Female Leader Conversations Feature Lyndell Fogarty, Co-Founder & CEO PerformHR said, “Be clear on what is important and never compromise. Clarity of direction, confidence to deliver and genuine care for your people are the three keys to success.”
Lyndell Fogarty is never content with the status quo. The dynamic co-founder and CEO of PerformHR has made it her mission to change the way HR is done in Australian businesses. A true people champion, Lyndell began with a mission to build a HR company that employed working mothers (like herself), as well as giving graduates their first real career opportunity.
Eleven years later, Lyndell has built her business from scratch, inspiring a generation of business leaders to realise the true potential of their people for the ultimate benefit of their business, while continuing to grow and foster talent.
HR’S IMAGE PROBLEM
Does HR have a perception issue?
Unfortunately, it does… and perception is reality so, whether it’s justified or not, it needs to be addressed. HR is easy to get wrong, and has a huge impact on the rest of the business. Why? Because all stakeholders, from boards to front line teams, touch and care about unique aspects of HR. In mid-sized businesses you may have just one or two HR resources supporting varying needs, while struggling to find the balance between the day-to-day and adding value strategically.
So, yes, there’s a perception issue, but it’s an opportunity to improve. Our mission is to change the experience of how HR can support business leaders, ensuring the business strategy is supported and their employees are empowered.
DOING IT WELL
How can great HR impact a business?
Great HR can have an incredible impact on your people and culture. It enables leaders to lead, grow and protect their business, while remaining focused on what’s important to the business at any given time. It empowers individuals to speak up, to be confident, to know they are safe and supported. Great HR helps a leader grow an organisation, both commercially and culturally, while providing the guidance needed to maintain compliance and protect the business.
When your HR team are a leadership influence, they can work with the leaders to deliver on the business plan, drive the organisation forward, and make good on promises made to customers and stakeholders. Ultimately, if your people strategy is aligned with your business strategy, you can clearly see the people and the skills you need.
IDEAL HR MIX
What skills do the ideal HR department need?
There are several technical areas in HR (payroll and data analytics, work health and safety, employee relations, industrial relations, workforce planning, recruitment and onboarding, pay structures and incentives, learning and development and organisational development), and every business needs knowledge across all of them.
The weighting for each of these will be different for every business, but let’s be clear – every business needs them all.
Of course, many businesses take the Fawlty Towers approach. Basil’s on the front desk, Basil’s serving food, Basil’s pouring drinks, Basil’s fixing the moose’s head up on the wall in reception – one person to do it all!
With this approach, you might get to the right place in the end, but you won’t get there consistently, and it’s certainly not sustainable. It takes a team of experts – either internally, outsourced or co-sourced.
THINKING DIFFERENTLY
What does your New York State of Mind bring to your clients?
We love to challenge the status quo. We bring ‘the hustle’ – an energy and vibrancy, a determination to make the right things happen, and a desire to empower business leaders to get the best from their people.
Of course, that is all balanced with pragmatism, expertise and understanding. We have a wealth of experience within the team, and we work in partnership with business leaders to help them realise what is possible.
And we walk the walk. Each year, as a company, we make conscious choices about how to be better, so we can consistently deliver better. We are continually growing, and we are successful because our people strategy is completely aligned to our business strategy.
THE FEMALE LEADER CONVERSATIONS EZINE FEATURES 8 PEOPLE FROM FEMECONOMY’S COMMUNITY. ENJOY READING THEIR THOUGHT LEADERSHIP:
