The CEO of Mighty Telecommunications, Sharon Wentworth, meets with the new VP of HR, Thomas Brody. Sharon points out to Thomas that many administrative HR functions at Mighty have been automated or outsourced in the last two years. She wants HR to bring more value to the business and asks Thomas to transform the HR department. She asks Thomas to work with the sales department, which is struggling to meet its revenue targets. After the meeting, Thomas decides to develop a highly skilled team of strategic partners (SPs) to build strategic business partnerships with the organization’s leaders. He realizes he’ll have to coach this team to success, and begins by instructing them on the first steps in building a strategic client relationship. One of Thomas’s new SPs, Karen Johnson, catches on quickly and is selected as the first person to practice the techniques she’s learned by building a partnership with the sales department. Her ultimate goal is to consult with sales leaders to uncover ways she can help them increase sales revenue. Eager to begin, Karen arranges a meeting with a high-performing sales operations manager, Jacob Reynolds, who was referred to her by a friend in sales. She begins by asking questions about the department’s business goals, but he isn’t able to articulate what those are. His discussion is mostly tactical in nature. Karen quickly realizes that she’s made a major mistake. She has not identified the true client, someone who can articulate the department’s business goals and with whom she can build a long-term partnership. She consults with Thomas, who identifies Wendy Harris, the VP of sales, as her true client. Thomas talks with Wendy about Karen’s role and the HR department’s new focus, and arranges a meeting between Karen and Wendy.
1. From the Human Resources perspective, how was the situation handled? Explain