So how do we ensure that our advice is taken on board and managers that we support don’t disappear down paths which are unlikely to be successful.
Trust and credibility are so important for HR professionals to influence the decisions taken across the organisation in relation to people, and these can often take time to build up. As a consultant and interim professional, building this trust and credibility can be more difficult as it is required to be built up in a short space of time.
Two approaches that have helped me in this regard have been:
- Past examples relating to the current circumstances
- Resolving situations quickly.
- Perseverance
The biggest thing that has helped me is having a depth and breadth or experience to draw on. Being able to give examples of dealing with similar things in the past. That’d more straightforward for me to do having done this for a few (or more) years, but demonstrating knowledge or experience of something can really help influence a decision-making process. I had one example where a manager said “I bet you haven’t seen something like this before” and I was able through a quick search of the BBC website to demonstrate that I had.
The other approach which has helped me, have been the “quick wins”. This can help demonstrate skills and value quickly and show that you are credible meaning that you will be more likely to be listened to. This demonstrates that you are able to deliver. On two occasions recently I joined an organisation and picked up some work that others had partially completed. I was able to get these things over the line and brief staff on them very quickly after joining allowing some exposure to the organisation as well as demonstrating that I could deliver.
The final area, perseverance is vital in building credibility and trust. Sometimes it can take saying or doing the same thing on multiple occasions to influence the decisions that managers make. I was recently in a situation where a manager (after many weeks of discussion) relayed my exact words back to me on the management of particular situation (albeit as their idea) but the advice had been taken and the best decision was made as a result.
For a review or update of HR policies, please contact support@mckinneyhr.co.uk