Want to Join HR, But That’s Not Your Background? So What?
by Lois Melbourne(First of two-part series)
I frequently tune in to the Friday HR Happy Hour on Blog TalkRadio, a twice monthly radio talk show hosted by Steve Boese and Shauna Moerke, two great bloggers, HR professionals, and superstars in the HR Twitter world. Between Steve, Shauna, and their call-in guests the conversation moves among many topics. During Episode 5 – Why HR?, one theme struck right to the core of the succession planning and workforce planning I do. It concerned where HR executives come from inside an organization.
Many professionals on the call came from different education and work experience backgrounds. Callers were in heavy agreement that a large number of successful HR executives came from other areas of the company, and moved into HR to provide a strong business background as well as effect change within the workforce dynamics of the organization.
This reflects a number of impactful topics now facing the HR world. It illustrates the logic in succession planning that you must tap people from multiple disciplines as successors, not just people within the line-of-site of the key position being planned for. The concept that succession planners shouldn’t be allowed to tag somebody from outside their span-of-control is detrimental to the success of the organization. Departments need new perspectives. They need people’s input from outside their regular gravitational pull.
Get rid of the internal politics and allow for the exploration of candidates as successors to come from anywhere within your organization.
Cheers,
Lois
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Lois – thanks very much for mentioning the show and for listening. As you noted, there were some excellent observations from the guests on HR leadership and how the HR organization can address some of the current challenges in succession planning. I hope that you can call in to a future show and share some of your insights as well.
Thanks again!
Nice post, Lois. I missed the first part of the call, but I came up through the ranks to eventually reach HR. My career for several years had been in Safety and Training, related to HR, but different. It absolutely is important to look within the organization for talent and be willing to mentor and mold those in whom you have interest. Cheers.
Kari,
I believe the experience of various departments and jobs provides what I ‘business empathy’. You know what it is like to work in those areas, so you are better prepared to support them.
Cheers
I would love to see a HR Happy Hour topic on succession planning, the good and the ways it can be done. The show is great!
Cheers
You are so right Lois. Many opportunities are missed because leadership hasn’t thought to look in other departments for successors. Do you think this is because the focus is more on experience than competencies?
- Alicia
Alicia, Sadly I find that too often the succession planning process builds in the ability of protectionism. People don’t want their best people poached from their departments so they demand the process not allow other departments to assign them as successors.
Cheers,