The Board of Directors Institute on Human Resources convened its first annual Institute on Monday, March 1, 2010 at the New York City headquarters of TIAA-CREF. With panelists and participants from corporations in North America, Asia, and Europe, private equity firms, and nonprofits, the daylong discussion focused on themes that included “empowerment, accountability, and the goal of achieving the maximum return from human capital in an era of expanding risk and regulation,” in the words of Brian Sullivan, Chairman of CTPartners. One of the panels focused on an important issue that has become the focus of many debates in recent years – “The Elephant in the room – Why doesn’t Human Resources have a seat at the table in the boardroom?”

“The first panel established that talent is indeed the true differentiator,” commented Laurence “Lon” O’Neil, President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management. “Our panel will take a hard look at the roles and responsibilities of the board, given the current economic and regulatory realities. As the pace of change increases,” he added, “we need to consider what’s been missing from boards. Where does HR fit, and how can this profession’s skills and insights empower boards and management teams to be more successful over time?”

Mr. O’Neil moderated a panel that included Michael Feiner, a Professor of Management and Sanford C. Bernstein, Ethics Fellow at Columbia Business School, and the former Chief People Officer for Pepsi-Cola’s worldwide beverage operations; Gerald M. Lieberman, former President and COO of AllianceBernstein L.P.; Patricia M. Nazemetz, Corporate VP and Chief Human Resources and Ethics Officer of Xerox Corp., and a Director of WMS Industries Inc.; and Dermot J. O’Brien, EVP, Human Resources and Corporate Services, of TIAA-CREF.

Mr. Feiner launched the discussion with a bold assertion: “There are a lot of elephants in this ‘room.’ Many senior corporate leaders honestly believe that the main thing HR does is organize the picnics, the blood drive, and the employee handbook. Meanwhile, there simply aren’t enough world-class HR leaders to satisfy the need out there for them. And there are company line managers who may know that they should have an HR partner, but they don’t have a clue about how to find the right person, build the right partnership, and get the best value from what HR could potentially offer. These are very big stumbling blocks.”

Mr. O’Brien asserted that a board’s primary responsibility should center on governance and oversight. “But that should be conceived of in terms of a full ‘portfolio,’ and certainly the human portfolio is part of that.” He stressed that there’s more at stake than simply developing the right compensation strategy. “Let’s talk about corporate culture,” he said. “Boards need to make certain that their companies nurture the kinds of cultures in which people could feel comfortable raising their hands if they see a problem. Human resources has a big role to play in promoting a culture of transparency and accountability.

During these challenging times, boards must balance many essential responsibilities. “Selection of the CEO may be the most important because without the proper CEO, the company will flounder,” said Ms. Nazemetz. “Yet it’s also a core objective for any director to try to ensure that talent is deployed within the organization at its highest level of return. HR should find many ways to help here. For example, when I’m a director, I don’t just want to see a human resources presentation. I want HR to help me get beyond the data to understand what’s truly going on in the company and in the workforce. I want to have different ‘touch points’ and sources of insight.”

Too many boards are preoccupied with “risks and the headline issues,” concluded Mr. Lieberman. “Yet there are so many complex issues that demand their attention, including things that are very hard to assess, like competence, culture, and values. Data can and should be an important part of the board’s assessment process. But there’s more that’s necessary. I firmly believe that when there’s trust, dialogue, and healthy interaction between directors and human resources leaders, corporations will be much stronger.”