E5 - WTF is Commercial HR?

In this episode of HR Unfiltered, Sue and Dean dive head-first into one of the most weaponised, misunderstood, and fear-inducing phrases in the people profession: “Commercial HR.”

What is it? Why does everyone claim to be it? Why does it terrify so many HR teams? And why is the definition still so unbelievably vague?

We rip the jargon apart and rebuild it into something crystal clear: Commercial HR is HR that creates measurable value (revenue, profit, cost reduction, smarter investment cases, public value, better outcomes, risk mitigation, etc.) Everything else is admin.

This episode covers:

✔️ Why HR fell for the “kids’ table” narrative

✔️ The difference between strategic-sounding and actually commercial

✔️ Practical examples from multiple sectors

✔️ How to talk to a CFO (and be taken seriously)

✔️ Why “non-commercial HR” isn’t kinder, and is arguably lower impact

✔️ The SOPEOPLE Commercial HR Cheat Sheet (3 questions that might change everything)

✔️ What to do if your CEO or business partner is on the wrong track

✔️ How HR accidentally trains itself out of influence

✔️ Why “the fluffy stuff” (psych safety, leadership, culture) is the commercial stuff

✔️ Why every HR role (yes, every single one) has commercial value

Whether you’re an HRBP, HRD, CPO, L&D lead, OD partner, recruiter, ER pro, or running a people function in chaos…

This episode will challenge, provoke, and reassure you; we aim to give you the language you need to step (back) into influence.

This isn’t HR-bashing, it's HR-empowering and HR grown-up; welcome to a new baseline.