A few weeks ago, my colleague Cyndi Branciforte and I facilitated a panel session with a group of CEOs from small, medium and large firms about moving HR departments from transactional relationships to strategic counselors.

For most of my career Human Resources within an organization have been viewed as a department to "process" paperwork, manage the employee life cycle from hiring to termination and ensure compliance with federal and local laws. However, over the past few years there has been a fundamental shift among many organizations to move HR into more of a strategic partnership role.

Why? F or one CEO, the a-ha moment was the realization that HR was truly responsible for the future of their company, its people, not its products, were going to ensure continued success. 

Others discussed how they developed true strategic relationships with their HR department because it truly has the pulse on the organization and is the best partner to be making decisions about a company's workplace culture and employee engagement. While in M&A environments, HR is one of the most critical partners when conducting due di ligence.

As leaders, we should be looking to our HR department as true partners who contribute to the strategic growth of our organizations. By moving your HR function out of a transactional role into a strategic function, you're ensuring that these individuals and their knowledge and expertise of people and processes will be an enormous contribution to the leadership and success of your organization.