What Strategic HR Actually Means
Let’s continue our talk about What HR Was Never Taught where we discuss the gap between what HR is taught… and what the role actually requires. If you’ve ever been told to be more strategic, but feel stuck reacting all day—you’re in the right place.
In the last article, I talked about how HR is expected to be strategic… but most HR roles are built for reaction. And then the bigger problem…no one actually tells you what ‘being strategic’ even means. You just hear it over and over again—‘be more strategic’—but what does that actually look like in your day-to-day work?”
You manage performance reviews; you’re told to be more strategic.
You get leadership feedback telling you to think bigger.
Your job description says you’re a “strategic partner.”
And you’re sitting here thinking…ok, but what does that actually mean when I have 50 things coming at me today?
We tend to think if we handle those 50 things, we’re being a strategic partner because those 50 things didn’t become anyone else’s problem, right?
Well, yes….but also no…
I heard all of these terms and even heard them when I was getting my certification, but no one ever told me how to actually be that strategic partner…I remember thinking I must be missing something…like there was a class or training that everyone else took that I didn’t. I’ve always gone to school or read books…but I couldn’t find anything that would lead me out of the constant reaction as an HR department of 1.
Let me help you understand the difference that took me a long time to realize:
Reactive HR includes
Solving what’s in front of you
Responding to problems
Focusing on everything urgent
While Strategic HR is
Thinking ahead
Identifying patterns that require systems
Having influence on decisions before they create bigger problems
Strategic doesn’t mean doing more, it means thinking differently about the work you’re already doing.
The real issue is that your HR degrees and certifications just teach you how to do the job, so technically, they teach you to react…how to handle what comes across your desk. You learn the laws, you learn about performance management, but you don’t learn how to think strategically.
Strategy is a skill. And it’s not taught in textbooks.
Instead of asking “ok, what do I do with this issue that came across my desk?” Start asking “Why does this issue keep coming across my desk?
Let me give you an example…..maybe employees are coming to you because they keep hearing a rumor that the pay periods are going to change and they want information because that’s a big deal for them.
This week, you have had 3 employees come to you and ask the question…apparently what you discussed in the leadership meeting got out somehow, you have a leak…the best way to approach this is to let your leadership team know that there’s a leak and your CEO or GM should be addressing that with the team to talk about confidentiality, but a way for you to stop the mad dash to your office asking about pay period changes is to create a communication. Maybe you are talking about changing the pay periods, but it won’t happen until 2027. A communication as simple as “we are reviewing changing our pay periods to get everyone on the same pay cycle, a decision has not yet been made to do this, but we are reviewing it. Please rest assured that the company understands that this will have a direct impact on our employees and we will do everything in our power to minimize that impact, as well as to communicate any plans as soon as they are finalized so everyone is able to prepare accordingly.
Have leadership review this, explain that you are trying to minimize the traffic to your office about this topic and once approved, send out the communication and have supervisors share it with their teams.
Strategic HR isn’t about having a different role. It’s about seeing your role differently. In the next article, I’ll be talking about why you can feel busy all day and still not feel like you’re done anything strategic.