How to Align HR Strategy with Business Goals for Maximum Impact

Razman Radzi, Group Chief Human Capital Officer, FGV Holdings Berhad in a recent interaction with Asia Business Outlook magazine, shared his views on how HR leaders can ensure continuous alignment with evolving business strategies to drive maximum impact, what innovative strategies can HR adopt to enhance employee engagement in a way that aligns with and accelerates business goals and more.

HR struggles to align strategy with business due to unclear leadership priorities. How can HR leaders ensure continuous alignment with evolving business strategies to drive maximum impact?

When the CHRO or the business leader needs to make alignment to evolving business strategies, the first thing that the CHRO needs to do is not to think like a HR recruiter but rather as a CEO of a talent suppose that mindset can be changed and the HR leaders start to think and operate like a CEO of a talent solution business is able to create value to the organisation and to align the HR agenda to the growth and performance needs of the organisation and one that is made clear and the performance agenda is clearly aligned with the business needs then it's so much easier for the CHRO to operate and deliver on the expectation. In this case, he needs to position HR to support the execution of business strategies.

The other important factor is that the CHRO or the business or HR leader needs to reposition himself as a trusted HR advisor to the CEO. And in this aspect, he needs to impart business solutions beyond the HR metrics that we normally measure. Another element is that he has to wear multiple hats. The HR leader needs to be a strategist a visionary as well as a salesperson. Basically, the CHRO needs to be a business leader first and a technical expert (HR second). Another point is that in terms of courage, the CHRO must do the right thing and must be able to have the courage to challenge the status quo.

He must be forward-thinking, anticipate issues, ability to connect the dots that make things relevant and acceptable by the business. He must also have a shared vision of the business with both the CEO and the CFO by bringing innovation and transformation to the table. He must impart wisdom, and knowledge to all business decisions.

And finally, he must be able to deal with multiple egos. His own ego as well as the ego of other business leaders and with that in mind, and other important factors, will the HR leader be able to align HR deliverables to the needs of the business.

Engaged employees drive services, but many organizations struggle with low engagement. What innovative strategies can HR adopt to enhance employee engagement in a way that aligns with and accelerates business goals?

I do not think that approach is particularly innovative. Most of us tend to treat engagement or satisfaction surveys as more of an academic exercise. Once we get the results, we report to the management board and then we keep it in our drawers and wait for the next cycle, which is maybe two or three years down the road.

The HR needs to set up an ecosystem where employee engagement is continuous. For instance, based on the engagement survey index, the findings are then cascaded to the management, the board and all the employees. The next step would be to create and appoint engagement champions throughout the business.

Thus, for each business divisions and departments, there will be at least one or two engagement champions and HR facilitates the process every quarterly. In this instance, we make employee engagement continuous. We address issues that is close to the employee's heart and it is seen to be implemented rather than waiting for another two years to see what is being done. Thus, in this way, employee engagement can be much more effective and contributes to business goals.

HR often gets caught up in action hiring or operational challenges, making it difficult to focus on long-term contributing business impact. What strategies can HR leaders implement to balance immediate workforce needs with long-term organizational growth?

The first and most important factor is to secure the board's approval on the headcount and the headcount must support the business goals. Once the headcount is approved by the board and forms part of the budget, which was presented by the heads of the business units, the next step will be to ensure that the hiring process meets the business needs. HR needs to be close with the businesses to ensure timely and accurate hiring processes and it's not very difficult. It is quite straightforward. What is important is timing of the hiring process. Therefore, in a particular year, we may have a number, let us say 50 to be hired for example. What is important is that when these 50 people are coming in, it could be on a quarterly basis or it could be every month.

Hence, the HR business partner or the HRBP needs to work very closely with the CEOs of the respective businesses to ensure timely hiring. However, the only problem is that we wait too long or we wait for the business to come back to HR. The HR has to be a little more proactive by engaging with the business to ensure that the schedule of hiring is clear and acceptable to all parties. Therefore, it will make hiring a lot more effective to meet the needs of the business.

As businesses evolve, ensuring cultural alignment and managing change effectively become critical and challenging for HR. What role should HR play in driving cultural transformation to support business growth and agility?

In some organisations they create a division or a department or a unit specifically looking into organizational transformation. In the absence of such a unit or division, the HR will be in a driving seat. In this aspect, the HR needs to get the pulse of the organization, engage with the relevant stakeholders in terms of their views and their expectations.

When I refer to stakeholders, they are the members of the board, members of the top management, some key management personnel, as well as certain identified external stakeholders. Thus, once the expectation and the findings are clear, what HR needs to do is come up with the outcome because when we embark on some objectives or some initiatives, the outcome must be clearly spelled out in the first place.

Once the outcome is clearly spelled out and agreed upon, then we can identify what initiatives that we need to be done through a cultural transformation roadmap. Hence, HR plays a facilitator role. Transformation actually comes from the businesses.

We help the business to transform through our facilitation process, connecting the expectation of stakeholders and the business outcomes. Thus, we remain as objective as possible, helping the business to transform. We the HRs do not determine what is the outcome of transformation or culture.

We merely facilitate the process and, if we do the facilitation effectively and correctly, then we will be able to organize a transformation journey that is smooth and least painful for everyone. Change is actually quite painful if not managed correctly because as humans, we fear change the most because the outcome is unknown. Therefore, in the change management process, one of the first things to do is to clarify the outcomes. When the outcomes are clear, the roadmap is also clear and the initiatives are clearly spelled out with the champions and sponsors in place, then the buy-in and the level of acceptance will be very high.

Thus, there will be the least disruption and much less pain for everyone involved. In this aspect, I would reiterate the HR role in cultural transformation. The main role is a facilitation role.