Ron Cardenas, Omaha, Nebraska Based VP of HR, Explains Why Now, More Than Ever, Companies Should Prioritize HR

The 2021 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey asked CEOs about their biggest challenges. The one thing that came up repeatedly is talent, including attracting, hiring, retaining, developing, growing, and engaging employees. Yet, despite this assertion that human capital is a precious resource, few companies include Human Resources (HR)—the very function responsible for managing talent—as part of their “Inner Circle” for executing top business priorities. In this article, Ron Cardenas, a Vice President of Human Resources in Omaha, Nebraska, discusses how and why that’s starting to change.

Businesses in every sector find themselves scrambling to find enough skilled and even unskilled workers to meet their company’s demands. Some tout a global worker shortage; others lament a skills gap for critical knowledge and experience. Still, others opine that we are experiencing a “worker awakening” more than a shortage.

All three of these characteristics are contributing to the current employment outlook. Unskilled laborers are in short supply, mainly due to the pandemic and immigration issues. Highly skilled positions, such as cybersecurity professionals, suffer from a notable gap between the skills of available workers and the experience needed to counter and mitigate cyber threats. And, many workers are not interested in returning to the pre-pandemic status quo related to working conditions and compensation.

National and global political forces, social issues, and health conditions affect a company’s ability to source and onboard qualified workers. According to Ron Cardenas, nowhere within the typical corporate hierarchy are business leaders better equipped to understand, communicate, and manage these complicated issues than in the Human Resources department. C-suite executives are increasing the emphasis on strong partnerships with Human Resources Executives.

Some organizations have traditionally viewed HR activities as transactional—hiring, firing, and compliance issues—forward-thinking companies now integrate labor issues into the top-level strategic discussions. The availability of qualified workers can affect strategic decisions such as locating offices, plants, and data centers. The number of workers with specialized knowledge, such as artificial intelligence development, plays a role in the technologies companies are willing to adopt and deploy.

CEOs now look to HR leaders for guidance about constructing appealing work environments, competitive compensation packages, and other employee engagement opportunities. CFOs understand that the company’s balance sheet is directly related to the right mix of human capital distributed at all company levels.

For business leaders that are still inclined to keep HR managers at arm’s length, beware. Workers now change jobs more than ever before. A few decades ago, many workers would hope to stay with the same company for most of their career. In 2012 the average time an employee stayed at one company was 4.6 years, and that time has shrunk to 4.1 years in 2021. Younger workers stay with an employer for only 2.8 years on average. Not only do you need to attract the right employees, but you also need to find ways to keep them.

Cardenas emphasizes that whether you realize it or not, you are in a fierce battle with your competitors and all kinds of other companies for the best employees. Failing to recognize the need to make room for HR in strategic decisions is a prescription for disaster.

About Ron Cardenas

Ron Cardenas is based in Omaha, Nebraska, and is the Vice President of Human Resources at an agriculture holdings company. He is a versatile Human Resources professional with over 30 years of domestic and international experience. His track record includes creating and launching talent strategies for global organizations in varied industries.