Create a Human and Organizational Strategy
What Is a Human Resources Plan (HRP)?
The HRP is the component of the business plan that makes clear the aspects of people and organization in your business that are critical to meeting your strategy, satisfying your customers, and motivating them to buy your product or services. It clarifies what will be done in a given time frame and who will do it.
The HR Department Plan ensures that resources are available to implement the HRP:
? People (internal and external)
? Money
? Management time and attention
The Starting Point Is the Business Plan
If you ask for the "business plan" in any given organization, you might receive any of the following documents:
? The overall business strategy (if the organization has one)
? The budget
? The performance measurement plan
? The marketing plan
? The product plan
Far too often, business plans are simply a description of goals (e.g., achieve x percent ROA), rather than a strategy that makes clear the overall direction for the organization and what will make it win in the marketplace.
I have always thought of business strategy as having the following dimensions:
? Strategy is about directional choices made from various alternatives as to how you might focus and run your business. There are many alternatives. Your strategy reflects your choices and makes it clear what you are choosing to do, as well as what you are not choosing to do.
? A strategy should be selected because leadership believes these particular choices will provide competitive advantage to win in the marketplace.
? Good strategies are clear enough that all employees can interpret direction for their specific work from these defined strategies.
? Goals are not strategies. Goals reflect what you want to achieve. Strategies reflect how you plan to achieve them.
Leadership perspectives.
Some leaders come from the perspective of planning for "what I want to do." These are the great visionaries of the team. They have great ideas, and they can see forever, but they may be short on specifics and implications. Others come from the perspective of "what I can do." These are the more conservative people who have to be sure that they have every resource lined up before they take the risk to set up a plan. They will never commit to something that they are not sure they can accomplish. These are the sandbaggers. Finally, others enter the strategic discussion from the perspective of doing "what I am expected to do." These may be the expectations they anticipate from the CEO, the board, or whomever. These are the pleasers. They are driven to meet the expectations of others.
In any group working on strategy, there are people in the room who represent each of these views. Obviously, these three differing perspectives will lead to very different ultimate strategies. So which of these three points of view is the right one from which to develop the best strategy? None of them! They are all problematic if they are the only point of view expressed or considered.
Creating an HRP
It suggests that the HRP start with descriptions of the strategic directions of the organization. In starting here, I assume that the strategy of the organization is directly linked to the needs of customers.
What are the specific market strategies that your organization is pursuing? Write them across the top of the diagram.
Broaden Business Platforms
Cut Costs
Acquire Distribution
Strengthen Product
Each of these strategic directions is then translated into its implications for each of the five human resources processes and diversity.
Workforce Planning & Staffing
Learning & Development
Orgnization Development
Performance Management
Employee Relations
Diversity
Once the entire matrix has been filled out, the horizontal rows represent the company's plan for a given functional aspect of human resources (e.g., organization development or learning and development). The vertical columns represent all that needs doing from a human resources standpoint to support that particular aspect of the business plan. The totality of the diagram represents all of the possible efforts that might be initiated to support the business plan.
Here are some possibilities:
? Workforce Planning and Staffing. Moving into new or different lines of business through acquisitions usually requires that leaders possess skill sets and expertise different from what was essential in the core business. And so this business strategy drives the need to attract, integrate, and retain leaders with those different skill sets. Future plans to assimilate newly acquired companies and to eliminate the redundancies that inevitably exist have a substantial impact on workforce planning, particularly in the areas of retention and placement.
? Organization Development. Acquiring other companies raises questions about the larger design of the organization. How will the corporation treat acquisitions? What is the expected cultural and capabilities fit between the companies? Does the company want to become a tightly integrated corporation? Or is it more interested in pursuing a holding company strategy and configuration? How much independence should there be between the core business and the newly acquired business? How similar are the business models of the core company and the new businesses? Whatever the decision, there will need to be some critical linkages established between companies. This must become a key component of the HRP.
? Performance Management. Acquired companies usually bring with them different performance management practices. Often the whole culture of performance management is different. Integration of these different systems is often very complicated and requires extensive work. The implications may be insignificant for the general employee population, depending on how closely linked and how consistent practices need to be between the core business and the acquired companies. However, at a higher leadership level, expectations, metrics, and rewards most likely will need to be determined for the management team of the acquired corporation.
? Employee Relations. Acquisitions—no matter what the philosophy of integration is—always involve employee relations issues. How will we deal with employees' questions about the acquisition, the impact upon the company, and the impact upon them personally? The HRP should spell out a recommended plan for how to deal with employee concerns throughout this transition.
