Summary of Vlog Post by Emma Lokar, CHRO Partners Intern, Graduating May 2020

Please join me in learning the importance of HR leaders leveraging business acumen skills to bring value to how the business runs and makes money. Kristin Trecker, Chief Human Resources Officer for Visteon Corporation shares: 

• Why it is essential to focus on business acumen skills
• How to continue to learn about the business by building relationships and creating synergy with your organization’s Finance team
• Steps to developing Business Acumen skills

How growing your business acumen skills impacts the work you are doing in HR. 

Click on the 20-minute interview video above to watch Trecker explain the key to being a successful HR professional at all levels.

If you do not have time to watch this video blog click HERE or follow the link below to get instant access to a PDF download of the video transcript: 

https://www.chropartners.com/lp-vlog_kristintreckertranscript

All my best,

Cindy Lu

P.S. ...

Have you ever been sitting there in a meeting with a senior executive and they say something that makes your jaw almost drop open? And you think to yourself, “this is a coaching opportunity 😉”.

We have all been there and know that our ability to coach and influence sr. executives is a critical skill for all HR leaders even if you aren’t in the CHRO role yet.  In fact, in our CHRO skill survey this year, “Coaching Skills” (the ability to influence the “C” suite) was  ranked in the top 5 skills for future CHROs.

 So, we decided to interview the fabulous Debbie Dennis, Chief Customer Officer and CHRO at Oncor on the crucial skill of being able to influence the “C” suite. Watch this video to learn…

…why coaching is a must have skill for HR leaders

…what it’s like when it is done well!

…and Debbie’s three easy to implement tips for any HR leader at any level

Click on the video above to watch this 21-minute interview or if you don’t have time to watch the video, here is the PDF of the ...

Summary of Vlog Post by Emma Lokar, CHRO Partners Intern, Graduating May 2020

If you do not have time to watch the video blog, please click HERE to download the PDF transcript for your reading pleasure!

Did you know that three out of five companies are without a comprehensive succession plan and 75% are without a CEO successor!

If you're ready to feel confident about your organization's succession plan, join me to hear advice from Rich Floersch, former CHRO for McDonald’s Corporation and Susan Madonia, Partner of Executive Coaching Connections. In this interview you will learn:

•    How Rich navigated four separate CEO successions at McDonald’s and his high impact succession planning advice for CHRO and talent leaders who are putting a plan in place or revisiting their plan.

•    How vital it is to have strong talent management; invest in leadership development and what message you’re sending to all employees in your organization when there’s lack of succession at the top.

•    Actions CHR...

Understaffed? Short on HR Budget? 4 Things HR Professionals want from their CEO, a rant by Cindy Lu based on the Entrepreneur article "4 Things CEOs Want from HR Leadership".

This post is in response to a 2016 Entrepreneur article by a CEO of a software company.  He writes about "4 things CEOs Want from HR Leadership". He starts the article by saying, “people are the biggest item on almost every company’s budget, and that CEOs consistently list talent as a top concern”.  Yet, rather than being seen as a strategically valuable, business-oriented leader, the head of HR is often regarded  as administration and compliance-focused.  

He listed 4 ways HR leaders can “reverse” this image:

• Match talent resources with company strategy.
• Help attract the best and brightest.
• Deliver excellence in the on-boarding process.
• Focus on employee engagement.

Even though this article is over 3 years old, I don’t think this type of CEO thinking has gone away. I don’t mean the 4 strategic areas he...

If you are interested in joining our Virtual HR Mastermind Circle and would like to be notified the next time our Virtual HR Mastermind Circle opens enrollment, sign up HERE or see the link below:  https://www.chropartners.com/WaitList

Summary of Vlog Post by Emma Lokar, HR Intern 

Next Level Strategic HR Skills: Deslyn Norris, Chief People Officer, Fitness Connection

Join me to hear how Deslyn Norris, Chief People Officer with Fitness Connection shares her expertise on what the top skills CEOs are looking for in their CHROs. Everyone knows CEOs want their HR leaders to produce results, have business acumen, keep relationships and have empathy, and be a people person. However, Deslyn dives into the top four skills that push CHROs to the next level strategic skills.

