Sandy Begbie is global head of people and organisation integration at Standard Life, and our number one HR Most Influential Practitioner 2016. He joined Standard Life in 2010 to lead the group’s transformation programme and has also been HR director at AEGON UK and Scottish Power. We found out what HR influence means to him.
Involvement in key places and at different levels
“It’s crucial that we’re sitting round all the right tables at Plc level,” says Begbie. “For example, it’s my role as chief people officer to work in partnership at the most senior levels with the CEO, the chairman and along with the board. I’m involved in board meetings on a regular basis, and I participate in some of our board-level groups such as RemCo.
“Succession is another key area in my view. We push the people agenda and talent discussions up to board level here and that helps focus senior attention on the people and HR issues.”
Taking responsibility for non-HR issues
“I also run our joint venture business – Heng An Standard Life – which is based in China... It’s been a great help in broadening my own business knowledge and demonstrating how HR is adding value to the rest of the business.
“I was also one of the first people to take on a non-executive role [at the Scottish Government as a non-executive director and as chair of its remuneration committee] when they were first offered, and it was particularly valuable as it was a non-HR role. It provided me with an opportunity to learn about government and the complexity of resourcing and budgets.”
Challenging the business
“It’s no good for an HR person to just be technically strong, because then you will have people who act merely as order takers. It’s so important to create a mindset where HR can challenge and be equal as a ‘business partner’.
“Post-2007 the role of HR in the banking sector has changed. Now it has additional areas to think about – including governance and oversight.
“These regulatory areas do not always sit well with line managers and there can be a tension on occasions. We still have a good relationship with line managers [but] I would expect them to rate HR as a seven or eight out of 10. If the score is any higher in a company then it probably means that HR are not fulfilling their role with regard to oversight – that the relationship between line managers and HR is too cosy.”
Staying in tune with the business
“There is a need in every business to be in tune with what people are saying. Part of the reason for the banking problems was that HR wasn’t the eyes and ears to what people thought. Collecting and listening to these views means I can be a vehicle to communicate between staff and the board. One of the reasons the CEO often invites me to attend board meetings is because of the valuable feedback from these employee sessions.”
Judgement
“You need to be able to think through complicated people issues and be able to provide clarity for those involved… [During the transition between CEOs in 2015] the chairman consulted first with me to help refine both what the business needed and what the process might be so that he could then set this out before the rest of the board. A change of CEO is always a tricky moment as the share price invariably rests on the achievements of the current CEO. And a nervous market usually is bad news as it means a downwards, negative impact on the share price.”
Developing relationships
“Building really strong and deep relationships at senior levels is important… Make sure you take people along with you. You need to build good relationships along the way, and you will achieve what you want.
“[When I was head of training for treasury and capital markets at the Royal Bank of Scotland] colleagues in HR complained that it was difficult to get any time with people in that business area. I decided to meet up with some of the guys and go into breakfast with them. You have to grow yourself into their lives if you want to improve relationships.”
HRMI eight factors of influence
The three most important of HR Most Influential’s eight factors of influence for Begbie are numbers one, two and eight: delivering significant outcomes in their own business, a track record of successful outcomes, and depth and breadth of experience e.g. responsibility for areas beyond HR.
“I think that taking on additional responsibilities is by far the most important area that helps an HR director to build influence in an organisation… As you move beyond HR expertise you have far greater opportunities to learn, and contribute to, other business areas,” he says.
External board involvement would be “at the bottom of the list”, together with number five: invitations to get involved in external campaigns. “This is something that’s far more likely to happen to you later on in your career, once you reach senior level,” he says.
For full versions of these HRMI practitioner 2016 interviews and for others, download our free HR Most Influential Interviews ebook. Check back over the next few days for interviews with Valerie Hughes-D'Aeth and Jacky Simmonds.
More on this year's HRMI rankings, sponsored by Open University Business School, here
