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When Does HR Become Strategic?
A Practical Perspective from Inside the Business
People often ask, “When does HR become strategic?”
It sounds like a reasonable question, but every time I hear it, I pause. The question assumes that HR starts in a non-strategic place and, at some point, evolves into something more. My experience at VOLO does not quite fit that assumption.
At VOLO, HR did not become strategic at a specific moment in time. It always was. Not because of a title or a formal mandate, but because people were never separated from decisions. From the very beginning, conversations about the business naturally included conversations about people. That mindset shaped our HR strategy long before anyone labeled it as such.
HR Is Strategic When It Shapes Decisions, Not When It Reacts
Looking back, one thing stands out clearly. HR was never invited after decisions were made. We were there while decisions were being shaped.
That experience aligns closely with what broader research has been pointing to for years. According to McKinsey & Company, organizations that involve HR early in strategic planning are significantly more likely to build strong leadership pipelines and execute transformation successfully. When people considerations are addressed early, decisions tend to hold up better over time.
At VOLO, early involvement meant real conversations, not ceremonial ones. When we talked about growth, we did not talk only about numbers or headcount plans. We talked about people, leadership capacity, and sustainability. When we discussed new directions, the focus was not only on opportunity, but also on readiness. Were leaders prepared to take ownership? Did teams have clarity? What kind of organization were we becoming in the process?
When challenges emerged, we spoke honestly about capacity, not just ambition. No one had to explain why HR was in the room. It felt natural because it was.
The Invisible Reality: Why Strategic HR Is So Hard to Sustain
There is another side of this story that deserves honesty. HR teams are busy. Often overloaded with manual work, internal processes, and operational tasks that never seem to end.
This is not just a personal observation. Research by Deloitte consistently shows that a large share of HR teams’ time is still spent on administrative and transactional work, even as expectations for strategic contribution continue to rise. The HR team at VOLO was no exception.
This work is necessary and demanding, but it absorbs energy and attention while offering limited visibility into business impact. As companies grow, this workload does not disappear. It multiplies. More people bring more processes, more exceptions, and more urgency. Without intention, operational HR slowly crowds strategy out of the picture. Not because HR lacks strategic thinking, but because there is simply no space left for it.
The Invisible Reality: Why Strategic HR Is So Hard to Sustain
There is another side of this story that deserves honesty. HR teams are busy. Often overloaded with manual work, internal processes, and operational tasks that never seem to end.
This is not just a personal observation. Research by Deloitte consistently shows that a large share of HR teams’ time is still spent on administrative and transactional work, even as expectations for strategic contribution continue to rise. The HR team at VOLO was no exception.
This work is necessary and demanding, but it absorbs energy and attention while offering limited visibility into business impact. As companies grow, this workload does not disappear. It multiplies. More people bring more processes, more exceptions, and more urgency. Without intention, operational HR slowly crowds strategy out of the picture. Not because HR lacks strategic thinking, but because there is simply no space left for it.
Operational vs Strategic HR Is the Wrong Question to Ask
Framing the conversation as operational vs strategic HR creates a false choice that most organizations struggle with in practice. That is why framing HR as either operational or strategic misses the point. It must be both.
The real challenge is finding the right balance and being deliberate about it. Reducing operational load is not about avoiding responsibility. It is about creating systems that can carry responsibility sustainably.
This means simplifying and systemizing recurring processes, using tools that reduce manual effort instead of adding complexity, and building clear, reliable reporting that gives leaders visibility without constant explanation. Operations matter, but when everything is manual, urgent, and fragmented, strategy suffocates. And strategy is where long-term impact is created.
Strategy Conversations Are Always Human Conversations
Some of the most important strategic discussions at VOLO never looked like traditional HR topics. They sounded like questions about leadership, readiness, and the future of the organization. Who will lead the new initiative? Are we ready for this level of complexity? What kind of organization are we building, and what kind do we want to become?
These were conversations about the future of the business. Research summarized by Harvard Business Review supports this connection, showing that strategy execution fails far more often due to people, leadership, and alignment issues than due to flaws in the strategy itself. When readiness and capacity are not addressed early, even well-designed strategies struggle to survive in practice.
HR was part of these conversations not because they were labeled as HR, but because people are part of every strategy, whether acknowledged or not.
From Reaction to Co-Creation
Being involved from the start changes everything. You spend less time fixing what was missed and less energy explaining the people impact of decisions after the fact. Instead, you help shape decisions that can actually work, not only on paper, but in real life.
That is when HR stops reacting and starts co-creating. Over time, a clear pattern emerges. When HR is truly strategic, there are fewer crises, fewer misunderstandings, and less tension between business and people. Things do not feel dramatic. They simply work better.
Much of this impact remains invisible, and that is precisely where its value lies.
So, When Does HR Become Strategic?
In my experience, the strategic role of HR is not defined by authority or proximity to leadership, but by trust, timing, and involvement before decisions are finalized.
When people ask me that question today, my answer comes from experience, not theory. HR is strategic when it is trusted early, when it is part of conversations from the very beginning, and when strategy and people are never treated as separate topics.
That has been my journey at VOLO, and it continues in the same direction.
A Final Thought for HR Professionals
If I could leave one thought for other HR professionals, it would be this. Learn the business deeply. Think in outcomes. Do not wait for permission to contribute.
Strategic HR is not about a title or a seat at the table. It is about helping organizations make better decisions earlier. That is where the real impact begins.
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