Helping HR To Speak The Language Of Business
When we see HR leaders and Sales leaders together around the table it can be interesting to hear the different language being used.
HR professionals often talk in people terms such as ‘talent’ ‘personal development’ and ‘engagement’. They often see the value of robust selection and development practices in terms such as ‘talent pipeline’, ‘succession planning’ and ‘future leaders’.
Sales leaders often talk in terms of ‘targets’, ‘revenue’ and ‘sales performance’.
But, these are essentially two sides of the same coin. Drawing a line between the two will help you to make the business case for using robust assessments for selection and development. Here are some ways to support your argument for more ‘people’ focused activities that all business leaders can buy into.
- Reduce the risks and costs of wrong decisions
A good assessment process tells you more information about an individual than you can ever get in an interview alone. For example, an expert-led discussion with them about psychometric survey results will give you an invaluable insight into a person’s strengths, preferences, values, drivers and areas for development.
Armed with this rich information, you can make informed decisions about whether a candidate will perform well against the critical job criteria, whether your employee is ready for the next level of role or how to best spend your training budget to meet the specific needs of a team or department.
- Show me the money
A powerful business case will demonstrate the return on investment based on identifying the costs associated with poor selection or promotion decisions.
Questions to consider include:
- How much does the recruitment / selection process cost?
- How much does it cost to train someone in the new role?
- How much does it cost the business while they are getting up to speed?
- How much does it cost in re-training or performance management if a team member is underperforming?
- What impact does it have on others if someone is underperforming? E.g. colleagues “carrying” their work, re-training them or becoming demotivated themselves; managers demotivating their team; a leader getting the direction wrong for the whole business.
Based on the answers to these questions, you’ll find that the cost of a robust selection process is a drop in the ocean in comparison. Click here for a useful ROI calculator to get you started.
- Provide the evidence
If you want to add even more weight to your business case, a validation study will link the results of the assessment method to key performance indicators in the role. Take the example of a sales team; if you can identify which elements of personality and behaviour will drive sales performance then you can show the associated increase in income to the business if everyone was recruited against this profile. To see an example of how this has been done click here for more information.
- Hone your training budget
Using personality questionnaires, 360 surveys and other tools shows that as a business you are willing to invest in your people and their professional development. Using these as part of a development process can create a culture of self-awareness and self-development that didn’t previously exist. It can also provide team, department and organisational level themes that need to be addressed, thereby enabling you to make the best use of the training budget rather than taking a more costly “sheep dip” approach. Providing cost saving figures for your business leaders will again support your argument and help you to achieve your people aims.
In summary, an objective business case outlining the costs of getting it wrong and the value of getting it right can speak the language of senior peers and the C-Suite, helping HR leaders reach their own objectives while bringing other business leaders with them.
Sarah is a Chartered Business Psychologist and a Director of Bloojam Consulting. With 20 years’ experience working in selection and development, she is passionate about using evidence-based approaches to add demonstrable value to both the individual and the organisation.