New or Not HR is Not a Power Base

The best thing for those new to the HR profession is a clear understanding of what makes someone a great advisor. This is not easy for action-oriented operations professionals, so the transition can sometimes be hard for internal candidates coming out of operations management. Remember that even the Chief People Officer is a specialist in HR for the CEO, just like the CFO is the specialist in Finance. Great, so now we are ready to make a positive impact on the companies where we work, right? Maybe. This might surprise you, but not every company believes in the support functions they put in place. Don't feel special, Accountants, IT Professionals, and Marketers run into the same resistance, disinterest, and frustration in companies that like the idea of the function but not the reality of the hard choices that come with additional information and advice. Support functions have the unenviable position of telling the managers or owners that their plans are missing the mark. Growing a tough skin, learning to swear and kick thing where you won't be seen, and being able to know when it is time to seek a new leader to advise are all handy skills.