Deslyn explains how being a Transformational Leader, Talent Expert, someone who can drive Culture & Engagement, and creating an inclusive environments helps you dig into the strategic aspects of HR in business and assist...

Summary by Emma Lokar

Disruption and What HR Can do About it: Charlene Li, Author, Speaker, & Board Member, Altimeter

Join me to hear from Charlene Li and author and expert in Digital Transformation to learn about disruption and what HR can do about it. Charlene is often asked “How do you actually thrive with disruption?”.  There are three elements of successful disruption: strategy, leadership, and culture. Strategy are those things that you can do and the things you won’t do. In business you cannot accomplish everything. Li explains that companies need to learn to set aside the things that are urgent and focus on the important things for the future. Leaders need to focus less on “putting out fires” and focus more on training their teams on how to do it on their own.

Through all of these elements Charlene shares that “the technology is there to help you accomplish whatever it is you want to do. To handle disruption, it is essential for HR to be a part of those strategy conversation...

Summary of Vlog Post by Emma Lokar HR Intern (Graduating May 2020)

Taking Your Seat at The Table: Michelle Rand, VP HR America’s Region & Global Pre-sales at Hitachi Vantara

A Seat table is Not Guaranteed:
Recently HR has paved their way into “the room” as essential players in companies’ strategies, and overall business impact. However, HR can still be thought of “Yes-men”, personnel that files paperwork, and ensures sure job levels are correct. In several organizations Human Resources does not have their place in the Boardroom.

After starting a new job with a new company Michelle learned that not all companies see the impact Human Resources can have on the business through having a “seat at the table”. After earning her seat at a previous company this was a challenge Michelle did not know she would have to face.

Michelle gives us her advice and take on how HR can demonstrate their value to the business as a whole to earn a seat in the Boardroom:

Be a Problem Solver for the Busine...

Summary by Emma Lokar

 Economic Trends HR Executives Need to Pay Attention to and Why: Taylor St. Germain, Analyst, ITR Economics

Join me to hear from Taylor St. Germain, Analyst at ITR Economics, to learn about the economic trends HR Executives need to pay attention to and why they are important. Taylor works as an analyst for the Institute of Trend Research, and they hold themselves to a high degree of accuracy. A trend Taylor speaks to is the growing economy. It has been growing quickly, but ITR expects it to slow down. There are large implications to an economic slowdown and shares the factors that compress a business’s margins. Taylor dives into how HR can use these trends to benefit their businesses.

With all these variables affecting the economy St. Germain explains that it is vital for organizations to invest in leadership and make sure that leaders are focused on retaining employees. Taylor elaborates on specific industries these economic trends will affect, and how orga...

 By Emma Lokar

Watch my summary on Charlene Li’s, LinkedIn learning course, “HR's Role in Digital Transformation”. Charlene Li will be speaking at this year’s BigHR Event.  Throughout the learning course, Charlene explains why it is important for HR to not only have a “Seat at the Table”, but why HR needs a seat at the “Digital Table”. Human Resources utilizes technology everyday through the abundance of HR systems and platforms. They should be on the ground for any issues that may arise, and helping to transform the technology for employees.

Charlene also explains with the digital transformation on the horizon for all businesses HR plays a critical role in the employee experience and digital facing entities. If HR is not having the conversation about Digital Transformation then NO ONE is. HR’s presence in the digital space expands across all functions of HR; such as, Learning and Development, Recruiting, and Project Management. A large part of the digital transformation is data. Dat...

Join me to hear from Eddie Hightower, SVP of Teammate Services at Caliber Collision to learn about How to Build a Successful Wellness Program, how it impacted Eddie and Caliber Collision’s workforce, what it can teach your organization about wellness, and how it can positively change your employees life inside and outside the office.

Eddie explains that it began simply with “Eat what you love and lose weight” and the entire program is self-reporting. It enabled him to not only to a lot more things than before, but overall led him to have a more healthful approach to life and generally feel better. The program broke down myths about what makes a healthy meal and what does not. The results of initiating the program at Caliber Collision is outstanding; employees and their families continue to lose weight and learn to live healthier lives. Click above to watch the full VLOG interview.   (If you prefer to read the interview, see the transcript below.)

All my best,

Cindy Lu

Founder, HR M...