The word value is used quite heavily in the HR space. The talk usually revolves around how HR can create and provide value to the organization. This is especially a struggle in smaller organizations as they grow and start realizing the need for HR.

If you are in this situation, regardless of the size of your organization, have you asked the following questions of your top management:

What do you mean when you say “value”? What is important and valuable to the organization?

Value can mean different things to different individuals. When company leaders want to know how HR will create value, it is imperative to understand what they mean by that statement. Do they want to see a positive ROI on HR projects? Do they want to see increased employee engagement? Reduced turnover?

If you don’t have a clear understanding of what leadership values from its HR department and services, it will be difficult to gain buy-in and demonstrate success. Once you know what they see as value, you can tailor your projects and services around delivering around that value. Even if you don’t fully agree with their definition of value, delivering on their expectations of value will demonstrate that HR does have an important role within the organization, and these small wins can be used to frame future discussions and projects to really demonstrate what HR can do for an organization.