Strategic HR.

Strategic human resource management is the process of linking the human resource function with the strategic objectives of the organization in order to improve performance as far we understand this concept At Humba-HR-Consultants. Human resource planning is ‘the process for ensuring that the human resource requirements of an organization are identified and plans are made for satisfying those requirements’.

The Strategic management process is typically broken down into five steps;

1. Mission and Goals – The mission describes the organization’s values and aspirations; it is the organization’s raison d’être and indicates the direction in which senior management is going. Goals are the desired ends sought through the actual operating procedures of the organization and typically describe short-term measurable outcomes

2. Environmental Analysis - looks at the internal organizational strengths and weaknesses and the external environment for opportunities and threats. The factors that are most important to the organization’s future are referred to as strategic factors and can be summarized by the acronym SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

3. Strategic Formulation - involves senior managers evaluating the interaction between strategic factors and making strategic choices that guide managers to meet the organization’s goals. Some strategies are formulated at the corporate, business and specific functional levels. The term ‘strategic choice’ raises the question of who makes decisions and why they are made.

4. Strategy Implementation - is an area of activity that focuses on the techniques used by managers to implement their strategies. In particular, it refers to activities that deal with leadership style, the structure of the organization, the information and control systems, and the management of human resources

5. Strategy Evaluation - is an activity that determines to what extent the actual change and performance match the desired change and performance. The strategic management model depicts the five major activities as forming a rational and linear process. It is, however, important to note that it is a normative model, that is, it shows how strategic management should be done rather than describing what is actually done by senior managers.

Human resources planning are a process that identifies current and future human resources needs for an organization to achieve its goals. Human resources planning should serve as a link between human resources management and the overall strategic plan of an organization. Aging worker populations in most western countries and growing demands for qualified workers in developing economies have underscored the importance of effective Human Resources Planning.

Strategic HR is the strategic management of human resources aligned with the organisation’s intended future direction. It is concerned with longer-term people issues and macro-concerns about structure, quality, culture, values, commitment and matching resources to future need. You’ll find here information on HR strategy, HR capability, alignment of the HR function with business strategy and the contribution of HR to business performance.

Implementing Stages;

• Short - Term HR Planning
• Establish a Competency Architecture and Competency Dictionary that will support Strategic Human Resource Planning.
• For each group to be profiled, define the roles and career streams to help identify current and future human resources needs.
• Determine how competencies will be integrated with the existing HR Planning process and systems (e.g., Human Resource Information Management systems; other computer-based tools, for example forecasting models).
• Build or revamp HR Planning tools, templates and processes to incorporate elements as determined in above.
• Train managers and / or facilitate corporate HR Planning process.
• Continuously monitor and improve processes, tools and systems to support HR Planning.

Process of Implementing the Process;

• Identify the infrastructure and system requirements to support full implementation (e.g., Human Resources Information Management System; other on-line software tools needed to support various CBM- Curriculum-Based Measurement applications).
• Develop the competency profiles.
• Implement the competency profiles in a staged-way to demonstrate benefits and create buy-in (e.g., as soon as profiles for a group are developed, implement quickly within a low-risk high-benefit planned application for the group).
• Communicate success stories as competency profiles are implemented.
• Good for organization.
• Develop, revise/update competency profiles to meet changing demands.

Monitor and evaluate applications to ensure that they are meeting organizational needs, and adjust programs/plans, as needed, to meet evolving needs. An organization’s (human resource management) policies and practices must fit with its strategy in its competitive environment and with the immediate business conditions that it faces.’

‘The (human resources–business strategy) alignment cannot necessarily be characterized in the logical and sequential way suggested by some writers; rather, the design of an HR system is a complex and iterative process.’