Diageo: 3 Tips to Becoming the Ultimate Business Partner

As Diageo pushes into Asia Pacific growth markets, its senior management team is relying on HR to operate as a true strategic partner in every sense of the word.

Geraldine Fraser is HR Director for the region. She tells Barbara Hodge how Diageo's organizational structure ensures HR is involved in every strategic decision (the HR Director sits on the company's Executive Committee) and defines the role HR plays in developing, driving, and executing corporate strategy.

HR's agenda directly impacts corporate margins by creating efficiencies in how the company is structured, driving agility in how people work, and tracking and improving metrics that can cost the company – like time to hire. In fact, no important strategic decision is made without HR's involvement.

Geraldine offers three tips on how to become a valued business partner:

1. Know the business – and that means not just the inside operations but also your suppliers and your markets.
2. Build a "quality" relationship based on trust and integrity.
3. Understand the HR solutions side of the business and collaborate with them.

Hear directly from Geraldine, all this and more - listen to the podcast.

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