Future Head of HR: Think Beyond the Traditional Role

NEW YORK, April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Human Resources executives must think beyond their traditional role in order to remain competitive in the marketplace, according to Manuel de Miranda, head of the Human Resources Practice group, Egon Zehnder International, a global search firm. Increasingly CEOs expect HR leaders to have experience in non-traditional HR roles including line operations, customer service, finance as well as international assignments.

"The road to the C-suite is coming from a broader base of talent," said de Miranda.  "The future will require that HR leaders have exposure to fast growing markets as well as experience working in companies where they've played multiple roles," he added. "This exposure will provide them with an invaluable context to think strategically about the bottom line of the company," he added.  An in-depth interview with Manuel de Miranda can be found at http://www.egonzehnder.com/video-future-hr.

For several years Egon Zehnder has been compiling results from its Management Appraisal processes.   These have shown that senior HR executives who have worked outside the HR function have higher scores on three critical leadership competencies:  (1) results orientation (2) strategic orientation and (3) change leadership.  Of the 366 HR executives studied, 275 had worked exclusively in HR, while 91 had at some point in their careers served in a line role. Their scores were analyzed against a database of more than 25,000 Management Appraisals in the past five years.  "Our insights led us to conclude that the behaviors, experience, and business line credibility naturally learned in line facing roles could best account for the separation between 'Good HR Leaders' and 'Great HR Leaders'," said de Miranda.

"The HR leader who has had experience in other areas within the corporation and can bring those skills with them to HR will differentiate themselves from their peers and be more likely to achieve success," said de Miranda.

About Egon Zehnder International
Egon Zehnder International is the largest privately-held executive search firm in the world with over 400 consultants operating from 64 wholly owned offices in 38 countries.  The firm specializes in senior-level executive search, board consulting and director search, management appraisals, and talent management. 

Egon Zehnder International's clients range in size from the world's largest corporations to emerging growth companies to government and regulatory bodies and major educational and cultural organizations. Egon Zehnder International has sector specialists organized into global practices. These include Industrial, Financial Services, Consumer, Life Sciences, Technology & Communications, Services, Private Capital and Sovereign Wealth Funds. For more information visit www.egonzehnder.com.

SOURCE Egon Zehnder International