HR Can Gain More Influence With This Communication Tweak

There have been innumerable discussions among HR executives about how to get a seat at the table (or just gain more influence generally). Compared to roles like heads of Finance, IT, or Sales, Human Resources leaders typically wield less political clout. That's partly structural; while HR's contributions are vital, they're often seen as less directly tied to immediate financial results, technological advancements, or market growth.

Making clear the linkages between people and financial returns is important, but there's another, and faster, way for HR leaders to increase their influence: change their communication style.

Over a million individuals have participated in the "What's Your Communication Style?" assessment. Recent data from this assessment reveal a substantial communication disconnect between HR and other departments such as Finance, IT, and Operations.

There are four primary styles of communication:

• Analytical communicators prefer concrete data and are skeptical of those who do not focus on facts and figures.
• Intuitive communicators favor a broad overview, avoid minutiae, and focus on key points swiftly.
• Functional communicators are detail-oriented, appreciate processes, and value structured plans.
• Personal communicators seek emotional connections and utilize informal, empathetic language.

In HR, the prevalence of personal communicators stands at 37%, with functional communicators making up 25%. This means HR's language tends to emphasize emotions first and then processes.

Conversely, in Finance, 30% are intuitive, and another 30% are analytical, indicating a preference for data-driven, concise communication. Information Technology departments display similar preferences, with 35% intuitive and 28% analytical communicators.

The stark contrast between analytical and personal styles, as well as between intuitive and functional styles, cannot be overstated.

Consider an HR leader who is a personal communicator stating, "I'm concerned about how negatively our employees feel about our new return-to-office policy." For a CFO who is an analytical communicator, this sentence, although simple, might be challenging due to the emotional content—words like "concerned," "feel," and "negatively" figure prominently in that sentence.

Analytical communicators often distrust statements that lack solid data or precise details. Emotional expressions such as "concerned," "feel," and "negatively" can raise doubts for them.

Ironically, HR's strength lies in its ability to evaluate and express the emotional aspects of organizational life. While many companies claim, "People are our most important asset," few leadership members effectively communicate about the emotional state of these valued individuals. But unless HR leaders refine their ability to translate emotional insights into language that resonates with CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs, HR conferences might continue to repeat talks on "securing a seat at the table" for years to come.

Words That Matter

Here are two actionable suggestions to help you convert your insights into language that resonates with analytical or intuitive executives:

1. When preparing to interact with executives from different departments, consider replacing some emotional terms with data or figures. Commonly used emotional words by HR professionals include "worried," "stressed," "unhappy," and others. While these sentiments are valid, they should be communicated in ways that an analytical listener can more readily understand. For instance, are there statistics to back up our concerns about employee stress? Have error rates or turnover increased? Is there evidence of reduced productivity?

2. After strengthening your message with data, aim to deliver your insights concisely. Although HR tends to have more functional communicators, who prefer a detailed, step-by-step communication style, intuitive colleagues will prefer a more direct approach.

Translating A Personal Message Into An Analytical Style

Here's an example of how an HR leader with a personal communication style might discuss employee dissatisfaction with company benefits:

"I've spoken with many of our team members recently, and it's clear they're feeling quite disappointed about our current benefits package. It seems to be affecting their overall engagement and morale. We've always valued making sure our employees feel supported and cared for, so it's disheartening to hear they are unhappy. We need to take these feelings seriously and make some changes to our offerings."

To adapt this message for an analytical communication style, the HR leader would focus on specific data and facts to present the issue more convincingly:

"Recent data from our internal survey show a 42% employee dissatisfaction rate with the current benefits package, a 15% increase from last year. This dissatisfaction correlates with a 10% increase in employee turnover. With turnover costs equaling 1.5 times the employee's salary, this dissatisfaction with our benefits package is costing us $12,000,000 per year. So we need to make some changes to our benefits package."

While there is nothing intrinsically problematic with HR's typical communication style, or with being predominantly personal or functional, those who wish to enhance their influence should consider adapting their style. If power within your organization is held by those who are analytical or intuitive, it becomes crucial to translate your message into terms they'll understand.