Improve your recruitment prospects: spreading HR’s business wings
HR professionals can broaden their experience in a business by rotating through other functions. HR Leader looks at this trend and how it can improve the recruitment prospects of HR proponents
HR professionals have often been stigmatised by the perception that they
lack business nous. Compared with
other organisational functions, such as
operations, finance or IT, HR has some
times not been considered one of the more
important functions when it comes to
essential parts of a business.
One move that HR professionals can
sometimes make to broaden their business expertise – as well as their subsequent recruitment and career path
prospects – is to move into other functions. David Owens, managing director
of HR Partners, suggests that this is a
more commonly held aspiration now
than it used to be. “It is seen as a highly
desirable thing to do – particularly by
the more ambitious HR professional,”
he says.
Emma Egan, manager of Hays Human
Resources, says “it is becoming less common” for HR professionals to move into
other functions, and that they tend to
leave an organisation rather than move
into a different function. “This might be
partly due to the market over the last 12
to 18 months, with people shying away
from any possible career risk. In addition,
such a move usually involves a pay cut,
whereas if an HR professional built on
their existing HR skills they may move
up in remuneration and career potential,”
she explains.
James McConochie, manager of
Michael Page Human Resources, explains
that HR professionals in large organisations tend to be specialists, which makes
it difficult to move into other functional
roles in technical areas such as IT and
finance. However, he notes that a move
from HR into another department is more
common in small businesses. “HR professionals tend to have a broad remit and
strong operational focus rather than the
specialised roles that exist in larger organisations. In many instances the breadth of
operational experience HR professionals
gained was heightened during the eco
nomic downturn when small businesses
had to do more with less,” he observes.
Steps for skilling across functions
Any potential move into another function
is led by appropriate qualifications,
whether it’s an MBA or a degree in an
area such as finance, McConochie states.
Beyond this, he recommends investigating any opportunities to increase opera
tional involvement with the business in
existing roles to improve skill-sets.
“Again, this is more of a prospect in a
smaller-sized company as opposed to a
larger organisation,” he asserts.
There are a couple of easy wins for
HR professionals who may be considering a cross-functional move, Owens says,
including landing a position of the HR
professional responsible for a client
group, such as finance, sales and marketing or IT. “After all, the HR professional who has an understanding of the
commercial activity in each segment of a
business is going to be more informed and
more credible and, therefore, more capa
ble of constructively advising on the best
outcomes,” he states.
Egan recommends taking on specific
projects on top of day-to-day duties.
Hands-on experience gained from being
involved with a specific project or team
work can be invaluable, she says, adding
that it’s also important to stay on top of
industry changes, such as IR legislative
updates and increasing OH&S responsibilities. Conferences
can also be a great help, while coaching or mentorships can
be beneficial, Egan says.
Michael Murrie, Sydney director of The Next Step, says it
can be helpful to build relationships with managers across different parts of the business with a view to moving functions.
Getting actively involved in the business and with line man
agers and demonstrating that you can add real value is essential to this process, he says, which can open up different
opportunities.
“It’s up to the individual HR person to do this,” Murrie
asserts. “HR professionals are very good at moving people
across the business and helping others with their careers, but
they also have to take responsibility for their own career and
look after themselves.”
Improving your recruitment prospects
Murrie believes it’s highly beneficial for
HR professionals – and their career
paths – to boost their skills and experience in other functions. “I love to see
people who have had commercial roles
in their businesses with P&L and management responsibilities. I’m a big
believer in people who have moved
across functions because they can fully
empathise with business managers, so
experience in an operational business
role can only enhance you as a professional,” he says.
HR professionals who have held non-
HR roles usually prosper, according to
Owens, because their experiences are
valued and appreciated more. “Generally speaking, the HR professional benefits from the expansion of their
firsthand knowledge of having worked
in a non-HR role,” he explains.
“The value of having had a non-HR
role translates into heightened commercial acumen, insight and appreciation of
other disciplines, and, by default, credibility. The non-HR experience should
really assist in building stronger bonds
with the leadership team, and, therefore,
enable you to contribute more directly
to the direction of the business and the
opportunity to earn the accolades and rewards that flow from
that.”
Egan says that HR professionals with broader business experience will come across to potential employers as being flexible and happy to take on additional duties and build broader
HR experience. With exposure to a broader business perspective, she says “this can be a great advantage and selling point
when looking for your next role”.
“At the moment, we’ve seen a significant increase in the
number of employed people looking to change jobs. A lot of
people are unhappy in their current roles, and so a lot of good
candidates are starting to actively look for their next step up.”
Having a plan
Before stepping out of HR and into a line role, David Owens, managing director of HR Partners, says it is important to plan for both the short-term and mid-term future. While it is helpful to have a connection with the business line head, he says it is also important to understand the expectations required in the role, what is required from a performance point of view and if it is a fixed-term appointment or a permanent move out of HR. “It’s important you know what the experience will give to you and you should be able to see a lot on the upside; you should, however, assess the risks and think about what the downside looks like,” he says.
