Human capital is on the mind of nearly every CEO these days. In fact, talent is your CEO’s number one concern. You are worried about human capital. And it’s not just recruiting and building talent pipelines you are worried about. Retaining those stellar employees is what your CEO is worried about too.

Employee Retention is so 2015

Twenty-fifteen is the year of training and development. It’s the year of the employee retention strategy. It’s not just HR or recruiting main focus. It’s the entire organizations. You need to get impatient and tired of waiting. I’m telling that you, HR need to crash the board room.

It’s absolutely insane why we (HR and the CEO) are not on the same page. We’re both staying up late at night concerned about the future of our global manufacturing efforts. We’re also both concerned about establishing a front line manager program that actually sticks. These leaders are the future of our company.  I am certain a meeting doesn’t go by where the topic of scaling and retaining your most valuable asset. Unfortunately, it’s a conversation that HR isn’t always privy too.

I’m telling you your CEO is concerned. I’m also telling you that he/she is likely misinformed about HR’s own employee retention efforts. He/she doesn’t want to be bothered with your latest employee benefits initiatives. He/she just wants to know what’s the ROI on the new benefits come down too.

You might think he/she does not understand the value of HR, but I think that’s wrong too. I think we are selling ourselves short. It’s time we insert ourselves into the conversation instead of waiting for someone to invite us to.

Channel Your Inner CEO & Crash the Boardroom

You have to act like a CEO, think like a CEO and channel your inner CEO. Maybe that’s through the help of a mentor or a coach. The best way to establish value is to anticipate the needs, moves and potential roadblocks that your CEO and executive board. CEO’s don’t wait to be invited to their own board meeting. It’s their board meeting after all. We need to quit thinking like HR and start thinking like a member of the senior leadership crew.

The time is now that your entire organization should be aligning all talent development and employee retention strategies. You must crash the board room. Quit waiting for that invite because it will likely never come. HR no longer needs an invite. They, like senior executives must realize the opportunity before them. Find an ally on the board. Maybe it’s the COO or CFO. Find a partner in your efforts and crash the boardroom.