Influencing the Business as an HRD

HRDs should be integral to the strategic decisions a business makes. To fulfil this role, they must

support the CEO while also providing sound commercial input and encouraging healthy dynamics in the leadership team. Emma Carroll explores how they are doing this.

Featuring commentary from:

Matthew Blagg, CEO, Criticaleye: "The ability of an HRD to influence beyond the CEO and up to the Chair is key. To do that they need to see the strategy from the perspective of the Board."

Sally Cairns, Chief People Officer, Global: "If you can pre-empt where the issues are going to be, that helps you build credibility and produces better outcomes."

Gareth Davis, Chair, Ferguson: “A really great HR Director understands the vision, numbers and the messages you are sending out to the market. They get around the business and monitor its heartbeat."

Emma Hardaker-Jones, Group HRD, Legal & General: “I spoke to my Chair and SID privately, outside the formal cycle of the meetings... It creates another channel, and I genuinely think it is a good thing to do.”

Kerrigan Procter, CEO, Legal & General Capital: “Having that opportunity to work so closely together really became an accelerant to a relationship that might otherwise have taken a year or so to build.”

Brian Stringer, former CEO, Survitec Group: "The HRD role evolved from a more tactical one to being more strategic in nature; more of a business partner to the CEO."

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Contributors

Brian Stringer
Partner
Acquire & Integrate Limited

Emma Hardaker-Jones
Group HRD
Legal & General

Gareth Davis
NED
Gresham House plc

Kerrigan Procter
Managing Director, Corporate Risk Solutions
M&G plc