This month's topic was “Change by Design: Reimagining Restructuring” hosted by Dr Susan P. Chen, Ph.D. (Head of People Asia, Riot Games, published author and Dean's Council at Newcampus).
Here are 4 insights from our conversation to encourage fellow HR leaders and enlighten senior leaders from product/ sales/ engineering/ marketing/ ops seeking to collaborate with HR to unlock organisational effectiveness.
People look to HR for direction in times of organisational change
To provide this confidence, HR leaders should find social support through “safe spaces”, whether it’s neutral peers in your organisation independent of power dynamics, or relationships outside of your org with ex-colleagues with comparable levels of seniority who share similar experience.
"Knowing “too much” can be a blessing and a burden"
HR leaders are in the awkward position of ‘career coach’ and ‘business partner’ simultaneously. They need to balance objectivity, confidentiality and a genuine desire to see individuals succeed in their careers. If you’re speaking to HR, try to understand that they’re often juggling at least 3 different hats in any given conversation.
"In order to lead change, HR needs space for their own emotions to internalise the ‘why’"
HR often feel the pressure to execute on major organisational initiatives but forget they're impacted personally by change. To develop the resilience needed to lead change, HR leaders need practice stepping back to get clarity, comfort, and conviction with accepting the the change.
"There are many ways to cook a potato (for stakeholders)"
There’s no perfect answer when it comes to stakeholder management, everyone has different needs. Most people expect HR leaders to instinctively detect how stakeholders want to be engaged (is the decision you’re proposing data-driven, relationship-centric or culture-driven?) HR leaders should remember that understanding another person doesn’t mean losing your point of view. Co-create the change with people to make it successful.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can give HR leaders the space to make sense of your roles in organisational change, connect with access to the right peer support and create a community of practice for People & Culture professionals across Southeast Asia. Join the conversation here.
Attendees:
Renee Kida (来田ルネ) (Global Head of People & Culture, GoTo Financial)
Prasetya B. Yudaputra (Group COO, Visinema)
Benedict Lim (Regional Talent Manager APAC, Rakuten)
Liyana H. (Head of HR, Lemon Sky)
Aresty Amalia Andini (People Lead, Dagangan)
Agoes Santosa (Senior Associate HR Advisor, Systemiq Ltd.)
Kartika Rizki Astuti (HR Business Associate Director, Cargill)
Yogiswaradhipa Sedyanto Putro (People Acquisition & Business Partner Expert, ATTN)
