Key Benefit Administrators

Craig H. Frazier

People Process Champion

HR Needs Both Lenses

One of the advantages of coming into HR through an IT and business analysis background is that I have always looked at problems through both a people lens and a process lens. Early in my career, I was focused on understanding systems, data, workflows and how work moved through the organization. As I transitioned into HR leadership, I got a better look at how every process or workflow impacts a person trying to do their job effectively.

That perspective has shaped how I lead today. I believe technology should make things simpler and make people more effective. I am naturally drawn to improving efficiency, reducing friction points and using data to make better decisions, but I also recognize that successful organizations are built on trust, communication and human connection.

The best HR leaders understand both sides of that equation.

Move Beyond the Paperwork Police

AI provides HR an opportunity to streamline low value and transactional processes and then leverage that capacity gain to invest in the employees through proactive relationship-building. One way my team has done that is by reaching out to individual employees as a check-in and to ask them how they are feeling about the work they are doing and where they may be struggling. This has provided meaningful insights and given the HR team a way to proactively address issues that employees genuinely appreciate.

HR teams can spend significant amounts of time on low value or transactional tasks where it is easy for employees to begin to see them as the paperwork police. We want to automate those things so employees can easily access forms on their own and the HR team can focus more of their time and energy on conversations and relationship-building that supports the company culture.

Turn Headcount into Business Strategy

Workforce analytics allows HR to move from being reactive to being strategic.

Effective HR organizations use workforce analytics to answer business questions. Do we have the right talent to support growth? Where are we experiencing skills gaps? How will workforce needs change over the next three to five years? Where are our key positions and how do we cross train?

When HR can connect talent data to business outcomes, conversations shift from headcount discussions to business strategy discussions, but we never want to lose sight of how that all plays out through the lens of our company culture. 

Start with What Employees Gain

I try to start with company culture first by asking how the changes will impact our employees; what’s in it for them and how will the change line up with our Core Values?

Any HR effort has to balance several priorities at the same time. We want efficiency, consistency and better data, but we also have to consider employee experience, legal compliance and organizational culture. Often communication is key and if we are taking people with us and communicating effectively, they should be able to see how it benefits them or be able to learn upfront what changes there will be. If employees view a new system as confusing or impersonal, adoption becomes difficult regardless of how powerful the technology may be.

“Executive leaders are far more willing to embrace change when HR can clearly connect proposed solutions to business outcomes.”

For me, successful transformation starts with understanding the employee experience. Then we evaluate how technology can support that experience while maintaining compliance and reinforcing the culture we want to build. Technology should make work easier, create transparency and strengthen trust. If it does not accomplish those things, then we need to re-evaluate the solution.

The Technology Is Not the Project

One lesson I have learned is that successful transformation is rarely a technology project. It is a leadership project. Helping people understand “the why” behind the change is critical to building consensus.

Even when Executives agree on the need for change, the challenge is building alignment around priorities, timing, communication and execution. My role as an HR leader is often helping bridge those conversations between business strategy, operational realities and employee impact.

Executive leaders are far more willing to embrace change when HR can clearly connect proposed solutions to business outcomes. Whether we are discussing workforce planning, organizational design, technology investments, or process improvements, the conversation must always come back to how the change supports the organization's goals while positioning employees for success.