Stacey Schuchardt, CHRP
HR generalist,
Axis Family Resources Ltd.

Stacey Schuchardt, CHRP is a human resources generalist for Axis Family Resources Ltd. where she is involved in all aspects of HR—with a strong focus on labour relations, training and development, and health and safety. Stacey has worked in several HR roles for various dynamic industries and is currently an advisor on the Central Interior HRMA Council. She is passionate about developing people at all levels, and has a strong desire to help employees and teams succeed.

Although there are many facets of HR that directly affect business results, from my experience the most prominent of these would be talent management and development. The high-skilled talent shortages that companies are currently facing is a key concern  for how businesses will continue their growth and management practices today and in the future.

Successfully aligning the organizations business strategy with their talent strategy will ensure the right people are in place for leading, engaging and making effective business decisions about the future of their company. These are the fundamental building blocks for organizational success and sustainability.

Through engaging in the development of employees and ensuring the right people are in the right seats, companies will be able to establish themselves apart from their competition and therefore make the difference between a good organization and a great one.

 
 
Cyrus Irani
benefits coordinator,
Impark

Since graduating from Capilano University, Cyrus Irani has held a passion for HR, particularly around total rewards. Cyrus strongly believes that a business is only as good as its employees, and employees are only as good as their HR team. After over five years working in finance, Cyrus recently joined Impark as a benefits coordinator assisting with US & Canadian benefits while working towards achieving his CHRP  and CEBS designation.

As HR professionals, we need to put the emphasis on human portion of human resources. The employees are the real asset of any business and only when HR departments understand that employees are not commodities will they succeed in having the biggest impact in today’s ever-changing business world.
The most important corporate resource is talent and it is currently in high demand but short supply. The war for talent is only going to get worse as a significant portion of our aging workforce retires in the coming decade. Organizations where HR has mastered the following areas will succeed in having the biggest impact on business results:

• Employment Branding: The values and culture of an organization.
• Talent Management: The competencies and skills needed in the future and not the positions to be filled.
• Total Rewards: Compensation, benefits, performance and recognition, development and career opportunities, and work-life balance.

 
 
Harley Grouette, CHRP
HR director,
NorthwesTel

Harley Grouette, CHRP is a human resources director, having recently joining NorthwesTel in Whitehorse, Yukon.  Harley is a seasoned HR generalist with extensive human resources experience in dealing with all aspects of people issues and complex project work.  He understands the importance of the human capital aspect of business and how your employee base can develop and grow a business.  

HR cannot impact business results unless their voice is heard at all levels in the business.  HR needs to have a clear understanding of the business they serve and provide accurate and timely support to the business operations in a synchronized and strategic manner.

The key areas which open the door for HR are the ability to provide the business with the data and workforce analytics for effective workforce planning.  HR also gains their voice by implementing policies which are effective and flexible for the business; policies which reduce the reliance on HR for administration and allow supervisors and employees to be collaborative partners with HR.

The intricate knowledge of the business itself and a synchronized approach with the business leaders allows HR to become very strategic in their outlook and planning.  This is what matters to the bottom line.

Katherine Marlow
(prev.) global director,
people, learning and culture

Katherine Marlow recently returned to Vancouver after working in the UK and Denmark for seven years. In her last role, Katherine was the global director of people, learning and culture for an international relocation company. She is excited to be back in B.C. and is ready for her next adventure. Katherine loves to learn, share and grow with others and is looking forward to her new volunteer role as chair of the HRMA Fraser Valley Advisory Council.  

Assuming a business has strategic HR, HR impacts the business results most directly by ensuring the right people, with the right competencies, are in the right place, at the right time.

How does HR do this? By understanding and addressing today’s major business challenges and by preparing for the future over the next 3 – 5 years. HR’s key role is to identify the human capital implications and build structure, systems, processes and competencies to ensure that business objectives are met and competitive advantage is maintained.

To prove HR impact, HR metrics and analytics are crucial and HR professionals need to discuss them in the same financial or numerical manner as other business metrics are discussed. Example measures may include ROI for a given initiative, customer satisfaction scores, gross margin per employee, total employment cost / total revenue, etc. Great HR is business critical, so let’s ensure that our impact on business results are acknowledged.

 
 
Greg Conner, CHRP
principal,
Human Capital Dynamics

Greg Conner has more than 25 years of experience in the human resources profession including demonstrable expertise and success in employee engagement, union relations, and performance planning. His extensive professional background includes serving in executive level roles across diverse industries.  He has a passion and talent for building engagement, and works hard to instil a strong corporate social responsibility ethic in each organization in which he serves. Those efforts have garnered awards provincially, nationally and internationally.

While I could make a case for building a strong and vibrant organizational culture when it comes down to it, there is no question in my experience that the most profound impact HR has (or ought to have) on business results is recruitment.

Working with managers to hire and properly onboard the right people, with the right skills, at the right time, is fundamental to the organization’s level of success. Dealing with the human dynamic means you will never ever be right all of the time, however, get it right at least 90 per cent of the time and good things will happen.

Hire the wrong people, the wrong skills, or at the wrong time (please don’t let it be all three at once) and the organization suffers.  Make enough mistakes and it can and will be terminal.  That is why HR’s most profound impact on business results is and always will be linked to recruitment.