July 30, 2015

HR-MGMT
Submitted
by:

HR on
Board

Leslie B. Abinuman
TH202/BSBA-HRM

(More HR Executives on the

Board of Directors)

INTRODUCTION

Theres no denying the fact that having a Human Resource department is very
important in every company or organization. An HR Department caters to several
aspects of the company such as the marketing department, finance department,
operations department and a few others. Aside from catering to the said departments,
the HR Department also handles what can be considered as the building blocks and
rocks of the organization - its employees, also called as the human resource. The
department is tasked from the beginning up until to the end of these employees; from
the recruitment, training and development, compensation and salary, promotion until the
employees dismissal or termination. With these vast sum of knowledge and experience,
no wonder that HR specialists and executives have a big impact in an organization.
However, with the said big impact of HR in the organization, there have been
questions as to why there are still only a few, if not none, HR executives who are a
member of the board of directors. This issue has been stirring up a lot of issues
especially since it is apparent and clear how big the influence and knowledge of HR
executives about the things that even some of the board directors may not know.
There is a lot of speculations and opinions about the said issue. Some say that it
is necessary to have an HR executive or specialist in the board of directors because
there are a lot of problems involving their employees and people and who is more
suitable to address and explain this in the board of directors? The HR executives, of
course. Another sentiment is that the board who is currently consists of Chief Executive

Officers (CEOs), Chief Finance Officers (CFOs), Chief Operating Officers (COOs) and
several generalists and business leaders from other companies focuses more on
numbers and statistics that sometimes results in the lack of awareness and
understanding on matters that involves their own employees. They say that what the
board needs is someone who knows the company and its human capital well; what the
board needs is an HR.
On the other hand, several spectators says that the reason why board directors
are hesitant to place HR executives on the board is because most directors prefer to be
with themselves and that they care more about numbers. They also believe that general
and big-picture knowledge are enough to be able to understand their employees
problems and issues.
It seems easy enough to justify as to why HR executives should be a part of the
board, but the real question is how do we do it? What are the steps and processes that
we need to do in order to get them in the corporate board? How can we really put HR
on the board?

SUMMARY OF THE JOURNAL

The journal entitled HR on the Board is written by Robert J. Grossman for HR

Magazine last June 2004. The article focuses on the growing potential of Human
Resource managers and executives to be able to qualify in the board of directors. It also
discusses how these executives can help the board to make more decisions that are
strategically planned and create goals that can bring positive effect to the employees
inside the organization.
HR on the Board started out with Mr. Bill McLaughlin, president and CEO of
Select Comfort located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The said company is a huge
organization and with this growing development, Mr. McLaughlin stated that he wants to
add a new board member in his existing pool of board directors. It was stated that he
doesnt want just any business leader; he wants, quoted from the article, a seasoned
business person who had a global perspective, was a knowledgeable strategist, was
savvy in consumer markets and could understand a balance sheet. He also adds he
wants an HR executive added to his board of directors because he has seen how
important and how they can make a difference inside an organization.
After a lot of consideration, HR and Corporate Services Vice President, Mr. Mike
Peel was chosen to be part of Select Comforts board of directors. According to the
article, Mr. McLaughlin believes Mr. Peel will be able to guide the board to lay out much
more planned decisions and be more participative in terms of these kinds of situations.

The article also features several more opinions and like situations from different
HR executives and even some directors in existing boards. One of the points given as
to why HR should be in the board of directors is because HR, quoted from the article,
strategically manages change, culture, ethics, compensation, succession and labor
relations. Also according to the article, most successful companies are the ones that
never lose sight of the HRs significance in the organization. Another advantage of
having an HR executive present in the board, according to Wendy Yarno, is that HR
provides the information about how things should and should not work which is
extremely important because, as quoted from the article, it is an insurance against
having things come back to bite you. In conclusion, HR experts need to be members of
the board because they contribute discussions that are very relevant to the
organization.
On the other hand, there are also some disagreements featured in the said
journal article. One of these disagreements is that most board directors believe that
big-picture experience and knowledge is enough to handle employee problems in
issues like compensation and the like. It is also stated in the article that board directors
dont usually see HR issues as something prominent in the companys daily activities
hence there are no need for an HR expert in the board. It was also said that the board
mainly focuses on the financials, the plan, the forecast and not on its people so there
is no huge need for HR in the board.
The journal was concluded and ended by Spencer Stuarts Kelly implying that the
board of directors need seasoned executives that are both specialists and generalists

(whether HR or not was not indicated) and quoting from the article, Once they do,
they'll wonder how they got by without them."
WHAT DO HR PEOPLE NEED TO BE PART OF THE BOARD?

Based from the journal HR on the Board is written by Robert J. Grossman, I

think that there are a few ways on how HR experts can become members of the board
of directors. This ways are presumed from the points stated in the abovementioned
journal article.
It was once mentioned in the article that one particular reason why HR experts
are not considered to be part and be a member of the board is because most of its
members are Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Finance Officers (CFOs), Chief
Operating Officers (COOs) and the like from other companies. It was supposed that this
kind of line-up, with these kind of people, would most likely want to be around the same
kind of people as themselves. This is why HR experts are said to be sidelined and
stereotyped in their own organization. This complication opens for the first way of
getting HR representatives on the board. Firstly, it is important to wipe out the
stereotyping and sidelining that is happening in the company. As Human Resource
practitioners, we are trained to eradicate any types of stereotyping in the institution that
we are working with. It is part of our learning as HR that in order for an organization to
be successful in its field, it has to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to
everyone working for them. Hence, it is only right that the HR also provide and contest

for their own equal employment opportunity (EEO) by trying to break the stereotyping
that is happening between themselves and the board of directors.

At some point in the article, it was mentioned that board directors often ask the
Human Resource department for help and advice when it comes to issues and
problems that involve people which is the main competence and considered specialty
of most Human Resource practitioners. According also to the article, almost fifty (50)
percent of the issues tackled in a board meetings are about the organizations people
and employees. These kind of complications cannot be answered by finance officers or
operating experts; what these issues need is the viewpoint of a Human Resource
expert. This makes way to the second way of getting HR to be board members. It is a
common saying that in order to get to the top, you must start from a small step. What
better way to execute this saying in the issue at hand than providing support and help to
the board? When it comes to issues that only an HR practitioner will understand and
can provide a good viewpoint, board directors can seek a helping hand from them. This
will not only provide and create a good connection between the two parties but it will
also bring about the realization that people issues are important for the success and
progress of the organization. Once these board directors, which quoted from the article,
only care about the companys numbers and statistics, realize and understand how
handling people problems are important to the organization, they will also realize how
an HR point of view is significant and relevant to the board. It is critical that they
comprehend how both employee matters and Human Resource outlook on this things
can contribute to the success of the organization.

It was also given emphasis in the said journal that most of the board directors
have little knowledge about things like compensation, recruitment, succession planning
and many others all of which are considered as an HR practitioners field of expertise. It
was also said that most board members believes that having little knowledge and
grasping the general idea of these concepts are enough. This gives way for the third
and perhaps the most important way of getting the HR experts be a part of the board
which is to make the board see the great and huge potential of Human Resource
practitioners. This step is an extension of the second step. The second step gives the
spotlight on how HR can help address employee complications but the third step
focuses on how extensive and helpful an HR expert can be to be the board. As
abovementioned in the