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Strategy Is the New Black: How HR Can Become Even More Invaluable to the CEO

Human resources managers will take on a much more prominent role in the near future, acting as a business adviser and strategic partner. The days of entering new-hire data into multiple systems is long gone, as centralized human capital management technology has freed HR personnel from the daunting administrative processes, allowing them the time to be more strategic.

Being more strategic doesn’t require an invitation, just a desire – a desire to communicate in a more engaging way, improve processes and tread into new territory. Strategy may be feared by HR if the role historically has been reserved for the CEO; start by moving beyond the traditional framework of your job and find ways you can play a more vital part in your company’s overall game plan.

As business needs evolve, so will the role of the HR professional. Become the strategist your organization needs today.

3 Strategic Questions to Answer

Here are three types of questions a strategic professional should be asking – and answering:

1. How do your core business values differentiate from your competitors’?

How can you add value to your customers and employees if you don’t even know what your competitors are doing or how you do it better? This is essential – something every leader in your organization should know.

2. Are you asking “Why not?” instead of “How?”

Take a step back and try “thinking different.” Great ideas often die in the boardroom because somebody immediately asks “how.” Just because all the details haven’t been figured out just yet doesn’t automatically chalk an idea up as a failure. It’s still possible; you just need more people asking “Why not?” It is OK to challenge the status quo; heck, a certain computer company became a $700 billion juggernaut by doing so.

3. Do you invest time into understanding how business can be run more effectively?

Technology has propelled HR practices for both today and tomorrow. You can approve time-off requests, pull essential payroll reports, transition new hires from recruiting through the onboarding process and more, all through your smartphone or tablet, wherever in the world you may be. For some, this change of convenience has cut processing time by 50 percent. Now, HR has the time to generate overhead reports, check for areas where cutbacks can be made and find opportunities where business would be better served. This kind of information is invaluable; it’s how you begin to build stronger lines of communication with the CEO and CFO.

One of the biggest struggles for HR is that it tends to blend in with everyone else. You may be doing your job and doing it well, but how can you do it better and garner the attention of your C-suites? The answer: By being more strategic, and Paycom can help you get there.