Developing Business Acumen

The small business HR professional has a unique work environment. For one, HR departments in small businesses are typically quite small, often consisting of only one or two employees. Because of this, these HR professionals are usually expected to be generalists able to answer all HR-related questions. But because there are only one or two of them, they are also expected to be specialists in those same areas. With so much responsibility, how do small business HR professionals have time to focus on their own professional development? And where to start? Surveys demonstrates that building career-long business, interpersonal, and leadership competencies should be the goal of every HR practitioner. Business Acumen falls within the first category. An HR professional who understands the business as a whole is better equipped to make decisions that positively affect the entire business. HR professionals in small businesses have more opportunities to do this than in larger organizations simply because the smaller size helps reduce the barriers to knowledge of various functions. The purpose of Developing Business Acumen is to provide the small business HR professional with a practical, hit-the-ground-running guide to becoming a more effective business partner. The reader will learn the elements of business acumen, such as: Reading and understanding a company's P&L statement; Formulating and tracking metrics that help implement HR programs; Communicating more effectively with other departments and throughout the organization; Developing mutually beneficial relationships with sales and marketing; Conducting environmental scans that can lead to positively influencing the organization; and Expanding an entrepreneurial spirit to enhance corporate culture. This is the first book in the Making an Impact in Small Business HR Series.