My dad used to tell me, “If you don’t toot your own horn, nobody else will.” It was some time before I realized what he meant. A recent post from Alan Collins at Success in HR reminded me of that saying.

Good HR people (and there are few of them in my opinion) are like gold watches. They are reliable, accurate, quiet, and give years of good service. However, just like a gold watch, we often take them for granted. I think too many good HR people fail to toot their own horn, i.e., make sure the boss knows they’re doing a great job.

I’m not talking about bragging or taking credit for the work of others.  I’m talking about the need for management to understand the value you have brought to the organization.  And, since many executives, perhaps including your boss, don’t have a clue what a good HR professional is worth, what they can bring to the game, or, more important, the value they have brought to the organization, you’ve got to toot your own horn.  However, it must be done with class to avoid becoming one of those other kind of people we won’t mention here.

A well-done report will often serve this purpose nicely.   (Even if the boss doesn’t require a monthly report, you should create one with as many meaningful metrics as possible.)  Don’t make the mistake, however, of simply reporting the numbers — they won’t mean much without some amplification.  I like to attach a dollar value to the metrics, show a graph or two of comparison with one or more prior reporting periods.  And, don’t forget to show the real HR impact, i.e., the number of widgets the company would have to produce or the gross revenue needed in order to equal the savings you’ve generated the past month/quarter/year.

Turnover, absenteeism, safety, cost-per-hire, and similar metrics are made for good graphs and meaningful numbers.  To translate costs/savings into more meaningful numbers, divide by the company’s average profit margin.  For example, if your efforts have resulted in a 15% reduction in costs (say $10,000), divide $10,000 by the company’s average profit margin (say 5%), and you have $200,000.  In other words, at a 5% profit margin, the company would have to generate $200,000 in sales in order to make what you just saved.  Remember, savings are net dollars and are worth a lot of revenue dollars!

You don’t have to say, “I did it,” but you must not hesitate to put the numbers in front of the people who make the decisions.  If your numbers are really good, you might show a comparison to competitors or national averages.  In other words, toot your own horn a little, but do it with class.  Be honest, be consistent, be accurate and the boss will figure out pretty quickly that you’re worth a lot — maybe more than you’ve been given credit for in the past.