How Human Resource Professionals Need to Show Their Value in Numbers

Today, you need to present a HR resume that shows how your work directly influenced a company’s bottom line, productivity rates, commercial objectives and strategic planning – using tangible numbers.
No longer a “softer” space in the business where people skills are solely important, human resources is now a business unit that needs to be accountable for its existence the way other areas of the business have always been measured and liable.
Looking at most HR resumes, it’s clear that specialists in the sector are still catching on to these expectations, but your ability to step up and communicate your value in terms of dollars, percentages and numbers will create incredible inroads and opportunities for you – and put you ahead of the competition.

How Do I Show my Commercial Value?

Use numbers in your HR resume. You need to back up your contribution with tangible figures, so consider addressing questions like:
  • Did I meet or exceed targets?
  • How did my actions affect revenue?
  • By how much did a new process reduce spending and save on budget?
  • How can I evaluate and measure the output of my activities, whether through a business-as-usual initiative or special project?
  • What dollar value is my work worth?
  • How is the business actually benefiting from my role?
  • What are my real deliverables?
An understanding and commitment to HR best practice is still valuable and highly sought-after, but consider adding more tangibility, analytics, transparency and thoughtfulness to the actual value of your work to show your “commerciality” in a HR resume.

How Has HR Changed?

Business has changed its momentum, pace and measurability, which has changed the face of the HR function.
While HR played a supportive and administrative role to business activities for a long period, changes in business practices and economic climates have now raised the bar for HR performance. Rapid growth through globalization, advancements in technology and large-scale acquisitions have put HR at the heart of a company’s overall strategic planning.
Although the expectations and demands on the HR team will vary between organizations, the role of HR is now identified as being a core contributor to the performance of a business – and your HR resume should reflect that.

What Should my HR Resume Say?

Your current resume should sell your commercial know-how. This includes:
  • Making sure your past achievements and activities are accompanied with tangible figures that show how you saved on budget, minimized spending, increased productivity, decreased wait times or reached another commercial objective that you can quantify in a number.
  • Aligning your experience with the overall performance and goals of the organization, showing how your HR activities fit into the bigger picture, what involvement you had in strategic planning, or how you made a genuine impact on business output.
  • Providing examples from across your work history and not just your latest role, accompanied by the ability and confidence to talk about actual scenarios in which you – or you and your team – made a genuine impact on business returns.
  • Compiling a record of the results you’re delivering in your current role, which is easier to record and evaluate at the time it’s happening, rather than down the road when you’re thinking of switching to a new role.