? Learning and Development. As you bring in a newly acquired company, there will likely be extensive development needed to make sure that new managers understand the new philosophy and management practices. They often need training in key aspects of the new marketplace. The HRP should clarify all of these needs for development.
Prioritizing Work to Resources
Vision: The right workforces in the right environments delivering profitable business growth.
Our HR vision will be accomplished by focusing on three broad initiatives:
A) WORKFORCE PLANNING
Scope and Focus
? Workforce Reduction
o Ensure that we have the needed consistent with business models and current financial plans.
? Retention
o Improve retention and take a strong employee advocacy position to ensure the engagement of the desired workforce.
? Recruiting and Development
o Identify needed skill mix changes.
o Upgrade talent where needed.
B) LEADERSHIP
Scope and Focus
? Change Management
o Develop effective change plans.
o Link change skill development to specific business needs and target those who need it.
? Targeted Senior Management Development
o Link to specific business needs and target leaders who need it; to be linked business model timing.
? Succession Planning
o Continue rollout of process and tools across the enterprise.
? Management/Supervisory Development
o Continue skill development based on Gallup best practices.
o Upgrade managers' ability to motivate, for, and differentiate.
C) GROWTH & PERFORMANCE
Scope and Focus
? Effective design and implementation of Business Models within and across businesses
? Performance Management & Total Reward Systems for the Corporation
o Complete executive compensation realignment.
o Develop and implement an integrated performance measurement system.
? Continue Implementation of Global Shared Services
In summary, what are the principles for human resources planning? They include these points:
? The HRP is a subcomponent of the business plan.
? The HRP is driven by the business strategy.
? Line managers should identify key HRP components and directions at the highest level.
? HR provides the technical roadmap, or HR Department Plan, for accomplishing the HRP.
? HR consults on the technical and legal appropriateness of the HRP.
? Line management has the final decision on the HRP.
? You can't do everything; prioritize what is most important and where you can actually make a difference.
? Once the organization's HRP is developed, the HR department can create its department business plan that indicates what HR will do in support of the HRP.
For more Information
* Strategic HR Management. Recruitment. Talent Management. Training. Reward. Coaching, Human Resource Books. *
What Is a Human Resources Plan (HRP)?
The HRP is the component of the business plan that makes clear the aspects of people and organization in your business that are critical to meeting your strategy, satisfying your customers, and motivating them to buy your product or services. It clarifies what will be done in a given time frame and who will do it.
The HR Department Plan ensures that resources are available to implement the HRP:
? People (internal and external)
? Money
? Management time and attention
The Starting Point Is the Business Plan
If you ask for the "business plan" in any given organization, you might receive any of the following documents:
? The overall business strategy (if the organization has one)
? The budget
? The performance measurement plan
? The marketing plan
? The product plan
Far too often, business plans are simply a description of goals (e.g., achieve x percent ROA), rather than a strategy that makes clear the overall direction for the organization and what will make it win in the marketplace.
I have always thought of business strategy as having the following dimensions:
? Strategy is about directional choices made from various alternatives as to how you might focus and run your business. There are many alternatives. Your strategy reflects your choices and makes it clear what you are choosing to do, as well as what you are not choosing to do.
? A strategy should be selected because leadership believes these particular choices will provide competitive advantage to win in the marketplace.
? Good strategies are clear enough that all employees can interpret direction for their specific work from these defined strategies.
? Goals are not strategies. Goals reflect what you want to achieve. Strategies reflect how you plan to achieve them.
Leadership perspectives.
Some leaders come from the perspective of planning for "what I want to do." These are the great visionaries of the team. They have great ideas, and they can see forever, but they may be short on specifics and implications. Others come from the perspective of "what I can do." These are the more conservative people who have to be sure that they have every resource lined up before they take the risk to set up a plan. They will never commit to something that they are not sure they can accomplish. These are the sandbaggers. Finally, others enter the strategic discussion from the perspective of doing "what I am expected to do." These may be the expectations they anticipate from the CEO, the board, or whomever. These are the pleasers. They are driven to meet the expectations of others.
In any group working on strategy, there are people in the room who represent each of these views. Obviously, these three differing perspectives will lead to very different ultimate strategies. So which of these three points of view is the right one from which to develop the best strategy? None of them! They are all problematic if they are the only point of view expressed or considered.
