Phoenix, AZ -- (SBWire) -- 03/25/2019 --LaCoya Shelton is the founder and CEO of Revolutionary HR Consulting. Shelton has over twenty years of experience in human resources where she has provided memorable leadership helping organizations advance key strategic commitments. LaCoya's leadership has revolutionized human resources systems creating environments where employees thrive and their goals work in concert with organizational priorities.
LaCoya Shelton launched Revolutionary HR Consulting in 2018 in order to continue revolutionizing human resources on a broader scale. It's no secret that to be successful employers rely heavily on the skills and contributions of their employees. HR plays a key role in this relationship because the HR system is the intersection between business strategy and the human beings who are responsible for its success.
LaCoya answered some questions about her professional journey, leadership, and Revolutionary HR Consulting's signature approach to creating high-impact human resources for businesses and human resources leadership.
What's your career background and journey up until this point?
I started in the field of human resources/talent management almost twenty years ago after graduating from college where I studied the discipline. I developed a great passion for this work early on as a student and upon the realization that if organizations engaged in certain activities (like offering competitive compensation, providing growth opportunities for example) then the likelihood of retaining highly satisfied, engaged and productive employees increases exponentially.
This was such an amazing awakening for me as a very young adult to realize that work didn't have to suck! In its design and execution, the HR system creates the structures and influences the practices that lead to a positive employment experience. I realized that I could have a favorable impact on the lives of many hardworking people by designing HR organizations where these critical structures exist and excel.
As I progressed in my career, I developed a great expertise in creating workplaces where organization and employee goals worked in tandem. My tenure in the field of human resources has allowed me to fulfill several executive level leadership roles in which I have served as a trusted advisor and key decision maker in system-wide and often public-facing issues.
Most recently and just prior to launching Revolutionary HR Consulting, I served as the Vice Chancellor for Human Resources with one of the largest community college systems in the nation. Immediately prior to that executive role as Chief HR Officer, I led the delivery of HR services for over 70 state agencies, boards and commissions.
What inspired you to start Revolutionary HR Consulting?
My desire to continue bringing positive change to HR systems and practices on a global scale. I've enjoyed a long and successful career leading this type of work (harnessing and leveraging the collective power of people) helping to advance some of the most important missions within organizations charged with advancing key strategic commitments critical to the accomplishment of those missions.
The HR system truly is the intersection between business strategy and the human beings who are responsible for its success and yet HR is often not equipped to manage more than fulfilling its day-to-day responsibilities. The investments into the operational infrastructure of the human resources function far too often don't support the outcomes expected and so greatly needed.
I am passionate about aligning HR systems with business strategies because the HR system enables businesses to accomplish strategic imperatives through the performance and creative contributions of the incredibly talented people who make up its workforce.
Whether it's moving into a new market, growing to expand the workforce or seeking to meet increased demand for products or services, the HR system is at the center of creating the workforce capacity to move business objectives forward.
What was the most difficult part of starting the business and how did you overcome it?
Trusting enough in myself to make the leap to entrepreneurship. I'd always intentionally joined organizations with missions that I was proud to be a part of furthering and where the company values aligned with my own. Establishing my personal mission and values for Revolutionary HR Consulting greatly helped to crystalize my focus and fortify my strength in believing in the possibilities of what great things would come for companies, their employees and HR departments as a result of expanding this meaningful work.
I'm also very dedicated to expanding and growing this business so that more opportunities can be provided to talented, revolutionary HR professionals who excel and are passionate about high-impact, transformational talent management. Staying focused on those important goals have helped me to stay focused and overcome challenges.
What exactly can your business do for clients and why is it so important?
Revolutionary HR Consulting provides immediately implementable plans that enable organizations to assess the skills of its workforce, respond to the anticipated gaps or shortages, and determine if management practices and behaviors are conducive to attracting and retaining the best and the brightest employees. We enable this through maximizing the inputs and outputs of HR operations.
We help businesses gain a competitive advantage by establishing or improving the ability to identify, attract, engage and develop the talented staff necessary to move business objectives forward. Our work is customized to the individual organization as we recognize that technology, strategy and structures can be replicated, but not the unique and creative contributions of employees.
