Align HR with the Business by Solving Problems

Jennifer Akoma, SHRM-SCP, said she didn’t fully understand what Android Industries did when she interviewed for an HR position at the company in 2017. Still, she wanted the job because of the challenge: hiring 1,800 people in 18 months.

It wasn’t going to be easy. The company had some issues—it lacked an applicant management system, underutilized technology, and needed stronger compliance controls.

Yet, Akoma said she garnered respect for herself and her department by aligning HR with the business goals and tackling some of its most pressing issues first.

“How do you find your way to become a strategic business partner within your organization? The transformation blueprint is very simple,” said Akoma, who is head of people and stewardship at the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based company that designs and implements assembly and supply chain solutions for the automotive industry. “Get leadership support, find an advocate, and get buy-in by aligning your HR strategy.” 

While speaking at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2024 (SHRM24) on June 25 in Chicago and virtually, she said HR professionals are particularly well suited to finding strategic solutions.

“Strategy is just really a way you go about solving a problem,” Akoma said. “What do HR people do the most? We solve problems. We are strategic business partners because we’re always solving problems.”

Akoma started transforming Android Industries’ HR department by streamlining the hiring process, adding a colleague, and eventually buying an applicant tracking system. Before she made those changes, the company had already spent $600,000 on outside recruiters yet still had 1,800 positions to fill.

“In six months, I gained the confidence of the leadership team because I was able to show efficiency and process, eliminate a ton of waste, and save money,” Akoma said, adding that they were also on track to meet hiring goals. 

Another early task was appropriately using the company’s human resource information system. She said that in the U.S., the organization was only using it for attendance and payroll, even though the program could record and measure many types of data. Meanwhile, the company’s operations in Brazil were using a different system, and those in Mexico were recording attendance on Excel spreadsheets. Having all of the company’s locations use the same system provides data that can help make connections and business improvements, Akoma said.  

Akoma also examined the global compensation structure for fairness; after the probe, about 90% of the company’s employees got a raise. Correct compensation data is important to have as more states enact pay transparency laws, she said.

Akoma also strengthened risk and compliance functions. For example, the company wasn’t always following proper procedures when employees were going between the operations in the U.S. and those in Canada, she said. At one point, she got a call from someone in Canada’s border control operations complaining about the company’s paperwork.

“You have to educate your leadership on how important it [compliance] is,” Akoma said. “If you don’t do it right, it costs retention, it costs a reputation, it costs money.”

Employee branding is another area that Akoma is focusing on.

“You have to set yourself apart,” Akoma said. “Branding is a way to communicate your values, your goals, both internally and externally.”

It is still a work in progress, though the company’s logo has been redesigned, and it is currently addressing its social media presence. Akoma wants to feature stories of employees who started as interns and are now managers. Previously, Android Industries’ Facebook page featured cats.

She said: “We love our cats, but they are not our brand.”