Creating an HRP
It suggests that the HRP start with descriptions of the strategic directions of the organization. In starting here, I assume that the strategy of the organization is directly linked to the needs of customers.
What are the specific market strategies that your organization is pursuing? Write them across the top of the diagram.
Broaden Business Platforms
Cut Costs
Acquire Distribution
Strengthen Product
Each of these strategic directions is then translated into its implications for each of the five human resources processes and diversity.
Workforce Planning & Staffing
Learning & Development
Orgnization Development
Performance Management
Employee Relations
Diversity
Once the entire matrix has been filled out, the horizontal rows represent the company's plan for a given functional aspect of human resources (e.g., organization development or learning and development). The vertical columns represent all that needs doing from a human resources standpoint to support that particular aspect of the business plan. The totality of the diagram represents all of the possible efforts that might be initiated to support the business plan.
Here are some possibilities:
? Workforce Planning and Staffing. Moving into new or different lines of business through acquisitions usually requires that leaders possess skill sets and expertise different from what was essential in the core business. And so this business strategy drives the need to attract, integrate, and retain leaders with those different skill sets. Future plans to assimilate newly acquired companies and to eliminate the redundancies that inevitably exist have a substantial impact on workforce planning, particularly in the areas of retention and placement.
? Organization Development. Acquiring other companies raises questions about the larger design of the organization. How will the corporation treat acquisitions? What is the expected cultural and capabilities fit between the companies? Does the company want to become a tightly integrated corporation? Or is it more interested in pursuing a holding company strategy and configuration? How much independence should there be between the core business and the newly acquired business? How similar are the business models of the core company and the new businesses? Whatever the decision, there will need to be some critical linkages established between companies. This must become a key component of the HRP.
? Performance Management. Acquired companies usually bring with them different performance management practices. Often the whole culture of performance management is different. Integration of these different systems is often very complicated and requires extensive work. The implications may be insignificant for the general employee population, depending on how closely linked and how consistent practices need to be between the core business and the acquired companies. However, at a higher leadership level, expectations, metrics, and rewards most likely will need to be determined for the management team of the acquired corporation.
? Employee Relations. Acquisitions—no matter what the philosophy of integration is—always involve employee relations issues. How will we deal with employees' questions about the acquisition, the impact upon the company, and the impact upon them personally? The HRP should spell out a recommended plan for how to deal with employee concerns throughout this transition.
? Learning and Development. As you bring in a newly acquired company, there will likely be extensive development needed to make sure that new managers understand the new philosophy and management practices. They often need training in key aspects of the new marketplace. The HRP should clarify all of these needs for development.
Prioritizing Work to Resources
Vision: The right workforces in the right environments delivering profitable business growth.
Our HR vision will be accomplished by focusing on three broad initiatives:
A) WORKFORCE PLANNING
Scope and Focus
? Workforce Reduction
o Ensure that we have the needed consistent with business models and current financial plans.
? Retention
o Improve retention and take a strong employee advocacy position to ensure the engagement of the desired workforce.
? Recruiting and Development
o Identify needed skill mix changes.
o Upgrade talent where needed.
B) LEADERSHIP
Scope and Focus
? Change Management
o Develop effective change plans.
o Link change skill development to specific business needs and target those who need it.
? Targeted Senior Management Development
o Link to specific business needs and target leaders who need it; to be linked business model timing.
? Succession Planning
o Continue rollout of process and tools across the enterprise.
? Management/Supervisory Development
o Continue skill development based on Gallup best practices.
o Upgrade managers' ability to motivate, for, and differentiate.
C) GROWTH & PERFORMANCE
Scope and Focus
? Effective design and implementation of Business Models within and across businesses
? Performance Management & Total Reward Systems for the Corporation
o Complete executive compensation realignment.
o Develop and implement an integrated performance measurement system.
? Continue Implementation of Global Shared Services
In summary, what are the principles for human resources planning? They include these points:
? The HRP is a subcomponent of the business plan.
? The HRP is driven by the business strategy.
? Line managers should identify key HRP components and directions at the highest level.
? HR provides the technical roadmap, or HR Department Plan, for accomplishing the HRP.
? HR consults on the technical and legal appropriateness of the HRP.
? Line management has the final decision on the HRP.
? You can't do everything; prioritize what is most important and where you can actually make a difference.
? Once the organization's HRP is developed, the HR department can create its department business plan that indicates what HR will do in support of the HRP.
For more Information
* Strategic HR Management. Recruitment. Talent Management. Training. Reward. Coaching, Human Resource Books. *
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