Know Your Business

If an HR leader is going to have an impact on building a culture that will be successful in their unique organization, rather than taking a copy > paste approach to what may have worked in the past or applying what they’re read about working in other organizations, they must learn their business. A question I commonly get when coaching and mentoring HR professionals is, “How do I learn about my industry, company, and people?”

It’s sometimes hard to balance getting 1) all the things you need to get done and 2) learn about your company’s new product, why this approach is needed, or what the company is doing to get it to market. Even the most evolved HR professional can get sucked into the day-to-day of, for example, employee relations, crafting job descriptions, and developing training, leaving little time to focus on the business (vs working in the business.)

First step, get curious! Obsessively find ways to connect with the people doing the work in the field to learn from their experiences, ask them about their predictions, and understand why they approached their work in a certain way. As HR professionals, we have a unique opportunity to learn about each job in the organization to help with career pathing, employee development, and other topics related to recruitment, talent management, compensation, and more. Use this opportunity wisely. As you learn about each role, rather than being an order taker, take time to get to know how these roles fit into the larger picture and how they help the company's clients.

Be a voracious consumer of information. Read, watch, listen, and digest as many articles, videos, podcasts, and webinars on the industry as you can. You can start by reading everything on your company’s website. As a salesperson needs to research their prospects, HR can use some of these same techniques to learn and stay up to date on their company. Read the company’s annual report, product and company reviews, and press releases. Research competitors. Understand the company’s purpose, mission, goals, core processes, systems and technology, target customers, how it earns money, and differentiators. Then, find an industry association or two to see what publications they have about the broader field. Sign up for newsletters so your learning is not a one-time event. Attend company trainings, ask questions when you don’t understand (on the side, so you don’t derail a meeting), and invite yourself to meetings to learn what challenges your company solves for its clients and how. I think you’ll find most teammates are willing to spend a few extra minutes to explain things to you that may be technical because they want to help you so you can, in turn, help them.

Maintain relationships. Companies evolve and so do their solutions. To stay relevant with your learning and your company’s evolution, continue meeting with those in your company on a regular basis, as well as devouring information on the industry and emerging roles and trends in the industry. Block time for a lunch once a month with team members outside your HR team, set a reoccurring quarterly meeting with one or two people who support your ongoing learn so you can ask questions, and prioritize this learning.

How else do you get to know your business? Looking forward to your ideas and feedback!