>> I'm here at the world headquarters for General Mills outside of Minneapolis to interview Jacqueline Williams-Roll who's a former student of mine, a proud graduate of the University of Minnesota's Masters Program in Human Resources. And, most importantly, the global head of human resources for all of General Mills. What should HR contribute to an organization? >> So, HR's role first and foremost is to be a trusted adviser to the business, just like head of marketing, head of sales, head of the supply chain. Really, it's expected that you come to the table understanding how the business works. Of course, in the field of HR, we're also expected to be experts in terms of talent, organization and engagement to really enable the business to succeed. >> How should an organization construct an HR strategy? >> I would start really doing an external scan. I would like at things like policy changes, regulatory changes, legislative changes, demographic shifts to really understand how the world's changing around you. I'd also want to understand what your competitors are doing relative to talent and organization and culture. How are they differentiating themselves, and how do you need to differentiate yourselves? It's then important to understand what your business strategy is, right? How do you win? How do you make money? How does the P and L work? What are the criteria that the business leaders use to really make the tradeoffs that they make every single day on the business? And you take those two things together, and then you really step back and ask yourself, how do I get competitively superior talent into my organization? How do I create an organization that's agile and advantaged on the capabilities that matter most? And how do I create a culture where people are engaged and can really maximize their full potential? >> How is human resources changing? >> I think there's been a pretty monumental shift in HR over times, from kind of transactional, routine HR, to strategic, business partner HR. And what I'd tell you is in every organization there are strategic capabilities within HR that really matter the most. And those are the things you have to be exceptional at. It's really about talent, it's about organization, it's about culture. The rest of the things are important. They are critical. They have to happen well in many cases because there are compliance related reasons for that. But those are core. Those are expected. And you need to do those okay. There are other things that you need to be best in class in. And that's where I think the shift has happened most dramatically over the last several years. >> Excellent. How should HR support managers? >> I think it's important to start with saying that managers are the ultimate talent manager, right? And so, I think a lot of times in HR we kind of take that on our shoulders, where, really, our role is to help managers be great managers. Our role is to help managers get the skills, the capabilities, the abilities to really attract, assess, develop and retain competitively superior talent. And to do that through the creation of an environment and in a culture where people can be engaged and really bring their best self to work every day. >> So, how should managers develop their own style for managing people? So, that's a great question. For those of you that are working in organizations today, what I'd tell you is that I think that there are three things that really have to be true and institutionalized throughout an organization to develop a culture. That company's purpose, that mission, their values and their leadership expectations. So that, as a manager, underneath those three things, really think about how you can bring your whole self to work in a way that really enables and energizes those around you. At the end of the day, you as a manager are accountable for running your business. And at the end of the day, the only thing, truly the only thing that differentiates a company is its people. And so, that responsibility and accountability really rest with you as that manager of people. >> So what piece of advice do you have for someone considering or starting a career in human resources? >> So, I would say first and foremost you absolutely, positively need to understand the business. You have to understand how a business works. How a business wins. How capabilities play a role. How talent plays a role. How our organizational structure, rewards, processes play a role in helping a business be competitive. You also have to like to influence for impact. In an HR role what you're doing oftentimes is behind the scenes. You're whispering in the ear of managers in order to help them be better. So, you have to appreciate, have the courage to bring hard questions to the table. But have the knack, the ability, and the credibility to really influence insights to action. >> Do you have any advice for how someone could think about whether HR is a good fit for them, represents a good career path for them? >> I would start by saying you have to really love business. You have to appreciate and understand that the single most important thing that any business can do is to get the right people in the right chair at the right time. You have to have a personal passion for that. You have to be exceptional at talent assessment, talent development. I think you have to have a lot courage. Oftentimes HR is the one that puts the hard question on the table that others aren't willing to ask or answer. And so, I think if you like the business, if you appreciate the role that people play within it, and you've got the courage and the inclination to ask hard questions and develop them into actions this may be the right career for you. >> If you could do one thing over in your HR carrier, what would it be? >> This is a really good question, actually, to reflect upon. So, here would be my advice. Very early in your career build a network of trusted advisers. Build your own personal board of directors. I'd encourage you to find three to five individuals that you know are from the field of HR. Who have been there, done that. I'd encourage you to find some business leaders, and at least one from your personal network, who can help you think through on decisions, controversial situations and really provide perspective externally, which I think is especially important in the field of HR.
