Learning & Development

How to get the C-Suite in Your Corner

In Yesterday’s Advisor we explored the ways that an HR strategist and the C-suite can engage one another with expert Jennifer McClure. Today, we’ll hear more from McClure about getting C-suite’s attention.

McClure, president of Unbridled Talent LLC in West Chester, Ohio, offered her tips at the Society for Human Resource Management’s Annual Conference and Exposition, held recently in Las Vegas.

[Go here for tips 1 to 3]

4. Develop Future Leaders

Sixty-five percent of organizations don’t have a formal process to identify and to grow the talent that they need, says McClure.
According to the Corporate Executive Board, 6%­ to 9% of employees fall into the high-potential category.
“People often describe certain individuals as ‘natural-born leaders,’ but the truth is that business leaders are made, not born—shaped through the assignments they receive and the experiences they have.” (Source: Fast Company magazine 2012)

McClure suggests the following elements for a leadership development program.


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5. Improve Engagement

How engaged are your employees?

(Source: Aon Hewitt Engagement Trends)

The single-highest driver of engagement is whether workers feel their managers are genuinely interested in their well-being, according to a Towers Watson Global Study, McClure says.

#6 Create a Great Place to Work

A great place to work is one in which you trust in the people you work for, have pride in what you do, and enjoy the people you work with. (Source: Robert Levering Great Place to Work® Institute)

In fact, 73% of employees looking to leave their current employers do not have trust in their corporate leadership. (Source: Deloitte Talent Edge 2020)
There are three important things to do, McClure says:

  • Act in alignment with your core values.
  • Communicate honestly.
  • Link work to a larger purpose.

#7 Communicate Like an Executive

For communication, think of these suggestions, says McClure:

  • Make decisions.
  • Sell it, baby. Don’t go with, “It’s the right thing to do,” says McClure. Talk customer satisfaction.
  • Speak the language. That’s dollars.
  • Learn how to negotiate. Don’t say “No,” say, “If we do, here are my concerns, and here’s my suggestion.”
  • Always bring data.

“Remember, you are a business leader who happens to work in HR,” says McClure.

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