We also partner with companies to establish competitive pay and incentive strategies to help strengthen their positions and competitiveness in the employment marketplace. This is more important than ever given the increasing competition for talent. That trend, coupled with the growing shortage of fundamental skills in the areas of effective communications, judgment, and relationship management, requires organizations to reimagine work and the way we go about it from how we describe it to how we recruit for it. It is critical to have an HR system that helps to build the organizational capacity for workforce development, engagement and retention.
Beyond the areas I've mentioned briefly, we also help to scope projects and manage vendors contracted to perform large or complex HR projects. We offer services that assist organizations with making the most out of stakeholder relationships recognizing that stakeholder engagement and partnering to create solutions can not only prevent breakdowns that derail progress; but can also help to rebound from them thus going from breakdowns to breakthroughs.
Overall, Revolutionary HR Consulting works with businesses to help them get the most out of their most significant investment – their people, by establishing structures that unify enterprise-wide goals to work in concert across different business units and departments. All our services share the same overarching goal of helping business create well-developed human resources system grounded in service-delivery and strategic ability because high-impact, transformational HR requires mastery of both.
What do you believe is the most important trait of a good leader?
Leadership encompasses so many things, but most importantly integrity in vision setting and communicating with purpose are huge. These elements are essential to helping set the tone and course for unifying individual interests to work toward common organizational goals; and for establishing strong foundations for organizational culture. As the saying goes, "the fish rots from the head down".
Moreover, these traits influence customer relationships. As a business owner, you are your brand. While there are many hats business owners must wear; the most important one is that of chief influencer – both internally and externally.
While overall business acumen is also tremendously important, equally important is the ability to build strong teams that work in concert and establish the right set of performance metrics. These things are crucial to supporting your ability to engage in those activities that seek to build the business and create sustainable demand while ensuring team members are engaging in the activities that lead to results.
Staying true to the role as CEO of Revolutionary HR Consulting, for example, and our firm's purpose are essential to ensuring we continuously deliver our services with high quality and maximum effectiveness for the clients we partner with.
What do you see/plan for the future of your firm?
Continuing to do this work and connecting with businesses in all industries seeking to get more out of their human resources. We are expanding our scope of services to link directly to HR leaders who are striving to make their team's work even more impactful.
We will continue to grow and reach a broader audience with our Revolutionary HR Consulting podcast, Join the Revolution! which is available on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. Our episode last month featured the iconic Dr. Ken Blanchard, the grandfather of situational leadership, servant leadership and the author of the One-Minute-Manager and other numerous best-selling books as well several CEOs sharing business insights and leadership perspectives.
We also plan to grow our team as our work with organizations expands. I believe in providing business opportunities that are "boundaryless"; and that is the way we work. I've had the great fortune of working with and encountering some outstanding HR professionals and leaders in my career. As I mentioned briefly previously, we are working to provide an even bigger space where these talents can come together to engage in and provide truly transformational work with clear results.
I see Revolutionary HR Consulting leading the way in helping position HR systems around the globe to reflect the advancements and innovations of the workplace; and in reimagining the way we work. We are passionate about partnering with companies in their talent management efforts and excelling in their ability to strategically and purposefully select, develop and retain the workforce needed today and the future.
To learn more about Revolutionary HR Consulting or LaCoya Shelton, visit at: www.revolutionaryhrconsulting.com
About Revolutionary HR Consulting
Revolutionary HR Consulting helps businesses advance their HR system to become a strategic workforce cultivators partnering to drive the most critical organizational outcomes and strengthening their positions in the employment marketplace.
Revolutionary HR Consulting provides immediately implementable plans that enable organizations to assess the skills of its workforce, respond to the anticipated gaps or shortages, and determine if management practices and behaviors are conducive to attracting and retaining the best and the brightest employees. They enable this through maximizing the inputs and outputs of HR operations and help businesses gain a competitive advantage by establishing or improving the ability to identify, attract, engage and develop the talented staff necessary to move business objectives forward.
Revolutionary HR Consulting's company philosophy is predicated on the closely held belief that HR is a foundational element of organizational strategy.
