The ‘people are our greatest asset’ cliché is often trotted out by CEOs. In a bid to be seen as caring about the wellbeing of their workforce, this well worn mantra rolls off their tongues effortlessly in annual reports and meetings.
I recently caught up with a rather disillusioned HR professional, who has worked in the finance sector for a good number of years. Company leaders in finance circles are common perpetrators of the ‘people are our greatest asset’ cliché, but this HR professional bemoaned the lack of commitment from the CEO when it came to budgetary spend.
The CEO seemed to say all the right things to this individual, and talk about the right things to the executive team. But when it came down to a hard dollar commitment to key people issues, the walk didn’t match the talk. Sure, you can argue that the HR director and their department have to prove their worth in the first case, and if you have an idiot of an HR director they will hardly garner respect from the CEO. But if you have a switched on, business savvy HR director with a genuine desire to make a bottom line difference, and the influencing skills to gain the necessary executive support, then the CEO should willingly come to bat for them, shouldn’t they? Not necessarily so.
Finance companies have huge budgets for marketing and corporate affairs, and go to great lengths to be seen as an ‘employer of choice’ in an intensely competitive market. But I would wager the HR budgets in most finance companies pale dismally in comparison to marketing budgets. Yes, there are a few notable exceptions in finance where CEOs are willing to put their money where their mouth is, but they are few and far between.
The aforementioned HR professional also bemoaned the fact that so many practitioners were willing to compromise on their own personal drivers and goals in financial services. They said many recognised that their CEOs paid lip service to HR in their companies, but were willing to stay put simply because the money is good. But there are certainly other industries in which good HR professionals can earn very good money, as well as enjoy CEO support in word and deed. It might seem a simplistic argument, but some are unwilling to compromise. Are you?
