Jason Lioy
Chief People Officer
Dawn Foods Global
Episode 359
Beyond HR: Why People Leaders Must Master Business & Finance
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleJanuary 3, 2025 · 18:17
Thesis
“HR must deeply understand and integrate with the business's financials and operations, moving beyond traditional people management to become a strategic partner that measurably drives business outcomes.”
Show notes
In this episode of the Built by People podcast, host and guest Jason Lioy engage in a deep conversation about the critical impact of HR on business success. From Jason's career journey, starting in plant operations to ascending to a Chief People Officer role, the discussion sheds light on key strategies for aligning HR initiatives with business objectives. Jason shares invaluable lessons about understanding the business, making data-driven decisions, and balancing employee satisfaction with organizational performance. He emphasizes the need for HR leaders to focus on measurable outcomes and true business integration, leveraging his extensive experience to offer actionable advice for HR professionals. 00:44 Meet Jason: Career Journey and Early Lessons 04:47 Key HR Strategies and Influences 07:54 Transitioning HR to Business Leadership 10:30 Balancing Employee Satisfaction and Business Outcomes 13:13 Positioning HR as a Business Function 15:06 Coaching HR Teams for Business Alignment 16:57 Final Advice and Closing Remarks
What you'll take away
- 1HR professionals must intimately understand the business, its financials (P&L), and operations, moving beyond traditional HR functions.
- 2HR impacts the P&L by aligning talent strategies with business objectives, focusing on productivity, outcome-based employee engagement, and leadership development.
- 3Measure HR's impact with business-relevant KPIs such as revenue per employee, turnover costs, time to fill, succession of critical roles, and ROI on training and development.
- 4Employee satisfaction is not a trade-off but a direct driver of business outcomes, leading to better performance and financial results.
- 5Coach HR teams to connect every program to specific business objectives, develop strong business acumen, and communicate their impact through data-driven storytelling to leadership.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Changing an HR title to 'business partner' or similar without a fundamental shift in understanding and contributing to core business operations is merely 'smoke and mirrors and window dressing'.
- •Employee satisfaction should not be viewed as needing balance against business outcomes, but rather as interlinked and a primary driver of positive business results.
In Jason's words
“You have 4 things you need to do for me. And if you can do those 4 things, you can do your HR job. Know the people, know the business, never let me get surprised. And by the way, you have to be able to run this plant.”
This quote from his first boss encapsulates his foundational philosophy for HR's role as a true business partner.
“You can't have a talent strategy that's focused on building capabilities that your business doesn't need to grow.”
It highlights the critical need for HR strategies to be directly aligned with overall business objectives and growth.
“Engagement's got to be outcome-based. It's got to be behavior-based. It can't just be on feelings, right?”
This challenges superficial measurements of employee engagement, advocating for metrics that demonstrate measurable impact and commitment.
“Don't change your title to try and change the perception of your function. Don't change your title to business partner or anything like that to try and change the impression of your— of the function in your group, because that is just— it's smoke and mirrors and window dressing.”
This is a direct, contrarian take on how HR often attempts to elevate its image without making substantive changes to its strategic role.
“I don't view them as mutually exclusive. Employee satisfaction is not a trade-off. It's also, it's a driver of business outcomes.”
This expresses his core belief that employee well-being and overall business success are inherently and positively connected.
“Every program we talk— every program that we talk about, I ensure that I create that line of sight back to a business objective.”
This demonstrates a practical, hands-on approach to embedding HR within the broader business strategy and ensures accountability.
The problems this episode addresses
- •HR being perceived as solely 'people managers' rather than strategic business leaders influencing the P&L.
- •Difficulty in quantifying HR's impact on business outcomes and linking talent strategies to measurable results.
- •Lack of strong business and financial acumen among HR professionals, limiting their strategic influence.
- •Measuring employee engagement superficially (e.g., happiness scores) instead of focusing on outcome-based behaviors and discretionary effort.
- •The risk of losing critical organizational capabilities due to impending retirements if proactive succession planning is not in place.
- •Ineffective training and development programs that lack a clear, measurable return on investment (ROI).
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Jason Miller: HR is a function within a business that touches everything
What Makes HR So Exciting?
How does HR directly influence the company's P&L, and what metrics do
How HR Impact on the Company's P&L
What steps can HR leaders take to transition from people managers to true business leaders
What steps can HR leaders take to transition from people managers to true
Can I get your perspective on balancing employee satisfaction with driving business outcomes and HR decisions
Jefferies: Employee Satisfaction and Business Outcomes
How do you coach your HR team to align their work with broader business strategy
How to Coach HR Teams towards a Business Strategy
Since the pandemic, HR has had a real opportunity to lean in
Employee Experience: Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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