An HR department has plenty of responsibilities. But many people don’t think of it as being the place in your business where leadership skills can develop.

Here are some of the ways that HR can show leadership in your business.

Build Company Values and Improve Employee Satisfaction

A key way in which the HR department can demonstrate leadership is by creating a brilliant working environment at their company. A human-centred approach is essential to ensuring employee satisfaction, as this will mean that everyone feels that they are being valued and supported by the company and that any issues they have will be taken seriously and resolved.

Implementing systems such as peer support, frequent performance reviews and recognition, and rewarding employee success into your company culture will lead the whole business towards a more positive working atmosphere. Research shows that these human-centred techniques also prevent excessive workforce turnover and lead to increased candidate retention and greater employee satisfaction, all of which contribute to successful business growth.

Finally, leadership can also be demonstrated by the promotion of good values as part of company culture. If the HR department ensures that values such as; honesty, empathy and accountability are all informing management decisions, this will strengthen the company’s image as well as setting a positive example for employees to follow.

Inspire and Develop Staff

Everyone in your HR department should be equipped with sufficient skills to take charge and lead others when necessary, along with using these leadership skills to inspire change and development in the workforce.

But you can also encourage employees to develop their own leadership skills by implementing online leadership training courses or mentorships that focus on this. No matter their position or level of responsibility, the ability to take charge, manage others, problem solve, and delegate tasks is incredibly useful and makes for a more efficient and capable workforce.

Offering resources and support to help staff work on their leadership is the best way forward, as well as leading by example by ensuring your department demonstrates the benefits of these skills.

Use the Data

Often, the processes managed by HR are not seen as the central areas where business growth and innovation happens. But there is plenty of important data to be gathered from your department which can lead to key insight into your company’s success and indicate where systems can be improved.

You can utilise leadership skills in order to start recording, analysing and making changes based on the data you gather about employees and employee processes. The insights you gather from auditing the data can help to start improving internal processes and ensuring greater employee productivity and engagement, both of which save your company time in the long run.

An example of how this works in a business comes from Deloitte, which uses an innovative ‘top down’ approach to data analysis in HR, by identifying which metrics are relevant to business goals and growth. They then adapt their systems and processes to best gather and deliver these metrics, ensuring that the goals of the HR department are aligned with overall business development.

Innovate

Another key way in which you can show leadership in decision making is by focusing on innovation in the HR department. Take the initiative to identify areas where your services and process could improve and then seek out solutions to present to the rest of your team and improve the way you work.

New software and technology are often at the forefront of innovative solutions in HR, particularly with recruitment, where there are now plenty of brilliant tools and programs available to streamline applications, interviews and onboarding. Almost every industry is being affected by the shift towards greater digitization, and you can lead your company in the right direction by automating processes where you can and offering cutting-edge services with the help of new technologies.

Inclusion and Diversity

Finally, transformative and empowering leadership is only going to happen if everyone is given the opportunity to develop these skills and put them into practice. An HR department should ensure that all employees can reach their full potential at work by offering leadership training and opportunities to all, as well as supporting staff who may be coming from a position of less privilege.

Inclusion and diversity should also be considered when hiring new HR staff in Leeds, London or anywhere else, especially when looking to hire those with strong leadership skills who will help to move your company forward. Data from Glassdoor shows that almost 50% of CEOs are changing the way their HR department attracts talent, by focusing on a leadership pipeline, indicating how important the skill is considered to be, in terms of a business remaining relevant and appealing to exceptional candidates.

Summary

Establishing a reputation as an industry leader is often done through new business models, content creation or PR campaigns. But your HR department is actually a brilliant place to start making changes that will show leadership and help to build a positive brand image that does wonders for your company’s growth, profits and status.