Bob Zeegers is founder of HR Navigator, the largest HR comparison site in the Netherlands, and has advised thousands of organizations over the past decades. He writes for BG magazine, De Zaak, Arbo, HRxpert, Managers Online and HR community. His inimitable columns are read by 6,000 enthusiastic followers. Bob does not believe in the sacred cows of HR. Rather, he kicks all unnecessary and often trite conventions to the hrnamal. He prefers to make the complex profession as simple as a kindergarten puzzle and to give HR professionals balls again, so that no one can afford not to take HR seriously.

Other language

HR professionals, or rather HR warriors according to Bob, speak a different language than the MT or the entrepreneur himself. For HR employees, the people themselves and taking good care of employees are important. MT members think of very different things again. Hard numbers, sales, profits and productivity. Two totally different dimensions. "If one is talking about profit and the other about taking good care, the entrepreneur thinks 'what's the problem? We have a Christmas party next week anyway'."

The key is to tune in with your recipient. When you know you are meeting with the MT and you know they care about numbers, name why investing in people creates more profit or revenue or growth.

"It's really a matter of tuning in. It doesn't happen naturally, because if it were that easy people would have done it a long time ago."

But what needs to happen for HR warriors to make that language their own? Curious? Then listen to the latest episode of the Work Professor.

Links

See the book 'HR with balls' here

More about the Working Professor

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