HR plays a critical role in driving business success, yet many HR leaders still struggle to secure a strong voice at the executive table. Prudential Assurance Uganda CHRO Susan Kabedha, Crystal Ventures director of HR and administration Ines Kayitesi and Fresh Del Monte Kenya country human resources manager Gedion Kimutai share why HR must be positioned as a strategic leadership function.
Ines Kayitesi Crystal Ventures (CVL) HR and administration director discovered HR’s strategic value when she moved from law into the function in 2022. She quickly realised that people are the foundation of business success.
People first, strategy follows
"When I started HR, I discovered that HR or the people were the biggest assets the company will have. If you have the wrong people, then your business is not going anywhere," she says.
That's why she believes HR must sit at the executive table. Without the right people in the right environment, business strategy fails regardless of how brilliant it looks on paper. She notes that every major business decision from expansion to restructuring to market entry, depends on having people who can execute it and HR understands this better than anyone because they manage that capability.
Susan Kabedha Prudential Assurance Uganda CHRO, illustrates her point through her experience leading two major restructures, one during COVID at Stanbic Bank and another at dfcu Bank. Both showed that organisations risk inefficiency and missed opportunities when HR is not involved in strategic planning from the outset.
“We had to review the organisation’s strategy and ensure the structure supported it, while also assessing whether the people in each role had the right skills and capabilities,” she explains.
Linking people and performance
Susan notes that sometimes companies develop strategies without considering whether they have the talent to execute them, then scramble to find solutions when implementation fails. At Prudential, Susan sees how HR strategy directly impacts business outcomes.
“Insurance isn't transactional like banking, customers need emotional connection. We need to lead with heart. We need to make sure the wellness arm is very strong so that as people are engaging their clients, they're speaking to their hearts as well," she notes.
She explains that this link between employee wellbeing and business performance is what HR contributes to strategic discussions, providing insight into how people can drive or hinder organisational success.
Gedion Kimutai, the country human resources manager at Fresh Del Monte Kenya, manages 7,000 employees in agriculture, where HR decisions directly impact production timelines and business continuity. Delayed labour support means delayed planting, which shifts entire production cycles and affects customer relationships.
"It needs fast decision-making processes and teamwork because if one-part delays, let's say if I don't provide support for labour, it will delay the processes," he explains.
HR at the heart of operational success
Gideon maintains that HR must sit at the executive table because people's decisions affect operational outcomes immediately. He argues that treating HR as purely administrative creates bottlenecks.
“When executives make business decisions without understanding workforce implications, they create problems that HR then has to solve reactively instead of preventing proactively,” Gedion observes.
He adds that his experience managing two active unions underscores the need for HR’s strategic involvement. Labour relations, he explains, go beyond handling grievances. They are about safeguarding operational stability and ensuring business continuity.
“One strike or major dispute can bring production to a halt. Revenue stops. Customer relationships are affected. Most breakdowns, in my experience, stem from a lack of communication,” Gedion notes.
He emphasises that HR is the function that manages both communication and employee relationships. Leaving HR out of strategic discussions, he warns, is effectively sidelining the very team that ensures workforce stability.
