O2's HR Director, Ann Pickering, says "stop asking if HR should have a seat at the Board"

HR as a profession needs to stop asking if it should have a seat at the Boardroom table, according to O2’s HR Director.

Speaking to HR Grapevine, Ann Pickering says: “Many of the issues faced by Boards sit squarely in the HR remit. For example; talent management, succession planning, remuneration - to name but a few. But HR Directors are not just appointed to a Board for their functional expertise, they have to have collective cabinet responsibility for the whole business.

“They need to be as comfortable talking about costs, profit and risk management as they are talking about talent and reward. Any people agenda needs to be based in a strong business case, and this can only occur if an HR Director really understands the commercials of a business.”

Pickering, who will be speaking at HR Grapevine’s annual HR & Talent Management Conference this year, speaks from experience. In 2008 she was promoted to the Board of O2, a highlight that she says was probably her proudest moment in her career.

However, she believes HR needs to stop questioning their importance: “HR as a profession needs to stop asking if we should have a seat at the Boardroom table. You don’t hear the Sales Director asking that question. As we move into an ever more complex and changing economic environment a competent HR Director plays a critical role on any Board.”

But in order for HR to contribute strategically, she emphasises the fact that as an HR Director “you are a business professional first, HR second. If you don’t understand your business in detail, you can’t be effective in HR.”

For a full list of HR Grapevine’s conference speakers, or for more information on the content of the day, click here.