Whilst recording some of the episodes of my podcast – Your HR Career (available on Spotify), a number of my guests spoke in detail about how to develop business relationships.
One guest described their ideal HR person as – “a business adviser with a specialism in people” which I thought was an excellent way to describe the balance we need to strike between our discipline and the business we are working within. Certainly people are important but the mechanics of HR shouldn’t get in the way of the business of business-ing whatever that might be.
Some of the guests excellent suggestions seemed well worth sharing. Here are there top 6 suggestions for building great relationships as an HR professional.
1. Get to know them – we are dealing with people here, people who are managers but still people. You need to find a way to get to know them, how they think, what their concerns are and how you can work with them in the best way. Great HR people are often chameleons and can adapt their styles to suit, I agree to a point – but I think far better when you find the culture that matches your natural style.
2. Let them know you – a really common theme across the podcast series has been the need to be human, and let them see you rather than HR, one guest gave a great example of being in a meeting and being asked “what does HR think?” – clearly this manager needed to know her name and building that link became a priority.
3. What’s on their list today – when starting out in a role you need to know what is an issue for them, and if at all possible, take something off that list – to show them that you have listened and to build trust and confidence. Keep asking them what they have on their list right now, be interested in their concerns rather than bringing your own.
4. Speak their language – spend time with them and their teams, understand the business, the terms they use and how they operate, again this builds confidence and shows you are interested.
5. Where and when are they relaxed – we might think that building relationships is far harder now we are so often working in virtual or blended workplaces. I remember starting out in HR and working in a regional HRBP role, the Director I supported was based in a different country to me, but I knew he was an early bird like me so we would chat at about 7.30 am as I headed into work, built a relationship and I learnt what was on his list and mind and when was the best time of day to pass something by him. Super valuable you can do the same with calls or zooms, but never overlook the value of a well-timed phone call (or whatever works best for them – that’s what you need to find out)
6. Be visible – don’t hide away in an office, or off camera or quietly working away. Make sure a good chunk of your week is with and next to your business. You might ask to attend team calls, or be present if you are on site, but be visible - don’t wait to be asked to dance.
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash