Fortune has spoken with several board directors and executives about this outreach from HR that homes in on bolstering workplace culture, equity, inclusion, social responsibility and employee empowerment.
“HR has tended to interact with the board related to CEO and executive compensation more than anything else,” says Amee Desjourdy, chief human resources officer for Brightcove. “But most boards hadn't really even gotten into sort of this whole broader talent category of conversation until very recently.”
Dianne Hessan, a board director at Brightcove and Panera Bread, told Fortune that when HR concerns came up in boardrooms they would be focused on “succession planning and compensation.” Hessan is also chair at C Space, a market research company where she had served as CEO and founder.
“Now, we talk a lot about culture," she said. “We talk a lot about people, and about our talent as a very critical source of competitive advantage.”