Could you share with us the key factors that have contributed to your success as a high-performing HR leader in various international contexts?
Leading HR across a complex international scope is enormously rewarding and lots of fun! At the heart of the challenge is bringing to life global HR strategy in a way that is meaningful locally in different cultural contexts. Embracing and enjoying the diversity of it, being able to build deep trusting relationships and maintaining a strategic outlook – knowing when to jump into the details (and most importantly when not to!) have been critical to any success I have experienced in these situations. Finding productive ways to pass long hours in airports also helps!
As the Vice President of Human Resources at Allegion International, what do you see as the most critical role of HR in achieving business success on a global scale?
I see our role in very simple terms. Our company needs the best people to bring the best of themselves every day. In HR we need to be the thought leaders and the driving force behind making that happen. Obviously, making it a reality cuts across numerous different activities – talent acquisition, development, organisation, total reward, and employee experience to name a few – but in the end I tend to remind myself and the team that everything we do should be anchored in that fairly simple statement.
In your experience, what are the main challenges that HR professionals face and how can they effectively overcome them?
Everyone has an opinion (often a strong and stubborn one!) about HR issues, there is never a “right” answer and our outcomes are subject to the variable of human behaviour, so it is safe to assume things will never quite go according to plan! Be positive, celebrate progress, play the long game, and put your energy into the path ahead rather than dissecting the carnage that can often be all around you! For me, humility is also helpful – do not assume that you know best just because the convention expects you to. And keep your sense of humour!
What advice can you give HR professionals to develop a versatile skill set that adapts to evolving business needs?
Try to focus your learning and development energy away from core aspects of the HR function – of course it is important to have this core skillset, but we are usually sharp in those areas anyway. Looking for opportunities to learn and develop some expertise in broader aspects of your business or organisation will bring more value. Taking an assignment or project that stretches beyond the confines of HR is a great way to do this if the opportunity presents itself. Try to stay current on the world, be curious about your business/industry/organisation/environment and embrace technology. Always remember every minute of every day is a learning opportunity.
What strategies do you use to identify and nurture emerging talent within the organization?
In Allegion we utilise talent pools to identify and nurture our emerging talent, backed by a carefully constructed criteria which helps leaders recognise what we should look for in terms of behaviours and performance as a signal for future potential. These are refreshed annually and for those that are identified we work to develop intentional career development plans, identifying future role opportunities as well as participation in our leadership development programs where appropriate. It is important to say that our development opportunities and career development toolkits are not available exclusively to those talent pools – they are fully inclusive, and the development door should never be closed to anyone – we just invest a little more time and intentionality into those that we can objectively identify as emerging talent.
What advice do you have for HR professionals to enhance negotiation and conflict resolution skills?
My experience is that good old fashioned common sense beats complex theory in the real world of negotiation and conflict resolution. These moments only ever end well if they end in a “win-win” outcome – and there is always one of those available if you look hard enough and are willing to think outside the box. As ever, being humble and building emotional connections with people will always help and avoid falling into the trap of making negative assumptions about the intentions of those you conflict with. Remember they are typically not acting “against you” – they are acting “for themselves”.
Recently, Great Britain has introduced a pilot project of a 4-day working week. What’s your opinion about it? What advantages and disadvantages do you see both for employers and employees? Would you take part in the experiment, and why?
Regardless of the national pilot, I would always experiment in this area. The assumption that we can only be functional if everyone works on a traditional schedule belongs where it was established – in the past. Of course, it is never possible to perfectly accommodate the preferences of every individual (back to negotiation and conflict resolution!) but there is a lot of space to be more accommodating than we typically are and still drive improvements in performance. Great people tend to deliver greater outcomes if they can work in a way that works for them.
Finally, what emerging HR trends and technologies do you believe will reshape the HR landscape?
As buzzy as it is currently, it is hard to get past generative AI as the emerging technology that will reshape the world, including the world of work and therefore the world of HR. The more we learn of its potential, the more disruptive it seems it will become – we may be approaching a shift comparable with the early days of the industrial revolution. As HR leaders we need to be engaging rapidly in the opportunities it presents – of course there are also threats and risks that will need to be managed and governed for, but the winners from these disruptions are the ones that figure out quickly how it can help them add value in the future and continually learn as the technology evolves. Those that get bogged down in the control or risk mitigation of it will be the losers. And there sure are a lot of ways in which it can help us all have great people giving the best of themselves!
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