Mic-drop moment
“HR is less about HR than it is about serving customers, investors, and communities.” – Dave Ulrich
Dr. Ulrich strongly believes HR is no longer about people but making businesses survive in the marketplace. And that’s the only way ahead in the future.
Businesses in the upcoming era will face more competition within the same industry, turning an organization into a powerhouse of revenue and unscathed growth will be HR professionals major KRA (Key Responsibility Area).
To include the stakeholder value in HR, it’s crucial for them to design policies, frameworks, and programs to fuel business with talent, strategic excellence, operational expertise, and the courage to be innovative.
Dave emphasizes improving customer experience, investors’ ROI, and reshaping the community’s perspective about your business by wearing hats of different CXO hat during a time of need.
Start by asking contextual questions:
- How have our customers’ experiences been so far?
- How can our investors have confidence in the funds they disburse?
- Do communities feel empowered with my company’s brand philosophy?
Or if you are interested in understanding more about the skills, competencies, and knowledge HR professionals need to perform effectively in those roles and contribute to business results, then dive deeper into the Dave Ulrich HR competency model which is a tool used within the broader Ulrich HR model.
Food for Thought: A Next-Gen HR
What is Dave Ulrich’s CHRO Playbook for future-ready CHROs?
In the recent The CHRO Mindset podcast, Dave Ulrich decoded what it takes to be an HR who’s not only a people enabler but a significant business partner. A future-ready CHRO must be well-versed with the boardroom language and fluent in commercial terms such as accruals, EBITDA, LTV, etc. These aren’t only terms but words entrapping power to comprehend finance like CFOs.
The future will be highly commercial and volatile and being resilient is the only effective strategy. According to Dave Ulrich Leadership insights, a CHRO who has already envisioned 2030 will have more confidence in leading boardrooms, possess detailed knowledge of industrial stats & AI tools, and courage to have a POV, especially when it needs to.
Here’s a simple playbook, we have tailored based on Dr. Ulrich’s lessons:
- Learn financial terms like break-even point, IRR (Internal rate of return), operating margin to dive deep into your company’s finances.
- Understand P&L sheets to learn what your company earns and what it loses annually.
- Master AI tools, data analysis, and 2030-ready tech stack to use it strategically.
- Work on policies like DEI, ESG, and wage compliances to keep your employees and business stay from penalties.
- Upskill yourselves with certifications, degrees, diplomas, and courses to build expertise in new areas.
- Always stay prepared for a crisis because these are inevitable.
How can CHROs drive business and stakeholder value in HR by 2030?
By 2030, the CHROs must adapt to be strategic business partners by igniting curiosity to lead the boardroom and discerning with the C-suite on their edge.
Like how to:
- Create market expansion roadmap.
- Define clear ROI and payback periods.
- Scale operations across regions
- Accelerate AI and automation adoption
- Link talent plans to revenue cycles
The future of HR leadership will witness more strategic business operations and calculated investments and CHROs must know the CXO terms to be a true stakeholder in business growth.
A CHRO will be a driving power behind culture that directly and indirectly impacts business revenue. Start driving people-focused initiatives, based on technical skills, leadership abilities, and crisis management. These tendencies are naturally crucial to build internal culture that not only keeps people engaged and productive but makes them emotionally connected to the work, driving direct profits.
These are the ways for CHROs should practice to driving business value by 2030 and beyond:
- Work on your workforce’s talent
- Leverage technology and AI tools for efficiency and improved culture
- Build a culture of support and growth
- Create processes to maintain clarity and sustain deliverables
- Use people and operational data to make informed decisions
- Tie performance with purpose
What are the key roles of a CHRO in the future of work?
A CHRO holds the master key to a business’ growth. When currently HR professionals are preparing to step into the boardroom to lead the business talks, the future of work sees a Chief Human Officer as an important role player in the boardroom and strategizing the next quarter.
HR leadership will no longer be about handling people-oriented activities like talent acquisition or onboarding, but driving critical decisions and perform as a:
- Workforce Strategist- The one who plans and designs an agile workforce model.
- Culture Architect- A driver of building a productive and engaged work culture, brings a sense of belonging.
- Data-driven decision maker- With plenty of AI tools and platforms that help gather and store data, HR professionals will take a leading role in launching data-backed people initiatives.
- ESG and purpose defining stakeholder- A extreme inclination on environmental, social, and governance of a company will help a CHRO lead ethical operations.
- Crisis Manager- Someone who should be ready with a plan B in chaos when the CFO and COO are busy talking finances and operations.
What is Ulrich model and how does it apply to modern organizations?
The Dave Ulrich HR model in the book, The Human Resources Champions, is popular worldwide and states that HR’s traditional role of people manager is slowly dying.
The 4 roles of HR by Dave Ulrich model are:
- Strategic partner,
- Change agent,
- Administrative Expert, and
- Employee Champion
This model by Dave Ulrich on HR strategy empowers them with a new purpose—from a side function to a central executive who not only steps into the boardroom but wins it with a fool-proof strategy, data & insights, and unshakable self-confidence.