Substance Over Form – The True Path for HR to Drive Meaningful and Sustainable Business Growth
Dear HR Professionals and Esteemed Members of the Malaysian HR Fraternity,
As the CEO of Malaysia HR Forum, I have had the privilege of observing the good, the bad, and the ugly of the HR profession in Malaysia. This honest observation is not to criticise but to awaken us to a fundamental truth: HR must prioritise substance over form to remain meaningful and sustainable in today’s competitive business landscape.
In many organisations, HR remains confined to administrative tasks, payroll processing, and compliance reporting. While these functions are necessary, they are merely the form of HR – what people see on the surface. The substance lies in HR’s ability to shape organisational culture, build capabilities, drive talent strategies, and enable business success.
Why is HR Not Seen as a Business Partner?
Too often, knowledge limitation becomes the silent barrier. HR professionals avoid business discussions, strategic interventions, or data-driven initiatives simply because they have not invested in developing their knowledge and competencies beyond basic compliance and administration.
It is easy to work hard – to process forms quickly, chase documents, or organise token training programmes to fill up the calendar. But working smart requires courage. It requires understanding business fundamentals, financial implications, operational challenges, and workforce dynamics. It requires HR to move from being merely efficient to becoming effective.
Hard Work vs. Smart Work: A Paradigm Shift
Hard Work is doing anything and everything blindly to impress bosses. It consumes energy and time but often yields unsustainable results.
Smart Work is about building core fundamentals, developing strategic thinking, and designing people solutions that address business challenges sustainably.
This hardest start – learning, unlearning, and relearning – is the true test of an HR professional. Yet, it is this smart work that earns trust, credibility, and a seat at the table.
Stop Using “Boss’s Instructions” as a Shield
One concerning trend I observe is HR professionals using the “boss’s instructions” as a shield when criticised for being a non-contributor to business success. While it is true that leadership direction matters, HR must not abdicate its responsibility to educate, influence, and lead up when necessary. If HR merely executes without thinking, it loses its very essence as a profession rooted in human and organisational development.
What Does This Mean for Employees?
Employees today are yearning for HR that goes beyond enforcing policies and chasing forms. They long for:
✔️ Guidance in Their Careers – HR that can coach, mentor, and build clear career pathways rather than simply arranging appraisals once a year.
✔️ Genuine Care for Their Well-being – HR that listens deeply to concerns about workload, mental health, toxic behaviours, and workplace fairness, and acts decisively to address them.
✔️ Opportunities to Grow and Shine – HR that champions learning, provides real development programmes, and creates avenues for employees to showcase their talents and potential.
When HR functions with substance, employees feel seen, heard, and valued. They gain confidence that someone in the organisation is fighting for their development, welfare, and dignity. This builds trust and commitment far beyond what mere payroll efficiency can achieve.
What Does This Mean for Companies and Bosses?
Many bosses say they want HR to handle admin matters, but deep down, they desire a reliable partner who:
✔️ Understands the Business and Offers Solutions – HR that brings data-backed insights on people productivity, attrition risks, and talent gaps that affect strategic goals.
✔️ Designs Organisational Effectiveness – HR that shapes culture, values, and team dynamics to improve collaboration, reduce conflicts, and drive performance.
✔️ Drives Change Management – HR that can lead transitions, digital transformations, restructuring, and expansion with human-centred strategies that minimise resistance and anxiety.
✔️ Fills Leadership Voids – Sometimes bosses themselves do not know exactly what they need to solve workforce challenges. HR must be bold enough to take the driver’s seat, diagnose problems, propose solutions, and steer execution. This is what earns HR the respect it seeks.
Embracing Substance Over Form in HR
Here is how HR can embrace substance over form:
✔️ Understand the Business
Know the organisation’s products, services, markets, customers, financials, and strategic goals. HR must speak the language of business, not just the language of HR.
✔️ Develop Strategic HR Competencies
Beyond administration, build skills in workforce planning, talent analytics, organisational development, change management, and strategic industrial relations.
✔️ Design Solutions, Not Just Processes
HR must diagnose business problems and design interventions – whether it is in talent attraction, productivity, performance, or employee well-being.
✔️ Be Courageous to Challenge and Influence
Great HR leaders do not just comply. They provide alternative solutions, challenge flawed approaches, and influence leadership decisions with data, insights, and confidence.
✔️ Invest in Continuous Learning
The world of work is evolving rapidly with AI, digitalisation, and shifting workforce expectations. HR professionals who stop learning become obsolete.
✔️ Measure What Matters
Move beyond tracking number of trainings or forms processed. Measure employee productivity, engagement, retention of top talent, and the ROI of HR programmes on business outcomes.
How Do You Want to End Your HR Career?
Ask yourself honestly – how do you want to end your HR career? Do you want to continue playing second fiddle in your company, earning a lower income while others drive decisions and strategy?
Do you want to keep dragging yourself to work each day just because you need the salary to survive? Or would you rather change the way things are, redefine your role, and make this journey truly enriching? Imagine waking up excited because you know your work matters, your voice is heard, and your contributions drive real impact – and yes, you earn what you’re truly worth. The choice is yours: remain in the shadows or rise to become a respected and rewarded leader who shapes the future of work.
Conclusion: Mind Over Matter
It is not hard to make this shift. It only requires a change in mindset. Mind over matter – the belief that you can, and the will to make it happen. HR can no longer afford to be seen merely as administrators. The future belongs to HR professionals who lead with substance, who bring meaningful, data-backed, and sustainable solutions to their organisations.
To employees, HR with substance becomes their guide, protector, and developer.
To companies and bosses, HR with substance becomes the trusted partner they didn’t know they needed – someone who anticipates, leads, and drives business excellence through people.
Let us, as a fraternity, rise to embrace this paradigm shift. The respect, trust, and business partnership we seek will follow naturally when we make ourselves truly worthy of it.
“Form pleases the eyes, but substance earns the heart and sustains the journey.”
Take the First Step Towards Change
Every journey of transformation begins with a single step. Our upcoming HR Masterclass Series is designed not to sell you another training programme, but to help you overcome the real and pressing challenges you face in HR today. It is about equipping you with the strategic insights, practical tools, and confidence to lead with substance, not just form.
This is not about attending a programme for the sake of ticking another box in your training record. It is about transforming the way you work, enhancing the way you think, and empowering you to become the HR professional your organisation truly needs.
Some may say, “But I don’t have the budget right now.” Remember this: money should never be a showstopper for your growth. When you invest in developing yourself, you are not spending – you are building your capacity to earn more, lead better, and create greater impact. Staying stagnant is what truly costs you in the long run – in lost opportunities, unrecognised contributions, and a career that never reaches its fullest potential.
Ultimately, investing in yourself is the foundation of a growth mindset. It is choosing to believe that you can become better, do better, and achieve more, despite current limitations. Those who thrive are not necessarily the smartest or the most privileged, but those who choose to grow beyond their circumstances. Because at the end of the day, substance over form is not just a concept – it is what determines whether HR remains relevant and impactful or fades into administrative obscurity.
Let this be the start of your change story – not because we are selling a programme, but because you deserve to lead HR with meaning, value, and pride.
Let this be the start of your change story.
