HR Leaders Are Missing A Seat In The Boardroom: Why Boards Need HR

We’ve known for a long time that HR executives need a seat at the boardroom table, and now the rest of the room is catching up. 

There’s a clear trend emerging across Australia. Demand for senior HR leaders has increased with Director of People and Culture becoming the fastest growing role according to the job search website Indeed.

As organisations sharpen their focus on workforce planning in H1 2026, focusing on productivity and long-term people capability, HR is increasingly being seen as a strategic partner as opposed to a back of office administrative function. 

But while the spotlight on HR is growing, the path to influence at the very top still has its barriers.

Despite human capital being one of the biggest levers of business success, less than 1 per cent of board directors in Australia come from an HR background. Globally, it’s not much better with 3 per cent of Fortune 1000 board members having HR experience.

As organisations rethink how they attract, engage and retain talent in a disrupted world, the role of HR is being rewritten. Today’s HR leaders are shaping culture, driving AI transformation and advising CEOs. But if you want to influence strategy, not just implement it, you need to be able to engage at the board level.

That means understanding how boards think, what they care about, and how to speak their language. In this blog, we’ll explore how HR can show up as a strategic force in the boardroom and shift from being seen as a compliance function into policy, insight and impact.

Value gap 

People are often the biggest expense to an organisation, and yet HR is still underrepresented at the board. Executives spend hours agonising over investments that cost organisations 5x more than human capital, when they should think more about people. 

While directors are quick to call on finance during a downturn or legal during a crisis, human capital rarely gets the same level of input or authority. The irony is that most of the biggest challenges facing businesses today, talent shortages, hybrid work and AI transformation, are people issues at their core.

And yet, the voice of HR is often missing when strategy is set. There’s a structural gap that needs closing. 

Because boards often underestimate the cost of not including HR in big-picture decisions. When there’s no people lens in the room things get missed, like culture clashes in mergers, or the real impact of a restructuring jobs because of AI.

The strongest HR leaders don’t wait to be invited in. They show up prepared, clear on what they need from the board, and confident in what they bring. 

When that happens, decisions get sharper. And businesses are better set up to follow through, not just on paper, but in practice.

Perception v reality 

Part of the challenge is perception. 

Many senior leaders still view HR as administrative, focused on policies, payroll, and performance reviews. There’s often a gap in understanding around the full scope of strategic HR, especially at the board level. While HR is doing the work to shape culture, build future capability, and manage complex change, those contributions aren’t always visible or articulated in a way that resonates with the board.

What gets missed is that HR holds critical insight into emerging risks and long-term value. Workforce data can tell you if the culture’s shifting, if employees or leaders are burning out, or if talent is at risk of moving to a competitor.

HR’s input is essential in conversations about ESG, leadership capability, inclusion, retention, and agility. But to be seen as strategic, HR needs to show up with more than good intent. 

They need to speak the board’s language.

More than ‘soft skills’

HR is also left out of the boardroom because there’s a lingering bias that positions people management as less rigorous or quantifiable than finance or operations.

Bards are often composed of individuals who’ve had little meaningful exposure to contemporary HR work. 

They may know HR from early-career experiences, often limited to compliance, hiring, and policy, and that perception lingers.

Changing that view takes time and exposure. Think of it like shock therapy. When boards see HR leaders confidently presenting workforce risks alongside financial projections, they start to understand HR isn’t just ‘soft stuff’.

Change the communication 

To gain traction in the boardroom, HR leaders needs to reframe how they present work. That starts with using business language, not HR jargon. 

Boards don’t need to hear about engagement scores in isolation, they need to understand how poor engagement is driving turnover or how burnout is impacting productivity. The focus should always be on risk, opportunity, and return on investment. Which means coming to the table with workforce analytics that tie directly to business performance. 

For example, forecasting the cost of attrition in a critical function. Showing how leadership capability impacts strategy execution. Mapping workforce demographics against future skills requirements. The more HR can quantify its impact and tie insights to bottom-line outcomes, the more influence it gains.

It’s also about confidence. HR leaders must be able to hold their own alongside CFOs and COOs, backing their perspective with evidence, and shaping narratives that support big-picture decisions.

Ultimately, the goal isn’t just to be heard, it’s to help the board see workforce strategy as business strategy. When HR does that well, it earns its place as a trusted advisor at the highest level.

About us

At Martian Logic, we support HR leaders in making a bigger impact, inside and outside the boardroom. Our powerful HRIS helps you manage every stage of the employee journey, from recruitment and onboarding to performance, engagement, and workforce analytics.

With smart tools and actionable insights, we make it easier for HR teams to demonstrate their strategic value, manage change, and drive results that matter. Contact us today to see how Martian Logic can help elevate HR at every level of your organisation.