Something that we’ve seen again and again here at Connex is that a board is only as strong as the diversity of thought that it encourages. When one worldview or discipline dominates the conversation, then it isn’t serving its purpose and instead it becomes a mouthpiece of one particular personality or way of thinking.
Whereas the more ‘tangible’ disciplines like finance, strategy, or operations receive most of the focus, considerations around human resources are relegated to the footnotes. This is a mistake, especially when you acknowledge the fact that people are the most important piece of any business.
It’s not a radical suggestion that HR should have an equal voice in the boardroom, but it might require a shift in mindset for some to take the field seriously and understand just how important a role they play in the organisation. Every organisation says that their people are their greatest assets – but how many act accordingly? The moment you give that recognition to the HR executive on the board, you change the way that your business functions for the better. You reinforce the idea that your people matter, and you care about what they have to say.
We’re committed to doing something about this and that’s why on Friday Connex Leadership Networks will be hosting a vibrant roundtable conversation with some of the leading HR voices across industry to discuss these really important mindset shifts that we need to see in the sector. The speakers for the event include:
• Liz Jewitt-Cross: Founder of Cross Hr Consulting;
• Ann Pickering: Former Chief People Officer of Telefonica, O2;
• Meena Anand: NED of Origin Housing; and
• Andrew Muir: Associate Consultant of 4OC.
On the day we hope to bring to light some of the most important parts of this conversation and share our thoughts on how we can move forward. We really would love to have you join us for the discussion.
The event is to be held online on Zoom on Friday the 23rd of April from 14h00 – 15h15.
Come join us!
