HR - Board Representation? (Human Resource Head Hunter)

Is it the right or wrong principle that only eighteen of the FTSE-100 companies have HR representation at board level? Indeed, there are boards that will have an HR professional and those that may not have a need for it. However, these companies are undoubtedly in the minority and will not count for the 82 percent of FTSE-100 companies which do not have HR on their board.

If you are an HR professional and you or your boss are not on the board then there must be a reason. As a human resource head hunter we can offer some insight into this situation.

Basic day to day tasks such as the core functions of recruitment, training, accountability and employee administration are not an argument for HR representation on the board. The head of HR’s role should be as varied as that of the chief executive. A decent HR should see themselves as an orchestra conductor of employees; they should be able to understand broadly how to play every instrument in order to see how they harmonise with each other.

This ideal HR should have an in-depth understanding of the business model and knowledge concerning how their competitors operate differently. They should have an insight into customers that is no less than equal to that of their marketing associates. In addition, it is vital that they investigate profit-and-loss items way beyond the employee costs. HR is the one function that is able to be, and should be, the core from which the business’ dynamics is run.

Generally, newly appointed HR directors choose to follow their predecessor’s role rather than change it. This lack of proactivity they often excuse with culture and workload, and yet this should not be sufficient.

The people who are responsible for staff relocation expose their weaknesses if they fail to reallocate the HR’s workload. The HR executive requires time for vital aspects of the employee asset-base, however if HR directors are not able to reasonably justify why they require more staff to help the rest of the group to be more effective, then they should not have the job.