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“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
These words from Maya Angelou, the late poet and civil rights activist, might seem out of place in a boardroom. Yet, they encapsulate a truth that’s reshaping the role of Human Resources in today’s business landscape: the power of human-centric leadership.
In my previous two columns, I’ve argued that CEOs are increasingly looking to HR as a strategic driver of business success. Having examined some of the ways in which HR is stepping up to this exciting challenge, let’s look at how we can measure its worth.
HR’s impact is growing—but how can we demonstrate it?
HR can’t be a strategic driver without having a deep knowledge of the business and subsequently having a demonstrable positive effect on business performance. It is vitally important to track and share the impact of the HR initiatives that align with your business outcomes so that they can be measured and adapted as required.
This can range from talent acquisition – cost, speed, quality – to employee productivity and ROI on talent investments and leadership development, identifying your value creation roles, and high-impact talent.
HR can’t be a strategic driver without having a deep knowledge of the business and subsequently having a demonstrable positive effect on business performance
At ofi, we’ve embraced this philosophy wholeheartedly, by working to implement a monthly dashboard that provides our senior leaders with insights into human capital trends, progress on key initiatives, and most importantly the areas that require the partnership to increase impact.
This data-driven approach provides a transparent and objective way of assessing the effectiveness of our people plan and is an ever-evolving journey as we improve our data and insights. As a company with a supply chain that spans from seed to shelf, we work closely with farming communities across the globe to grow, source, and produce food ingredients.
Our people are central to building strong relationships at the farmgate, all the way through to delivering for our customers and finding solutions to their challenges. Within the HR function we’ve worked to ensure that our people plan complements this customer-first mindset, underpinning our collective business objective to deliver the highest quality food ingredients and solutions to our customers.
Understanding what keeps business leaders up at night
To truly make an impact, HR leaders must build trust and credibility with their CEOs and forge strong partnerships with their peers in the executive team to ensure a deep understanding of the business and ‘what keeps them up at night’ — knowing the drivers, revenue streams, and levers for growth, cost optimization, and effectiveness in a complex, ever-changing world. In turn, you must be able to translate this into a clear set of human capital initiatives that will deliver the greatest business impact.
Since taking on the role of CHRO at ofi and delivering across customer excellence, sustainability and inclusion, diversity & equity initiatives – I’ve made it a priority to engage with our businesses around the world.
My travels have been intentional to gain in-depth and horizontal knowledge about each business platform – be it cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices or our newly created Food & Beverage solutions team – learning how we operate and getting to know the diverse talent we have around the world at ofi.
Leaning in and spending time with our people both professionally and personally has shown me the immense passion for the business that our teams have.
The breadth and depth of experience and impressive expertise I see daily is a key differentiator for our company, it enables us to partner with food brands across the globe to address growing consumer demand for sustainable products.
In my view, there is no shortcut to understanding your people's purpose, mindset, capabilities, ways of working, agility, and adaptability.
No HR team is an island
HR should seamlessly align with the overall business strategy, serving as a catalyst or enabler to accelerate excellence in execution. I've learned to avoid a standalone HR strategy; our role must be inextricably linked to the core ambition of the company, driving people's performance through understanding how to unlock their potential.
Key areas that I mentioned in one of the previous articles are leadership development, agility, and adaptability.
Leadership development is fundamental for all businesses. Moreover, leadership should focus on a human-centric approach which means putting people at the center of the business, versus in service of the business.
The lines between work and personal life have blurred considerably in the last few years and leadership skills must extend beyond managing the bottom line and future growth strategies, focusing on equipping leaders with the ability to manage the daily tensions that exist in business today.
The toughest of balancing acts is knowing how to lead with both your head and your heart and being able to adapt in real time to what the situation requires.
Data is important, but human centricity is vital
The Maya Angelou quote that I started with bears repeating: “People will never forget how you made them feel.”
This has been my guiding approach for many years – both professionally and personally – and is an apt way to spotlight human-centric leadership and the need for the HR function to ensure we amplify the Human in Human Resources.
Being compassionate and empathetic is a powerful unlock – providing people with a seat and voice at the table, enabling them to flourish. Lisa Gibby, Chief Communications Officer at Nestlé, takes this concept further in a recent podcast. Lisa talked eloquently about the importance of having that seat at the table, with this experience enabling Lisa to advise and partner with the business more readily through challenging decisions.
Importantly, Lisa also stressed the need to have the courage to make the most of it – which I strongly support. The opportunity comes with a responsibility and it's on HR leaders to demonstrate their impact on the business, not just speak to it.
If you are not being invited to the table, then maybe it is time you inserted yourself and showed up at the table – listened, observed, and demonstrated the value HR can bring.
This might feel like a daring approach and even awkward at first, but I strongly believe that the best learning happens at the edge of discomfort. As a strategic HR partner, it’s time to lean into that discomfort and claim your place as a driver of business success.
