HR in the boardroom

A place at the top table of management has long been the holy grail of HR, yet it remains elusive. This article explores why this is so and asks what an HR executive can do to justify a place in the boardroom.

As the HR role has its roots in administration, for many people in organisations, including the most senior, this can remain a fixed perspective in seeing the department as populated by pen-pushers. Ask most people what they think HR does, and they are likely to focus on pay, performance review and hiring and firing. Even accepting more recent activities such as employee engagement, talent management and business partnering, these can still be perceived as supporting roles rather than lead actors. It doesn’t matter if this is true or not, the widely-held belief is sufficient to keep HR waiting in the corridor.