When a leadership team decides that they want to take on the hard work of a digital transformation, sometimes they think that it’s all about IT — modernizing the tech stack, creating seamless data flows, leveraging new tools, etc. We all know that’s not the whole story. It’s not a true transformation unless you’re taking on the entirety of the people, process and technology ecosystem inside of your organization.

What’s first on that list? PEOPLE!

The more I work with product teams, the more I realize the absolute importance of naming an HR partner for the transformation team. Often, that person is in an HR generalist role, and sometimes it’s a learning and development specialist. In my opinion, it matters less what kind of role it is, but more that they are at the table from the earliest conversations, helping to plan for the transformation. This simple inclusion to the team has consistently led to more successful, efficient and sustainable transformations than on teams without it.

Let’s be honest — HR teams can get a bad rap for only doing the work of sharing bad news: policy changes, layoffs, performance reviews and the dreaded compliance education courses. In fact, as I write this, I have so much empathy for my friends in HR — we sure know how to give you the crappy jobs, don’t we?

Despite this, HR professionals wake up every day, committed to helping the people that make up an organization navigate everything involved in being a part of it. And not for nothing, they are highly trained in leadership and team development and have an important perspective and skill set suited to partner with parts of the organization that are facing tremendous change, and who want to capitalize on the full breadth of those skills and experiences. (Ahem. That would be us, dear product people). 

A recent HBR article reminds us, “The efforts to achieve … excellence—through a focus on learning, quality, teamwork, and reengineering—are driven by the way organizations get things done and how they treat their people. Those are fundamental HR issues. To state it plainly: achieving organizational excellence must be the work of HR.”

Now THAT’S a call to partnership, if ever I’ve seen one. 

Transformation IS change

For many organizations, the work of establishing their own product operating model is nascent work, with pockets of adoption taking root across the organization in an uneven, unpredictable manner. But if an organization is going to scale this transformation, it needs to establish frameworks, roles and practices, and drive a consistent adoption to begin to integrate agility and focus on outcomes across the organization. Pockets of adoption just aren’t going to get you where you need to go.

So, change must be driven in a strategic, consistent and thoughtful manner. And in my experience, there is no better partner in a change management exercise than HR. 

HR partners can help to navigate and advise where the operating model hits the most resistance, typically at the seams between business units or divisions. When you are running a product or capability that serves as a foundational enabler for many parts of the organization, a good HR partner can help you navigate the people, systems, and ways of working across the organization, in an effort to better manage internal customers and stakeholders. 

HR’s Value Add

When I’ve benefited most from having HR as a strategic partner, I’ve relied on them to help me make sure that the changes in the roles and ways of working are not going to be unreasonably out of step with established job families or ways of setting up roles. I’ve relied on them to help me with developing (and distributing) the case for change at the executive and senior levels of the organization. I’ve relied on them to develop and implement training programs to expand the understanding of agile and product management principles across teams that are impacted.

Because HR’s specialty is knowing people, leadership and team methodologies, they likely can recognize quickly where the pockets of resistance are in your organization. And perhaps even more importantly, they likely know where there are pockets of talent that could be potential product people — prime candidates for creating pilot teams and internal champions. 

The Tactics of HR’s Role in Product

When you have a strong HR partner, there are specific activities they can take on that will boost your potential success. When they are able to place the right people in the right roles, your momentum and synergy skyrocket. 

HR Activities That Boost Product’s Efficiency and Productivity:

• Work together to develop an assessment tool to identify employees that might make good product people, because they understand the end goals of the transformation and what it’s going to take to get there.

• Help them develop the right job descriptions to fill gaps in a team’s skills and capabilities, and partner to train internal recruiters around what a great product candidate looks like.

• Train and equip their partners in learning and development with an understanding of product frameworks that support the specific needs of the organization.

• Identify pockets of resistance, and lead training and development to bring people over to the side in favor of change. 

I have witnessed organizations trying to transform that resist the input or participation of HR because they want to move fast and ask for forgiveness later. WRONG APPROACH. 

This might get you some speed upfront, but the problems you create in the long run are not worth that little boost. As I’ve said before, it’s a help-me-help-you kind of situation. Bringing HR to the table at the outset of a product transformation means they can support your efforts with the vast knowledge and influence they have in the ways teams work, how people are motivated, and where training and education could be smartly deployed in support of the change you’re driving.