Jodi Weintraub
CHRO
Revinate
Episode 139
HR: Transform Beyond Support. Become a Business Accelerator, Driving Core Metrics.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJune 19, 2025 · 12:06
Thesis
“HR must transform from a support function to a business accelerator by deeply integrating with and directly influencing core business metrics, fostering a business-first mindset among HR professionals.”
Show notes
"HR should be viewed as a business accelerator, not a cost center." Jodi Weintraub has spent over 30 years turning that conviction into practice — and her method is more surgical than most. Rather than arguing for HR's strategic value in the abstract, she works backwards from the company's top business metrics — revenue, churn, ARR — and maps exactly where and how HR decisions move those numbers. It's a framework that changes the conversation before it starts.
Her most striking example involves a problem that looked, on the surface, like a people issue: a disconnect between sales and product teams creating friction in the customer journey. When Jodi investigated, she found something the organization hadn't articulated — it was a cross-functional business process redesign problem embedded in the entire lead-to-cash workflow. She didn't "solve it with HR." She convened a cross-functional team, reframed the issue at the right scope, and helped redesign the process. That's what a business accelerator does.
Her approach to developing business acumen within HR teams is equally deliberate: regular exposure to industry insights, financial results, and the leaders of other functions. The goal is an HR team that doesn't need to be invited into strategic conversations because they've already demonstrated they belong there.
- Working backwards from business metrics — how to connect every HR initiative directly to top-line outcomes
- HR as a business accelerator — the operating model that replaces "cost center" thinking
- Cross-functional problem solving — how an apparent people issue turned into a lead-to-cash redesign
- Building business acumen in HR teams — the deliberate exposure strategy that changes how HR thinks
- Understanding sales cycles and growth models — why HR leaders who know the revenue motion ask better questions
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What you'll take away
- 1Shift HR perception from a support function to a business accelerator by actively linking HR initiatives to core business metrics.
- 2Foster business acumen within HR teams by sharing industry insights, financial results, and facilitating interactions with other functional leaders.
- 3Tackle complex organizational barriers by spearheading cross-functional teams to redesign processes, rather than isolating issues within single departments.
- 4Utilize a deep understanding of business operations (e.g., sales cycles, land and expand strategies) to ask probing questions about org structure, roles, and incentive plans.
- 5Embrace vulnerability and actively seek help from counterparts (e.g., finance, operations) to build knowledge in uncomfortable analytical areas.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Describes herself as the 'anti-HR person' (anti-stereotypical HR) to emphasize a business-first approach over traditional compliance-focused HR.
- •Identified a 'billing issue' as a cross-functional business process redesign issue spanning lead-to-cash, challenging the conventional view of it being solely a finance problem.
In Jodi's words
“HR should be viewed as a business accelerator and not as a cost center.”
This quote encapsulates her core philosophy on the strategic role of HR.
“I work backwards to start linking how the HR function directly impacts those [top business] metrics.”
This highlights her methodical approach to making HR strategic.
“It was a cross-functional business process redesign issue that was really related to the entire lead-to-cash business process.”
This demonstrates her ability to reframe a problem for a holistic solution.
“It's my ongoing mission to get HR people to be business people first.”
This emphasizes her dedication to developing business acumen in HR professionals.
“The more an HR professional understands what the drivers of the business are, the better they are at impacting the business.”
This explains the direct link between business acumen and HR effectiveness.
“Don't be afraid to show your vulnerabilities and keep asking questions until you understand.”
This offers crucial advice on continuous learning and collaboration.
The problems this episode addresses
- •HR being perceived as merely a support function or a cost center.
- •HR professionals lacking deep business acumen or understanding of core business drivers beyond HR metrics.
- •Organizational silos preventing effective cross-functional problem-solving for complex business issues.
- •Difficulty in quantitatively measuring the direct business impact of HR initiatives.
- •HR teams operating with limited headcount and resources, requiring difficult trade-off decisions without clear business alignment.
- •Business leaders engaging HR primarily for compliance or legal concerns rather than strategic input.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
I have been in the HR world for 30-plus years
How to Get Out of the HR Trap
Your business-first approach to HR revealed organizational barriers that traditional HR approaches missed
Business-First HR: Obstacles
You've mentioned helping HR business partners understand the business side rather than just HR
What Makes HR Business Partners More Business-oriented?
Understanding business operations changes how you approach HR issues, Jodi says
How Business Operations Affects HR
Having HR leaders who think like business leaders puts them in better alignment
Have HR Leaders Think Like Business Leaders?
Jodi, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
How to Build a Confident Workforce
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
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