In my first Insight, my readers learned how any business can generally benefit from understanding and applying human-resource strategies, also known as Strategic HR.
Today, I invite you to feel as though we’re sitting down for a quick and personal visit. This will not take long, as you can skim through this Insight for a quick snapshot of how a “Strategic HR” approach begins.
My greatest career satisfaction comes from helping businesses focus on what will make them grow and succeed. HR has come a long way since the days we were known simply as “personnel managers.” Today, HR professionals take additional pride in serving as strategic business partners.
True Partners: Your Success is Our Success
As business partners, we tailor strategic principles to each individual business. The cliché, “Your success is our success” certainly applies to this relationship.
If we were sitting down together to discuss your roadmap to success, here are a few sample questions I would ask to get us started:
- First, I would ask you: Do you want to be the visionary, or do you want to be the “hands-on” person who takes care of the tactical processes? What is your mission? What are your goals?
- Next, if you are the leader of a brand new organization, I would ask: Where do you want your organization to go? What market(s) do you want to target? How many people do you want to help get you there? What does your Human Talent looks like?
If you are the leader of an organization already in place, I would ask: Can we look at what you have in place? For instance, what transactions and processes are involved in your business flow? Who is your competition? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? In other words, I would ask questions that establish the groundwork to formulate and develop steps for building a competitive infrastructure.
The above are just a few sample questions that Strategic HR professionals might pursue in order to gain a high-level understanding of you and your business. After additional analysis, work and follow-up discussions, we would start linking your business model into a very competitive Human Resource strategy.
Strategic HR Provides a Roadmap for Your Successful Journey
While this brief summary provides merely a snapshot of a larger component, keep in mind that organizational development processes do not happen overnight. Strategic HR is an ongoing journey, not a one-time event. Nothing worthwhile happens that way, especially in a competitive and diversified business environment.
As with any organizational development program, communication strategies holds the key to making it work. We can agree ‘all day and all night’ on a strategic HR plan. However, you need the human capital to make it happen. You need to engage them to buy into your concept. You need to empower their skills and knowledge. After all, you want them to assist you, the business owner, achieve ‘big picture’ ‘long-term’ objectives.
While a “Strategic HR” program may sound worth postponing, I am pleased to share that a growing number of successful organizations are embracing its opportunities. It diligently adds value to any organization, and the people in such organizations are well-rewarded for putting forth the effort. After all, Strategic Human Resources is a process that focuses on increasing revenue and employee productivity.