Mike Clementi
Human Resources Executive & Advisor
ChangeBridge People Solutions
Episode 259
Unlock Value: HR Must Shift to Outcome-Driven Strategies for Business Impact
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMarch 25, 2025 · 15:17
Thesis
“HR must transition from managing processes to actively driving measurable outcomes and value creation, embracing agility and a deep understanding of business needs, especially in fast-paced, transformation-driven environments like private equity.”
Show notes
Navigating Transformation in HR with Mike Clementi
This episode is in partnership with Transform, we are very grateful and excited to be working with this wonderful community. Go check them out here
In this episode of the Built by People podcast sponsored by Previ, host engages in a conversation with Mike, an HR executive with extensive experience at Unilever.
Mike discusses his career journey, highlighting his roles in various organizations, including Unilever and private equity companies. He dives into the differences between working in public companies and private equity-backed organizations, emphasizing the importance of value creation and performance.
Mike shares insights on managing change, the evolving role of HR, and balancing long-term strategies with fast-paced transformation demands. He also offers advice on adopting a learning mindset and understanding customer value to drive business outcomes.
00:00 Introduction to the Built by People Podcast
00:16 Sponsor Message from Previ
00:44 Mike's Career Journey
03:32 Public vs. Private Equity: HR Perspectives
05:58 Managing Change and Transformation
07:38 Effective Approaches to Transformation
08:57 Lessons from Private Equity
11:58 Balancing Long-Term Strategies with Fast-Paced Demands
14:00 Parting Advice for HR Leaders
15:10 Conclusion and Farewell
Previ Sponsor Info:
Previ is a private pricing network that is free for companies to launch and maintain. It saves employees $2,200/year on essential services like their cell phone and auto insurance bill. Visit here to learn more.
What you'll take away
- 1HR must shift its core function from managing work and processes to focusing on business outcomes and value creation.
- 2For successful transformation, HR leaders need to sharpen the business case by deeply understanding the 'why' and the investment thesis.
- 3Adopt an outcome-focused approach to talent acquisition, hiring for the specific results a role needs to deliver (e.g., exponential growth, turnaround) rather than just a traditional job profile.
- 4Cultivate a learning mindset and agility within HR, being flexible and adaptable to new information, and willing to quickly change strategies that aren't working.
- 5To secure investment in long-term people strategies, demonstrate how these initiatives directly increase the value of the organization.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Transformation isn't a temporary event; every company, household, and person is in constant transformation, requiring acceptance and an outcome-first mindset.
- •Private equity companies, despite stereotypes, often make stronger investments in companies because their focus on value creation motivates spending where it will yield returns, rather than solely on fast turns or cost-cutting.
In Mike's words
“Yeah. So my career journey is fairly typical in some ways. I joined Unilever and worked there for, in progressing roles for 25+ years... I just had just a privilege to work with one of the most progressive thinking companies that value HR, value people, value society.”
This highlights the guest's extensive background in a major global corporation and his early exposure to a progressive HR-valuing culture.
“If I could share one thing that today would be shifting the HR function from managing work and processes to focusing on outcomes. And we say this at Changebridge, we exist to lift and accelerate performance.”
This is a concise articulation of the guest's core philosophy on the necessary evolution of the HR function.
“The old saying is if you're not changing, you're dying... So the first thing is just accepting that and getting really clear. I do want to shift us, and please, we need to shift to thinking about outcomes first.”
Mike emphasizes the constant nature of change and reinforces the critical importance of an outcome-driven approach in HR.
“If you were to flip this around and really only focus on the outcomes you wanted that job to do. You might work for them very differently. You would ask different questions. You would be thinking about the candidates differently.”
This offers a practical, actionable reframing of how to approach hiring by prioritizing desired business outcomes over traditional job descriptions.
“I think the question for us is not the long-term people strategies. It's showing that those long-term people strategies are going to increase the value of the home.”
This provides a pragmatic perspective on how to advocate for HR initiatives by directly linking them to quantifiable business value, especially in a PE context.
“People and companies that are winning in this world cannot understand everything coming at them, even though we try to. So we have to have the ability to be flexible, to learn, to be agile, and to, when new information comes, adapt to it.”
This stresses the crucial importance of a learning mindset and agility for navigating the complexities of the modern business landscape.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Public companies often struggle with innovation due to work being bogged down by excessive meetings, pre-meetings, and post-meetings, rather than direct decision-making.
- •Many organizational transformations (50-70%) fail because the business case isn't sharp enough, lacking a clear 'why' and investment thesis.
- •HR functions frequently get stuck in managing processes instead of driving measurable outcomes and demonstrating direct value creation to the business.
- •Traditional talent acquisition methods often focus on job profiles rather than the specific business outcomes a hire needs to deliver, leading to suboptimal leadership choices.
- •Securing investment for long-term people strategies in value-driven environments like private equity requires explicitly demonstrating how these strategies enhance the company's overall value.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Mike Frum shares a little bit about his career journey
A Conversation With Unilever's Chief Executive
What key differences have you observed between working in public companies and private equity
Working in Public Companies vs. Private Equity Companies
How can HR leaders help organizations stay focused on performance while managing significant change
How to Manage Change & Transformation
For companies navigating transformational change, what approaches have you found most effective
Working Through Change: The Challenges of Company Transformation
Private equity companies are increasingly focusing on talent management and business outcomes
Talent Management and Business Outcomes
How do you balance long-term people strategies with fast-paced demands of transformation
Private Equity Companies' Talent Profile
Mike says learning mindset and agility are key to success in HR
Mike Crouch on Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
Expand transcript (0 words)
Transcript is not available yet.