by improving internal communication: the number of channels, open and anonymous, as well as cadence, centralization and connection of different apps through APIs. Remote work has accelerated this process for many companies, with HR at the forefront of implementation and communication. The results are faster and more efficient business processes, more productive and engaged employees and more cash flow left for growth.

3. Engage with Sister Units

Transparency as a movement is bigger than you think and it comes with a tremendous responsibility, but also an enormous opportunity. Sharing has become the new normal, whether it’s exchanging information about what it’s like to stay in a hotel or visit a restaurant. It’s permeated everything from large e-commerce sites to car buying and travel choices. But it’s bigger than that.

CHROs can play a vital role in making sure the organization is living its purpose and values. This can only happen when HR stays transparent and it has its stakeholders across the organisation. Reach out to the key business unit heads and engage them into HR’s key projects that are assigned by the top management. This will strengthen the leadership bond and capacity for change. This will also help HR to have its own advocates around the organisation. Such practices will help HR to become more transparent to the organisation. The more transparent HR is, the more visible and acceptable it is going to be across the company

4. Internal Mobility Programs (IMPs)

Attracting talent is challenging, and once you have brought an ideal candidate on board, the last thing you want is for them to leave. Your existing workforce is the lifeblood of your organization and can be one of the best sources of talent to tap when you have new openings. Retaining and growing your talent is especially critical as masses of baby boomers begin to retire, driving large gaps in leadership throughout many organizations.

Great organisations truly believe in their employees are their biggest asset and that and their growth i.e. vertical or horizontal is detrimental to the organisational success. Great HR functions do arrange rotational programs, secondments to their other ventures and cross-functional roles that straddle departments. These programs lead to a more agile exchange of ideas, better talent alignment with projects, higher engagement and longer average tenure.

5. It’s all about People

A company needs people, no matter what the business is. Human capital is the driving profitability force behind any business. Without passionate employees working for the right job, a company is practically nonexistent. HR plays an important role in keeping employees positively engaged.

Practices such as helping new employees to adapt, celebrating high achievers, and training low performers are some of the ways HR has helped improve the effectiveness of the company. By doing all of this and more, HR creates an opportunity for the company to seek out new business opportunities and grow its revenue.

Last Word

In conclusion, at a rough estimate, at least 50 percent of a company’s profits are contingent on internal situations — whether or not there are poor recruitment, unresolved internal disputes or otherwise. If you have challenges in one department, odds are you have HR issues in other departments. In fact, human capital is the №1 reason why CEOs lose sleep at night. However, you can turn your human resources department into a profit center.

Businesses need an objective source of information and expertise from critical thinkers from either inside the organization or from outside.

Certainly, it’s vital to have a resource — someone who is up-to-date on contemporary business as well as people issues i.e. HR. You need HR with fresh eyes to foresee and solve your people issues with concentration on business challenges. That means experts who know how to evaluate situations — big and small — to deliver solutions that benefit you long term.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and Evolve HR’s website.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder and Managing Director of Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.