Nonprofit HR’s Blog

Rod Hewlett has three ways HR professionals can increase their influence in top-level decisions.

1. Become fluent in the language

Many HR professionals come from backgrounds in psychology or management that don’t require quantitative analysis. But to earn a seat at the table, you must become familiar with that process, and comfortable using the economic terms used by executive team members. That means understanding factors such as value creation, return on investment (ROI), key performance indicators (KPI), capital investment and cash flow.

2. Show up with concrete analysis

Once you’ve learned the terms executives use in high-level meetings, you can earn your seat by showing up prepared with concrete analysis of how Human Resources impacts the business function and syncs with the company’s larger goals.

3. Become known as a collaborator and problem solver

At the end of the day, there’s no one more popular at the executive table than the person who steps up to solve a problem. Here’s where HR professionals can really shine, because you’re already seasoned at solving problems behind the scenes, right?