WHAT I WISH HR TEAMS UNDERSTOOD ABOUT BUSINESS

HR is not just here to “support” the business, HR is the business. Yet too often, HR is seen, and sadly, sometimes sees itself, as the department that hires, fires, and “handles people stuff.” You know… the side hustle to the real work of sales, ops, finance, or delivery.

The reality is that businesses do not grow without strong people strategy. Culture, capability, leadership, performance, retention, risk mitigation, innovation, these are not HR side projects. These are the core mechanics of a sustainable, scalable business, and it is time HR stepped up to the table and owned that.

The big disconnect is that HR professionals tend to get working diligently on process and compliance, while missing the bigger strategic context. They wade knee deep into leave balances and award interpretation, but stay disconnected from revenue, margin, and commercial impact. They are talking policy while the CEO is talking scale, they are managing performance but not tying it to business performance. When that happens, HR loses credibility because business leaders internally conclude that if HR cannot show how this connects to our bottom line, then it is just noise. 

The business landscape is shifting faster than ever. In an environment where AI, hybrid teams, economic uncertainty, skills shortages etc. are trending, leaders are not looking for HR to be compliant, they are looking for HR to be commercially intelligent. Here is what modern HR needs to deliver:

• Workforce strategy that supports business goals, not just bums on seats, but the right capability at the right time.

• Data-driven decision-making, showing trends, risks, and outcomes, not just opinions.

• Leadership development, not one-off training, but an ongoing culture of feedback, clarity, and accountability.

• Risk mitigation, by identifying legal, cultural, and reputational risks early and guiding leaders through them.

• Change leadership, helping teams navigate uncertainty with resilience and trust.

In short, HR should be the engine room for sustainable business performance. Many HR folk already carry the title Business Partner, but the true question is, are you partnering, or are you policing? If you want to be a trusted advisor to your leadership team, you need to:

• Speak their language (hint: it includes words like “ROI,” “EBITDA,” “risk exposure,” “customer impact”).

• Understand the business model (what drives profit, what erodes it, and where the people levers lie).

• Offer solutions, not just problems (bring recommendations, not roadblocks).

• Back your advice with data (not just gut feel or “industry best practice”).

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The best HR leaders I know can walk into a boardroom and hold their own in a financial conversation because they understand how people performance ties directly to business performance.

HR is strategic infrastructure so just like tech or finance, great HR builds systems, frameworks, and capability that the entire organisation runs on. It is the invisible scaffolding that holds up growth and make business thrive and without it, businesses break in culture, in compliance, in performance, in leadership. 

That is why I am calling time on the outdated view of HR as just admin or just compliance. Yes, those things matter but we must raise the bar. If you are an HR professional, here is my invitation:

Start showing up as the strategic, commercial thinker your business actually needs.

Understand the numbers. Challenge decisions. Tie everything back to outcomes. You are not just HR, you are the person who keeps the business legal, ethical, scalable, and human…all at once.

If you are a business owner or CEO, start expecting more from your HR function. Give them a seat at the strategy table, and hold them accountable to strategic outcomes, not just process. When HR is done well, it is not just another cost centre, it is a competitive advantage.

So, what do I wish more HR teams understood about business? That they already have the power, and the responsibility to shape its future.