Growing great governance: Now’s the time

Building the HR pipeline often focuses our attention on developing early to mid-career professionals. But what about building up the HR leaders of today? Gillian Brookes looks at what HRNZ is doing to build great governance.

If today’s HR leaders keep growing in capability, we’ll create even more headroom for everyone else to move into, while also making the Head of HR role ever-evolving, interesting and impactful, something well worth investing in and aspiring to.

It is with that in mind that HRNZ is launching the first HRNZ Executive Guide: HR Governance. It’s time we put as much focus on building our leadership cohort as we have on building the earlier stages of our profession.

BUILDING UP THE HR LEADERS OF TODAY

The stage was set when The Path was designed. Its capability levels don’t stop at the ‘Leads’ level but take us right through to ‘Governs’. This was a deliberate choice when developing The Path because it created the structure to enable HR to develop its influence and impact and to extend beyond the executive table and into the boardroom.

Leadership and governance share common ground as well as distinctive roles, which is a territory ripe for exploring in so many of our organisations and professions: finding ways to maximise the value and insight exchange between executive leadership and governance boards. That virtuous cycle, between executive leaders and governance, can challenge and shape the service of delivering better on our organisational strategies and purpose.

For leaders in our HR profession, the timing is ideal, because boards have broadened their focus beyond financial risk and reward to include issues such as environmental and social impact. The levers of change for this broader remit, more often than not, come right back to people, their behaviour and the values that drive everyday decision-making, all firmly within the HR remit.

Now, the opportunity is there for HR to more fully participate at the governance level, because your professional body, HRNZ, has decided to support and guide that professional development challenge.

Growing Good Hr Governance

Good HR governance is fully explored in the HRNZ Executive Guide: HR Governance. To give you a taste of what’s there, you’ll find straight-talking guidance, tools and resources to help you develop your governance capability from wherever you and your organisation are at right now.

During the research and development of the guide, it became clear that no organisation has the perfect setup. Everyone is constantly maturing their governance approach, which the guide acknowledges, supporting you to pick up and develop from where you are today.

Understanding the governance arrangements in your organisation, how to formally interact with them, as well as getting to know the individuals on your board, are important places to begin. This gives you the governance context you’re working within ahead of figuring out your own personal development plan. You might have a direct relationship with the Board that you want to nurture and grow, or a People Committee that reports to the main Board. This could provide you with even more potential to drive strategic impact through governance-level interest in your area of expertise.

If you’re interested in developing your own personal ‘Governs’ capability, you’ll find a handy self-assessment and development tool, aligned to The Path. This will help you determine your next steps by identifying your key strengths and development areas.

Collective Wisdom

The guide and its resources were developed with thanks and significant input from various people and perspectives. We involved several heads of HR from many types of organisations, who provided a broad set of experiences, governance arrangements and stages of evolution. We also were fortunate enough to have support and input from experienced board directors and governance experts, including the team at the Institute of Directors.

In bringing these diverse views and this expertise together, we’ve been able to proudly publish this guide, knowing that it will be a reliable place to begin our professional development offer to the HR leaders of today. Further plans are in the pipeline to build on the success of this guide, looking for more opportunities to bring today’s HR leaders together to learn, share and develop our profession, its potential and impact.

Check out the HRNZ Executive Guide: HR Governance, for more information.

Gillian Brookes, Chartered Member of HRNZ, runs a small consultancy that focuses on leading for a better future of work. She specialises in workforce strategy development and flexible work. Gillian is the author of Flexperts: Getting the best from flex in a world that’s ever changing. You can find out more at her website www.gillianbrookes. co.nz and connect with her on LinkedIn.